Many people went to the rock. They went to find love.

So many that the military and the police placed barriers many kilometers away to prevent crowding. It was their job to decide in some unwritten fashion who should proceed and who should be turned back. It was considered easy duty to stand guard at these points as most people coming to the rock were looking for love. They were least likely to look for violence or hatred and were easily but sadly turned away.

There were no rules to determine who passed and who did not. It was a decision based on the thoughts of the guards after a night of lovemaking or arguing. Neither were good ways to determine who was to continue.

She wanted love. She craved love. She needed love. She thought love was at the rock.

It was an oddity that few people experienced but many had heard about. If a man or woman placed her or his hand on the rock and looked into the eyes of another, love was immediate and lasting. Often, a mystical feeling swept the person being watched and they would turn to the person staring at them. It was almost feral, like the desire to eat or survive.

Of course she had once had love. More suns ago than she dared to count.

But now that she was alone, she thought often of her youth. Those warm summer days when she would sit on the grass with him. They would exchange glances that carried much more meaning than their words. The cold winter nights when they would give each other warmth ... and love.

She remembered with great fondness how they always thought of each other as most important. No matter if the local officials of government or church made rules, each knew that for them to survive, they must care for each other first. The occasional arguments they had were because of their selfless devotion to each other or the occasional need to add unhappiness so that they could recreate their bliss after.

He had a habit of occasionally returning home at night with presents for no reason and yet he often forgot the important holidays. Her birthday sometimes passed without notice and then a few days later he would return with some gift and tears for not remembering such an important date. And yet he never forgot the day they met. When their eyes met that day, there was a mutual feeling that this was the person they wanted to be with forever. Each year he added a flower to her bouquet and tried to find a new way to express his boundless love for her.

But he had joined the spirits.

He did not leave as most hope. There was no chance to make everything right first. To cross the 't's and dot the 'i's that lawyers seem so intent on enforcing. No time to be sure his 'affairs' were in order. And worst, no time to say goodbye to those he loved most. No time to say goodbye to her.

It was totally unimportant to her that his departure did not mean headlines about a great soul lost by accident. It was the greatest tragedy to her.

As was customary after the traditional mourning period, suitors started to visit her children and talk of how they could ease her pain and help her with the daily chores of life. Often her children would visit at night asking if she would be interested in this shopowner or that businessman. Each night she refused and told them of her plans to visit the rock. Suitors and husbands were meaningless without love.

And so each day she would rise with the sun. She would clean what needed to be cleaned and tend what needed to be tended. She did what was expected with little joy. She did what was expected with speed so that she could walk the miles from her home to try and reach the rock.

At first, it seemed an easy task. She felt she was young and her steps were quick and long. But as she grew older, more people walked past her on her way. Some looked a little sad to pass her on the way to the rock. They knew she was like them. She wanted love as much as they did. But their youthful bodies meant that they were better able to climb the hills and obstacles that Mother Earth placed in their way. A few stopped to offer apologies but continued on their way.

Sadly, most seemed happy that one more was left behind them, hoping it meant their chance of reaching the rock and finding love was greater because they were so young and fit. They showed no love to age or wisdom but thought only of themselves.

At first, she would arrive at the checkpoint with hope in her heart but each day the guards would stare into her eyes and lower their heads. It was an unspoken message that she would not be allowed to pass.

As her age increased and her pace slowed, there came a time when she was not even allowed to pass the military as the daily quota had already beeen reached. In all cases, it was a sad and long walk home.

Sometimes a person would offer her an arm or shoulder to ease her long walk but even that was too little for her heart to be consoled.

Even when she was ill or Father Sky sent snow and hail she would make her journey. It did not slow her pace to look for love. To try and find HIM.

Often, her children would rise early to beg her to stay at home and not take the time or energy to walk so far. None of this mattered. She wanted love.

And then one day the sun rose over the icy fields near her home, she knew that today was the day. Today was the day she would find love again. She asked the spirits that it would be as pure and warm as the love she felt with him but perhaps that was too much to ask. Perhaps she would find him.

Even with her old bones and body, she finished her daily routine with more speed than she had shown in her youth. It was a wonderful yet sad feeling. To know that today she would again find love but that he was gone. To again experience those emotions that only lovers understand and properly refuse to explain.

Finally, the tasks were done and she put on enough clothes to fight the cold air and vicious winds. She opened the door and stepped outside only to see the largest rock she had ever seen. Her eyes were old so she was not sure but it seemed that the lines in the rock showed his silhouette.

---

Hiro was sad to know his mother had joined the spirits. Of course everyone knows that this is how we must all end. Yet he chuckled a little at what mother had once said: "We all come into this world naked and that is how we leave". It seemed to him that cruel life had stripped her of most things. Money, dignity, happiness and security. But as he prepared her for her life in the spirit world, he could not help but remember her love for father. Perhaps this was what explained the pleasant look on her face. It was the same look he remembered from his wife, Yuriko the first time they stared into each others eyes and knew they were to be together forever. It was the look of someone who had found love; someone who had reached the rock.