Dearest Cookie,
I am not certain how to begin this letter or maybe I should call it a goodbye note for I do not plan on making it long. In case you are wondering I am writing it right here on the banks of the Kokkai Stream where we spent many a day picnicking. It was three years since we last sat together counting down the days for your admission; 6-5-4-3-2-1. You never wanted to spend even a minute in that hospice but it was in there that you bade us all adieu. I never wanted you to depart there either but we left it for the kids to decide. Apart of me wants to blame them for your death but what sense does that make. You were still on your way out.
I still feel your tears on my shoulder. I still feel you sobbing in my arms. I cried as much as you. Wept just as bitterly, too, here on the banks of Kokkai Stream where we mulled over that heart-wrenching news.
Three years is a long time to be alone, especially in the twilight of one's life. Imagine me going on Tinder trying to find a new wife. But what if I did? It wouldn’t be the same. Nothing compares to you my Cookie. Nothing.
These days the kids try to keep me chirpy. But I only see them on birthdays and holidays. Some Sundays they take me to brunch. When I get home it is just me alone. Between those special days are the long lonely times I pass reading books and doing a bit of gardening. At nights I flip through my Rolodex trying to call up a friend or two. For some, their numbers are reassigned. For others, there is just this perpetual ring or a recording informing me no one is home. I don’t know why I bother, they are all gone. Everyone. Everyone but me.
Terrence was the last to go two weeks ago. My telephone rang and it was Patricia, his daughter, telling me that he did not wake up that morning. Thanks for the call I told her. All-day that day I kept repeating to myself that I was the only one left.
The Kokkai Stream is indeed serene. Here equanimity reigns supreme. It is no wonder you loved it so. Oh Cookie, please don’t try to talk me out of it. Yes, I know that this will devastate the kids but I long to be with you. There is nothing here for me. Even scrappy my dog is dead, not long after you left mind you. So, if this is my state why any longer should I tarry in this place?
It took me days to pen these words. Writing and rewriting what exactly I want to say to the kids, to the grandkids, and to you who have gone on before. It took me even longer to decide when I wanted to meet you. It would have been fitting to join you on the anniversary of your death. But you departed in winter for me a most inauspicious time. Spring though Cookie, what better time to go but that time when the snow has melted and the dead whiteness has been swept away by the warmth of a new season. Now, life has been renewed and the decrepit must give way to the sprightly and young.
I will leave the note here. Maybe someone will find it, but who cares. Who cares even if the wind takes it away.
See you across the stream,
Will
William Scott Grant
Last seen: March 21, 2006
Place: Kokkai Dam
Description
Date of Birth Used: January 16, 1916
Place of Birth Masjid, New Hope
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5’ 11” (at time of disappearance)
Weight: 175 lbs (at time of disappearance)
Sex: Male
Race: Black
Reward
The Bureau is offering a reward of up to $33,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for William Grant’s disappearance.
Details
William Scott Grant has been missing from his home in Masjid, New Hope since Tuesday, March 21, 2006. A neighbor last saw him walking towards the Kokkai Park at about 5:00 PM. At about 7:00 PM he was seen sitting by the Kokkai Stream writing. He was reported missing by his eldest daughter at around noon the following day. Several days after the report was lodged, William’s clothes were discovered buried along the Kokkai Dam also in Masjid, New Hope. The police are investigating the matter.
If you have any information concerning the person please contact the Bureau at (809) 756-4311
Field Office: New Hope
