Tuesday's Gift
She arrived on Tuesday with the gift. It wasn't big, or heavy, and remained wrapped in its plain brown paper where I placed it on the table while I fussed around in the kitchen getting tea and biscuits.
I'd been expecting her for a while. She'd changed a little since my wife had died, but not much. The air of calm detachment still cloaked her, but her smile still touched my heart, and it was good to see her again.
She made polite conversation for a while, took her tea dark and strong, and her penchant for Jaffa cakes remained. But she still had work to do, and with my nervous babble temporarily halted by a mouthful of tea, she took the opportunity to slide the gift across the table towards me.
Unwrapped, the gift sat on my palm. If a dream could be content, well it seemed to be. To me it appeared as a small cloud: lit from the inside, it pulsed with light, a steady beat like a pulse suffused the room with a gentle glow. A warmth spread through me and my smile was answered in kind by my visitor.
My wife's dream had appeared different, but she'd described hers as I now saw mine. Every dream was different as she'd explained last time I'd seen her, but this dream was mine, and it was just her and me this time.
The dream knew what to do. It lifted from my palm and kissed the skin of my lips as it drifted upwards. As it touched the ceiling the glow spread and lit the walls of the room from inside. As I watched the furniture faded and we were left in the memories of my past as they played in technicolour mindscape.
At the end, as I stood with the memories of the past crowding the room, she smiled at me again and held out her hand. The face of death was serene as she slashed a hand through the fabric of space and time. It was time to go.
The dream was over but perhaps there would be another and we would meet again somewhen.
The last lingering tastes, smells and memories of the dream ended with a final step into the void beyond the stars.
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Written for #wattpadwednesday
Originally posted in Read my Shorts, but I thought I'd post it here too as an example. The couple of other pieces I've already posted will stay in my Shorts =]