This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on November 10, 2020). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.
The elderly woman was always at the same spot at the corner, sitting on a bench and watching people go by, and she always had a smile for him. She was so familiar that it was decades before he started to wonder that she hadn’t died—or even aged as far as he could tell.