we thought we killed her because we called her The Devil, and because we said we were waiting for all the old people to die so we could get some more young people in the neighbourhood. but really she died because she had cancer for five years and her poor body just couldn't take it any more. she was 82. she was just our neighbour until we saw that she had a daughter and a son-in-law from nova scotia -- she became real then.
we don't know why we called her The Devil -- we thought she was pretenting to be really old and senile. one minute she'd claim to be old; the next i would see her moving swiftly to and from her house with her heavy clothes basket.
she thought I was a boy when she first saw me strolling up the walkway from the back yard. when she saw that I was female she told me she had strong beliefs and if it scared me that she had strong beliefs. no should it? you just seemed like you were scared when i said it is all. i thought she was telling me she had strong beliefs about two people living together who weren't married, but mark said it was all in my head. she had someone chop our bush down in the front yard because it was hitting her in the face. she thought mark was a little boy when she saw him for the last time before christmas.
they're cleaning out her house now; they had a big dumpster on her front lawn and it was full. there is a lot of work to be done on the house and it will go up for sale in the spring her son-in-law said.
may she rest in peace
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