As Jacob stepped inside, he couldn't believe his eyes. It was not the fact that he was suddenly seeing a long lost acquaintence, though that was indeed occurring. It was not a matter of speechlessness, for Jacob was not the type to be speechless. No, rather, his surprise was due to the utter shock that standing before him was a woman he believed to have been dead for thirteen years. How could this be? Questions without end filled his head. First and foremost, how do you open a conversation  with a ghost? Of course, she isnot truly a spectre of any sort. She is just a woman. Well, not just any woman. She was the person who had first introduced him to his most intense passion. Cheese cartography. From 1985 until 1992, Jacob and Teresa, for Teresa was her name, had engraved large wheels of cheese with detailed maps of the most famous world cities. Moscow. Paris. San Francisco. You name it, it was carved into cheese. Jacob took himself to the restroom to collect his thoughts. One must not screw the pooch in such unforeseen and surprising reunion. He entered a stall, sat down, closed and locked the door. Alone, he took the time he needed to pull himself together. Fifteen  minutes later, Jacob exited and returned to where he had stood before. He looked around, the room was filled with people. Alas, Teresa had gone. She was nowhere to be seen. Thusly, the dreams of continuing and even improving those heady days of cheese cartography and love flew from his head and heart, just as Teresa had flown from the bar. She had never even noticed him. You could say, however, she never really noticed him.-Michael Chiaravalloti, June, 2015