May you live all the days of your life

She sat trembling, waiting for the impending boom of thunder. The colossal crash was a reminder of her tragic loss. She looked out the window and watched as the rain drops trickled down the glass. Her life flashed before her with each jolt of lightning reminding her that she was to weather the storm alone.

She had a wonderful life, a life full of love and affection. Her husband would have done anything for her. He was completely devoted to her. 

Through illness she lost her sense of identity. Her personality changed. Her mind was fading fast and she was hardly able to string a sentence together. She aged prematurely. Even though she was only seventy years old she looked like she was at least ninety, her skin loose and pale and like leather. Her husband was also in his seventies, but had a fresh face.

Every morning the nurse woke her for breakfast at half eight. She jumped out of the bed, and whizzed toward the dining room with the aid of her shiny aluminium Zimmer frame. It had two wheels on the front and two rubber ferrules on the back to enhance the grip, and avoid the frame slipping on the yellow linoleum floor.

After breakfast she got her tablets, her blood pressure checked, and had a wash ready for the day ahead. She then had to pick out something to wear, in anticipation for himself to arrive. Every day he came into visit her at 2 pm, and every day her face lit up like a Christmas tree.

He escorted her in a wheelchair to the coffee shop where she had a cup of tea and a cream cake. He stayed all afternoon with her, and walked her to the dining room, sat her down, and poured her a glass of milk. He then got her 2 poached eggs and some brown toast before leaving for the night.

Her doctor and son came into her room the next day to tell her that her beloved had sadly passed. The impact was like a defibrillator to the heart.

Her son began to come in everyday at 2 pm in his father’s stead, but it wasn’t the same. She missed the love of her life and yearned to be with him again.

As she looked across the room from her chair in front of the window, another clap of thunder filled the air. She saw the framed photograph of her wedding day on her bedside locker. Her husband looked dapper and she radiant. She closed her eyes as the flash of lightning illuminated the room. She saw herself there, her husband by her side just after the I do’s. A tear ran down her cheek, her breathing ceased, and she was reunited with her soulmate once more.