by Marguerite Mullaney
Eve descended the concrete stairwell to the beach's sand, leading off each step with her left foot. She stumbled slightly on the uneven surface, jostling the contents of her shopping bag. Gaining her balance, she took a deep breath of sea air spiced with the scent of salt and her own dried urine. The beach provided for all her needs; it was like a paradise. The bag lady had come in the predawn light to pick through the garbage.
She pinched the car blanket on her shoulders closed against the chill as she assessed the deserted beach. Under the blanket, a grime encrusted trench coat encased her shivering frame. Beneath the coat were layers of filthy, tattered clothing: a man's shirt, a wool skirt, a blue dress, a slip, flannel long johns, two bras, and a pair of cotton underpants. Eve pointed her floppy mismatched sneakers stuffed with newspapers toward a cluster of sea gulls.
"Birdies know the secrets," she gargled on her phlegm. "Birdies find the best eats."
With each step of her approach, the sea gulls screamed their protest. The birds grudgingly yielded the sand in a slow retreat. There was a large lump which the gulls seemed unwilling to abandon. Eve was eager to share in their find.
Hopping on one foot and shaking her fist, the dirty rag picker cackled, "You winged rats!"
The birds took to the sky revealing their treasure. A body lay like a grotesque sunbather; gray and wet and stinking of the sea. Eve continued her advance. After all she had seen lifeless bodies before. Some were frozen in the snow and some were stabbed in the alley. All had been street people who had finally run out of luck. This body, she discovered, was not a victim of the streets. His clothing was expensive and stylish. Eve imagined he selected each to enhance his pudgy, boyish frame. He was no more than twenty and his future was now behind him as was Eve's own.
He seemed surprised by death, from the look on his face: eyes opened wide, mouth slightly parted.
"You saw it coming, didn't you?" she whispered. "So did I. So did I." The tears were close.
Kneeling beside him, Eve wanted to do the right thing. She wanted to do one last act of kindness for this boy and herself. Eve touched the unseeing eyes. The lids would not close. She removed the blanket from her shoulders and covered his face. It was a decent thing to do. Grasping his arm to place on his chest, she saw a glimmer of gold. A Rolex was revealed when the sleeve was pulled back. It tempted her.
The woman rose from beside the man. She continued her morning stroll much richer for her kindness. Eve was in Paradise.
