Peace

On By granonineIn 100 word challenge, Friday Fictioneers
PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

Elsa wasn’t supposed to have survived the winter. She as old. She had congestive heart failure. Frail and fading, she had endured the long dark winter. Every morning, she was disappointed when she woke up alive.

Then spring came. The air softened. The days lengthened. She wanted to feel the sun on her old bones at least one more time before Death came to call.

Her son set up her favorite outdoor chair, setting it firmly in the late-snow-slushed ground.

They found her an hour later, upright, head resting on the back of her chair. At peace.

30 thoughts on “Peace”

  6. hi Linda, your story reminded me of a small piece I wrote some time ago.

    Orbiting the Moon.

    Mother stood gazing out of the window
    As I walked along the gravel garden path.
    She looked through me as if I was hollow.
    But I smiled and waved, I saw her laugh.

    We sat on the veranda having tea with scones.
    She asked where I had been all these years,
    Were you lost in space searching for stones?
    I can’t remember, she said and wiped her tears.

    I passed her the album, pictures of our family.
    My children as babies then going on to school.
    Who are these people? I can’t see them clearly,
    Ah yes, she said, your father; the stubborn fool.

    We walked to the park and sat by the lake.
    She told me she was proud of her beloved son,
    The first Scots astronaut who promised to take
    Her sightseeing past Mars and to orbit the moon.

    Is it time to go? she said and held my hand.
    I pulled up the blanket to fend off the chill.
    How long will it take and where shall we land?
    She rested on my shoulder and slipped away,
    So peacefully, silent.
    As the sun was sinking behind the hill.

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  9. Your writing in this story is lovely and fluent, while the story itself is carefully structured. It has emotional impact as well, for example, ‘Every morning, she was disappointed when she woke up alive.’
    Kudos!

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    1. Thanks. As I grow older, I’m learning that death doesn’t have to be a tragedy. After a certain point, it is a welcome relief. Of course, that’s a general statement that certainly doesn’t cover every situation.

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