The blustery wind enveloped the old wrinkled woman as she lay shivering upon her husband's grave. She grasped her threadbare coat closer to her as she tried to stay warm by Frederick's cold, dark tombstone. She had made a promise, and she would keep it. Ever since Frederick had lay dying in her shaky arms twenty-two months ago, she had kept the promise that she would never leave his side. She had helped feed him his beloved chamomile tea, brought him ice chips in his feverish state, and stroked his brow during his last breaths. She had helped nurse him, bury him, and lay his tombstone...never leaving his side....twenty-two months ago. A cold tear rolled down her sunken cheeks. Frederick was a wonderful man. She was glad she had chosen the perfect spot for his burial, the spot he discovered after a long journey together. The very spot he always had wanted to make their home. She sighed. Wishing it all had worked out, she took a deep breath and remembered that now, now he was finally home. Beneath the now bare oak tree he always loved, at the bottom of the hill, stood her husband's headstone. Life was so short and death so common. Why had it been such a short frame of good memories in her lifetime? Her life was at the end it seemed. She looked at the tree, which had shielded her from many winds, long storms, and the cold for almost two years. She had never wanted to let go of his tombstone; she barely left his side. Since twenty-two months ago. Clutching the cold dark stone, she gasped a thanks to a kind hearted girl who, passing by, had just tossed her a small crust of bread. The poor woman, loyal to her dead husband, hadn't eaten in three days. The bread received would sustain her perhaps a few moments longer. Her grief and loneliness was becoming too much for her to bear as she put the hard piece of bread to her mouth. Suddenly her bones shook as she realized this was the exact food Frederic had eaten before his last breaths. She realized it would be the same for her. Sighing and squinting her aged eyes, she looked up at the cloudy winter sky knowing somehow she had to get to him. Her life was over. She knew she would never go back inside to her safe, warm hut. She closed her eyes, and finally surrendered everything she had. She clutched the ragged cloak closer to her arthritic body and lay down to die on the frozen concrete. Her heart was faintly beating, beating, and her thoughts were hoping, hoping it would stop. A few hours later she was finally home, with her Frederic and with her Lord.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
about the authorAs a 21 year old aspiring teacher, Karissa loves to write, travel, play piano, and read. Many creative things have her heart. archives
November 2021
latest video: |