Music intruded, easing her awake.  Eyelids too heavy to open - she preferred it that way.  There was nothing to see in the darkness.
    For ten years, she had been alone. Days dark as her nights, nights as dark as the ground he lay in.
    Kids. They've turned their cars into traveling stereos.
    Music cut through the humid summer night.
    Hmm, not the usual. At least there's a few who play oldies.
    She hadn't been feeling well these past few weeks. Headaches, stomach upsets, arthritic movements slowed her, but not self-pity.  Nearly seventy years have passed since childhood. Father and Mother had raised her to be strong, self-sufficient, no room for wallowing. Cheated by time, there was no family. Friends moved away, new ones only wanted couples. Golden years of jubilation didn't welcome single hanger-ons.
    Her thumb touched her smooth, wedding band. Misshapen fingers had grown thin over the years. Adhesive tape wadded around the gold ring filled the vacant space.
    Too bad life doesn't have adhesive tape.
    Music lingered. Heavy eyelids lightened. Ahh. She recognized the song. It had played from his car radio in front of her house, while Mother peeked out the curtained, parlor window.
    Cherished emotions welled. For the past ten years, life had been a lonely, whirling blur of memories.
    Another song drifted - the melody from the record he'd given on her 16th birthday.  She remembered their first date, their first dance, how they had practiced the box-step in her living room. He had looked so handsome in his white dinner jacket.
    Roses. A wristlette of soft, red petals.
    Sweet fragrance drifted in with the music. She woke lightly. Familiar, shadowy silhouettes moved across the ceiling, along the walls. Her weary eyes stared towards the foot of her bed.
    Buddy? Is that you?
    The shimmer of his white dinner jacket grew solid in the darkness. His youthful image smiled. He held red roses.
    Have you come to dance with me?
    Slow music called from life's shadows. She drifted up. Her chiffon gown billowed to the floor.  Softly, rose petals entwined her wrist. Lovingly, he reached out, caressed her hand and embraced her tenderly.
    Her arm encircled his shoulder.
    Silent footsteps swayed to the music.
    Subtle, tapered fingers fanned as she glanced at her wedding band, adhesive tape gone. Together, they danced through twilight memories to the music of another dawn.

"We have touched one another before,
Do you remember,
We are skimming the spiral of time,
Do you know,
On edges of oceans, on pathways of lifetimes,
Over and over we'll share time to come."