BONES

Only the big towns in Mexico got many visitors, but then again, Camalotillo wasn't a big town. So when a man dressed up for a New York snowstorm in the middle of summer comes walking in, a few eyebrows will be raised. The stranger was wearing a black coat, black pants, gloves, a scarf, a brown fedora, and sunglasses. He could of come straight out of an old western movie, if it was in Alaska. The visitor walked with a slight swagger to his gait, like he owned the town. He passed by a pottery stall on the side of the road, then stopped, and strolled towards it. The stall owner looked up from a jar he was painting and astonishment followed by suspicion crossed his face.

'Can I help you?' he said in choppy English. He was surprised when the stranger talked in Spanish.

'Estoy buscando a hombre nombrado Carlos Vasquez. 'Lo has visto?' I'm looking for a man named Carlos Vasquez. Have you seen him?

The stall keeper hesitated. Hadn't he he been warned about an American visiting?

'No s' de qui'n est's hablando' I do not know who you are talking about.

The concern must've shown on his face, because the stranger just stared at the stall keeper for a full minute. The children behind them laughed and played with their ball. A bird crowed in the distance. Fear shot through the Mexican's veins. The visitor took his left hand and pulled off the glove on his right hand. The stall keeper thought he was looking at a Halloween costume for a second, but then the stranger took off his sunglasses, too. The Mexican stared. Empty eye sockets looked back at him.

He was looking at a human skull.

''Esqueleto! 'Demonio!'

The stranger simply said, 'That's right.' Then in Spanish, 'Carlos Vasquez. 'D'nde est' 'l?' Carlos Vasquez. Where is he?

''l se fue hace aproximadamente dos d'as. 'l dijo que 'l iba el vacaciones a Panam'.' He left about two days ago. He said he was going on vacation to Panama.

The scarf the visitor was wearing slipped off his neck. The skull's jaw seemed to twist into what looked like a smile. 'Gracias.' He took his scarf, wrapped it around his neck, and put his gloves and sunglasses back on. The stranger walked down the road as if nothing had happened. A thought went through the stall keeper's head after the man had gone out of sight. He sat there for ten minutes, trying to comprehend what he'd seen. Then he went to go warn Carlos.