He sits alone, high up on the ledge, gazing at the passersby below. He’s done this for ages and never tires of it. Watching them come & go he often wonders what it would be like to walk among them, if only for a day. They seem an interesting & curious sort, sometimes laughing, yelling or crying. At times he see’s the oddest displays of a particular greeting, lips touching & arms around the other as if they enjoy it, but he has no idea what it really means.

He saw her one day walking into the cathedral and instantly felt a longing he’d never experienced before. When she left he thought he would break into a million pieces but the next day she returned. Each day that passed by he grew to anticipate the hour he would see her and his stone heart ached when she was out of sight. She was always alone, sometimes lingering a few extra minutes in the courtyard as if taking in the wonder of her surroundings. He clung to those extra minutes as if his existence depended on it. She always seemed content, possibly happy, and he would have given anything to know what she was thinking. But then one day she did not appear. He grew very anxious as he awaited the next day and still she did not come. As night fell he felt a pain so deep inside he knew would have killed a normal human. He glared up at the moon & cursed those that made him.  Suddenly he noticed movement below in the empty courtyard and glancing down saw her walking slowly to the front steps. He would have jumped for joy if he’d been able & then noticed her face, the tears hitting the ground as they fell. The moonlight shown down illuminating her in the white gown she wore. Something about her was very different & he could not think of what it was. She walked, no, glided to a bench on the other side of the courtyard & sat down. He watched her intently & after a while it was almost as if he could see through her, as though she was transparent. She was so unhappy…watching her cry, her body heaving with convulsions as the sobs grew louder. It was more than he could bear. If he could only break free from his post he would run to her & comfort her but he knew what he was. She would run from him. He quietly watched her & noticed then that she was looking up in his direction. She seemed to see directly into his eyes and he stared back. Suddenly she flew across the courtyard & in a moment was sitting by his side with her arms around him. In shock he realized he could now see into her thoughts…she had been very ill and had been coming to the cathedral to pray but nothing had helped. She had died a few days earlier and her spirit was wandering in the only place she had found peace. She had known all along he was watching, had sensed his loneliness and was here to spend eternity by his side. As dawn broke & the courtyard began to fill with people they watched & shared their thoughts. He experienced a happiness he’d never thought possible as they sat together, knowing she would always be there. Forever.