A Short Walk

Uneven

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

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Helen was very careful these days. She used her cane faithfully. She watched where she placed  her feet when she walked outdoors. She was in excellent shape for a woman her age, really, but she sensed that her body was giving out on her.

The family had just celebrated her 90th birthday, and what an occasion that had been! So many of the people she’d known for most of her life had already died, but still there were family members and a few friends that were still standing.

They all looked so old, though! Her own children were grandparents and great-grandparents. How she missed her Thomas when the family gathered. She was doted on and fussed over, but without Thomas there she felt like a leftover most of the time. Almost 60 years of marriage had truly made them one flesh. When his heart had stopped, she felt that a part of her own had died with him.

Well. No sense in allowing her mind to go in that direction. It would only lead to misery.

Her children didn’t like it at all that she still took a daily walk. They wanted her to wait for someone to go with her, but by the time one of them could arrive, she was tired and not up to it. They didn’t seem to understand that age took its toll on one’s energy.

So she walked.  She wore comfortable, soft-soled shoes that supported her ankles. She always let someone know when she was leaving, and what direction she intended to take. Her goal today was a favorite shop that sold the most lovely yarns. She was thinking of knitting a blanket for the newest great-grandchild. Something soft and cuddly.

She needed to cross a street to reach her destination, so she knew she had to be extra cautious. She should probably wait for some kind soul who enjoyed helping little old ladies across the street, but doing that irritated her independent spirit.

She reached the corner. The light was green. She looked both ways, then carefully put one foot down off the curb. A loud car horn blared, it seemed, right in her ear. She didn’t see the uneven curbing that had crumbled with age. Startled by the blare of the car horn, she glanced up, and her other foot caught in the crumbling surface of the curb. It seemed to her that she went down as slowly as dandelion fluff.

She knew the car was going to hit her. She knew she was going to crack her head on the pavement. She knew she was going to see Thomas in just a heartbeat.

It was all right.  Everything was going to be all right.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/uneven/

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