AGATHA BEHIND THE MAUSOLEUM
AN ALICE AND BEN CEMETERY STORY
Alice and Ben were enjoying their wedding anniversary while lounging under the trees behind the mausoleum in their favorite memorial park. This is their old time preferred retreat. They were enjoying each other's company in the peace and silence of the park.
Suddenly, Agatha Christie came over out of the nowhere. She carried two books of murder mysteries that she wrote. Agatha waved hello.
"Hello," she said. "I hope you don't mind me interrupting, but I saw you sitting here and I thought I would introduce myself. I'm Agatha Christie."
Alice and Ben were stunned. They had never met Agatha before, and they couldn't believe that she was just standing there, talking to them.
"It's an honor to meet you," Alice said. "We're big fans of your work."
"Thank you," Agatha said. "It's always nice to meet people who enjoy my books."
"What are you doing here?" asked Alice.
"I'm just taking a walk," said Agatha. "I saw you sitting here and I thought I would walk over and say Hi."
She sat down next to them, and they all started talking. Agatha told them about her life as a writer, and Alice and Ben told her about their wedding story and how they first met at the funeral home.
"It's nice to meet you," said Ben. "We're celebrating our wedding anniversary."
"Congratulations," said Agatha. "That's wonderful."
"Thank you," said Alice. "We've been married for two years."
"I'm sure you have a lot of stories to tell." said Agatha.
"We do," said Ben. "But we'll save them for another time."
Alice and Ben made room for Agatha on the bench. Agatha sat down and handed them the books.
"Yes, thank you," said Agatha. "I thought you’ll like these," she said. "They're my latest murder mysteries."
"Thank you," said Alice. "We sure like your page turners."
"I hope you enjoy them," said Agatha.
"We sure do," said Ben.
They chatted for a while longer, and then Agatha said, "My chief dislikes are crowds, loud noises, gramophones and cinemas. I dislike the taste of alcohol and do not like smoking.
I do like sun, sea, flowers, travelling, strange foods, sports, concerts, theatres, pianos, and doing embroidery."
Then Alice asked, “But what really brought you here?”
Agatha was silent for a long moment.
Then she said as an afterthought, “You know that right here, Cain murdered Abel, don’t you?”
Alice and Ben were stunned in silence. It never crossed their mind.
They chatted for some more, and by the end of the conversation, they felt like they had known each other for years. Agatha was a kind and gracious woman, and Alice and Ben were grateful for the opportunity to meet her. It was like a wedding anniversary gift for them.
"It was nice meeting you," she said. "And congratulations again on your anniversary."
Agatha smiled, waved goodbye, and faded away.
Vanished.
Just like that.
Alice and Ben watched her gone, and then turned to each other.
"Can you believe what just happened?" said Alice.
"I know," said Ben. "It's something out of our common fantasy."
"I'm so glad we met her," Alice repeated.
They sat in silence for a while, savoring the moment. Then they picked up the books that Agatha had given them and started to read.
