[urgeok]

Once upon a time a small balding man named Bob was hurrying home from at the office on a cold crisp winter night. Bob was worried and frustrated because he had that very day promised his wife he'd be home on time to help her with the christmas shopping. He almost made it too - until his boss caught up with him on the way out the door and hauled him back in to work on a report. Due immediately - but nowhere near complete due to the usual poor planning of his superior.
After a difficult and demanding day the last thing he needed was to be harangued by Linda the second he crossed the threshhold but that was his inevitable lot if he didnt get the lead out.
Bob knew from past experience that the amout of abuse will be increased proportionally to the number of minutes he is late.

Speeding along and with his focus on avoiding a major night wasting blow-out, Bob didnt see the long stretch of slick worn ice at the top of the cement stairs leading down to the path that would provide him with a shorter way home. He was almost mid air - wile e. coyote style before he realized that he had left the earth. Feet shooting out first, flailing his arms, Bobs neck snapped loudly as the back of his head bore the brunt of his weight as it hit the bottom stair 18 feet below.

As a crowd of pedestrians gathered and the ambulance was called, back in Bob and Linda's modest bungalo, Linda was storming all over the house - cursing Bob and musing which one of Bob's Christmas present to return to the store. This of course changed to silence, then sobbing after the police came to her door with the news.

One year from the night of Bobs unfortunate accident a young man was found dead at the bottom of those same cement stairs with a broken back and head injuries. He was on the way to the corner store for cigarettes and had been gone only 10 minutes before a small boy dragging a snow sled (on the way to St Mary's hill to meet his buddies) found him.

Not much was thought of the incident until roughly a year after that it happened again, this time to June, a mother of three. Her topple down the stairs wasn't fatal but it left her with permanent brain damage.
At the scene of the accident one of the paramedics heard her mumbling something incoherently so he leaned in closely - at the same time telling her
"take it easy, dont talk or move" but she continued and he was sure he made out the words "a man, a man, pushed..."
The paramedic assumed it was damage induced randomness and immediately let it slip from his mind.


Eight Years Later

Sgt. Michael Dennison arrived home from his shift at 5:15 on the dot. After doffing his uncomfortable shoes he popped into the kitchen to sneak a pre-dinner snack and found a note on the fridge from his wife Maddie letting him know that she was going to grab some egg nog and a couple of other things for when the Briars (the next door neighbours) come over for a little 'christmas cheer'. As they've only been in the house (and the town) for six months, it was nice to have made such good friends with the Briars so quickly .. they were decent people and so far - fun to hang out with.

Right next to the note he found the hand written shopping list she no doubt meant to take with her. Figuring that it would be quicker to run the note to her than have her go back out again for the items she forgot - he wriggled back into the uncomfortable shoes and started out after her.

The closest grocery store was the IGA just 10 minutes away. Since her car was still in the drive he knew she was walking, where she went, and what path she would take to get there so he strolled along smiling to himself at the thought of catching her making the absent minded goof.
The smile slowly fell off his face when he rounded the corner and saw the group of people gathered at the foot of the stairs leading up to the main road.
A body was being picked up on a stretcher to be placed in the back of the ambulance that was parked on the road at the top of the stairs.

Even from a distance Michael knew it was a fatality as he could see the sheets were pulled up over the victims head. His shift was over but he was still in uniform so he decided he'd better hurry over and see if he could help.
The ambulance men were taking the body up the stairs carefully when the lead man slipped - then caught himself, the jostling of the body causing one arm to come loose from under the sheets.
In almost the same instant Michael saw the sleeve of his wife's powder pink winter coat, and right under his feet, the already frozen pool of eggnog where the body had been.

In the fog of the days that followed, one thing stood out in Michaels memory, something he grasped at and clung to like a drowning man with a small piece of wood.
He recalled the words of an ambulance driver at the scene. While getting ready to leave one of the paramedics remarked to another officer at the scene that "this is just like last year" to which the policeman replied "and the year before that"
During the weeks of his bereavement leave Michael thought about that short exchange a lot. So much so that he returned to work early 'to catch up and keep busy'
Within a couple of minutes he found what he was looking for : an article detailing the accidental slipping death of a teenager at the exact same location as his wife on Nov 23rd, a year ago to the day from Maddies's accident.
Fueled by this information and a slow creeping hunch, Michael continued to dig and was rewarded with key information almost immediately.
There were 10 other fatal accidents at the same location all on or around November 23rd. There was also one non-fatality that occured eight years prior but after a couple of phone calls this was found to be a dead end as the woman in question passed away in her sleep 2 years ago at her home.
"This is crazy" he thought. "Every year for 11 years"
Michael compiled his findings into a file and placed it in the top drawer of his desk, then began the slow lonely process of rebuilding his life.

It was November 24th 7:30PM, almost one year later when the call Michael was waiting for was picked up by the station dispatcher.
Someone slipped down a high flight of stairs - sounds like a fatality.
Michael picked up the call and headed to the spot. He didnt need to hear the address, he knew.
Everything was as he expected it to be. The Crowd, the ambulance, almost an exact replay of the year before when he lost Maddie.
Only this time the body was still at the foot of the stairs surrounded by medical personelle. Michael went to the body. The paramedics were finished going through the motions - there was no way in heaven or earth this man could still be alive. He had landed heavily on the side of his head, his body weight forcing his neck to snap and turn completely around.
His body was on its front, legs akimbo, but his face, still wearing a look of astonishment, was facing the stars. Dead on impact.
Michael scanned the faces in the crowd, trying to remember if any of them were present a year ago, but he couldn't even remember how he got home that night. He ran up the stairs and looked up and down the street but saw nothing - he didnt even know what he was looking for.
He went back down the stairs and mingled with the officers, mostly listening - not saying much.
When at last the ambulance had left, the crowd dispersed, and the other officers had departed in their squad cars, Michael went back up ther steps.
He scoured the immediate area with a flashlight on his hands and knees. Looking for something, anything. A trip wire, foot prints, anything that might explain the impossible.
Finding nothing, knees freezing, Michael stood up and turned off the flashlight. As he did he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up from a chill that shouldnt have penatrated the collar of the heavy police issue winter coat. He turned and thought - for a split second - he saw..... something. The undefined outline of a man, with the lack of clarity one would have when just waking up after a long sleep. At the same time he felt a hard push on his chest causing his legs go out from under him.
The last thing his brain registered before being crushed on the cold hard pavement below was a quiet voice:
"Have a nice trip, see you next fall !"