Sorry, just another fictional. part 1
The sole occupant of the room sat quietly in her bed, her frail body tucked under the white sheets by professional hands. Her withered hands were clasped contentedly in her lap and she stared at the daisy with a small smile on her wrinkled face and a dull look in her eyes.
Though her heart continued to beat, there was no life left in those eyes.
It was getting on into winter now. The first snowfall had dusted the ground outside months ago and since then a large number of storms had whitewashed the scenery beyond the window. It had been a messy few months. Perhaps that was what kept everyone away. Surely the weather was just simply too rough and unpleasant to go out much.
The aging woman tried to console herself with these thoughts, but it was ineffective. She knew what went on in their lives; they all left the house each day to drive the children to school, and buy groceries, and tend to other matters in their busy lives. Apparently, their lives were where she no longer fit in.
Again her thoughts drifted to the white flower. There were gaps where several of the wrinkled petals had fallen over the past few months. Even as she thought this, another drifted down to land lightly on the surface of the water.
The woman sighed quietly, the weak sound seeming loud in the thick silence that had settled over the room. That flower had originally sparked joy in her heart, but as time passed and took its toll on the delicate plant, it became a symbol of loneliness, and of no more than a dwindling hope.
***
“Grandma! How are you?”
Golden light filtered in through the window as a smiling girl in her early twenties with her long blonde hair tied up behind her head stepped into the room carrying a handful of daisies.
The small woman looked up at her oldest granddaughter in surprise and deep creases formed at the corners of her dark eyes as she smiled widely.
“Amber! What are you doing here?” She sat up further, placing the book she’d been reading on the nightstand beside her as Amber settled on the edge of the bed.
“I came to visit you before I go, of course!” The excited grin that crossed the young girl’s features, as she thought of crossing the country to attend university, was tinged with only a hint of sadness. “My plane leaves at three. Sorry I can’t stay long.”
The woman smiled genuinely, giving her granddaughter’s hand a small pat. “That’s quite alright dear, I’m just glad you came at all.”
Suddenly, Amber’s eyes widened. “Oh! I almost forgot!” She held up the bouquet. “I picked these on the way here. I know how much you love daisies, and I figured this room could use some brightening up anyway.”
She crossed the room and placed the flowers in a drinking glass, which she then filled with water from the pitcher beside it.
“There.” She said, placing them on the windowsill where they’d receive lots of sun. “They look lovely…”
***
Since then, the number of daisies had slowly dwindled ‘til now only one remained.
It had been a number of months since she’d last seen Amber, and nearly two weeks since they’d spoken over the phone. The cost of long distance calling made it difficult to keep in touch with her granddaughter, and none of her other family members had stopped by at all.
A nurse walked into the room, extinguishing the faint spark of hope that had blossomed in the woman’s chest at the sound of the door opening.
Hoping was getting tiring. This was her home now, and she knew solitude and loneliness would be her only companions.
You could say, there were two flowers in that room; and both of them were resigned to wilting away.
Well, there it is. This is perhaps my personal favorite out of the three writing pieces I've done for this project. I'm not sure if what I was trying to convey came across as clearly as I would have liked because I had to cut quite a bit to get it to fit under the 750 word maximum...
(There are -EXACTLY- 750 words.... Phew!)
Anyway It is supposed to be about how many elderly people are placed in old-folk homes by their families and then neglected, which I think is a very sad issue... I hope you enjoyed it!
Commentssssss~! =D
- Kaye/Albino_Coconut23