Faded

Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt

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Mia sat at her dressing table, staring into the mirror. She spent some time on each feature, remembering when it had all been so different. Her hair, once a rich, deep brown, was faded and streaked with grey. She had chosen not to color it. She knew she’d never keep up with the touch-ups, so it was better just to let nature take its course. She had noticed long ago that her once-abundant mane was thinning, but it wasn’t too bad yet. She kept it long so she could put it up, braid it, leave it down, as her mood dictated.

Image result for older woman looking into mirror, seeing her younger self

Her eyebrows were patchy. They had once been thick and heavy, and she had plucked and tweezed them into shape. They, too, had grey in them.

Her skin no longer held the shine, the glow, the dewy look of youth. She had always tried to take good care of her skin, but time and age were relentless. She particularly disliked the puckery lines around her mouth. She’d never been a smoker, but there they were anyway. The natural color of her lips had faded, too, as well as the blush on her cheekbones.

Another thing she regretted was the saggy skin of her neck. She thought of turkey wattles. Age surely was an anti-vanity thing. She had never been a raving beauty, but she had at least enjoyed some natural color in her face.

“Well,” she thought, “It is what it is.” And she took a little time to moisturize, to fill in the patchy eyebrows with a dark pencil, to brush her cheeks with blush, to add a little color to her lips. She had learned, with makeup, that less is better as a woman ages. She didn’t use liquid foundation any more. Just a light dusting of facial powder to even things out.

Finished, she put her things away. It was only when she stood up and turned toward the closet that she realized her husband had been watching her. She smiled, enjoying his simple presence in the room, and the look of admiration in his eyes.

“You know, Mia, you’ll always be beautiful to me. And your eyes will never change. Those gorgeous violet eyes that first drew me to you still have the same effect. You make my heart speed up, you know?”

Mia laughed. “Guess I’d better be careful how often I look at you, then. We don’t want your heart to be overworked these days!”

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