Challenge #21: Weekly Drabble
She reached across the empty space between the bed and the nightstand without opening her eyes to turn off the alarm. The time, just like the location of the clock, hadn’t changed in at least a decade. Sitting up and stretching, she quickly glanced at the empty space on the other side of the bed before softly padding out of the room.
Her days, just like this one, were filled with obligations. She cleaned the house. She paid the bills. She picked up prescriptions from the pharmacy. She retrieved dresses from the dry cleaners. She went to her weekly hairdresser’s appointment. She telephoned her daughter, who’d moved across the country with her husband and children. Finally, she washed the dishes, curled into bed, wrote a few quick lines in her journal, took her nightly pills, and fell fast asleep.
The next morning, her alarm sounded, but her arm didn’t reach out to turn it off. After an hour or so, an angry neighbor began pounding on her door. When she didn’t answer, he let himself in as they’d swapped keys in case of emergencies.
He found her in her bed, just as she’d fallen asleep. Her body was kept warm by the blankets, but her face was frighteningly cold. Her journal, which lay open on the nightstand next to an empty pill bottle, bore a note that read:
I’m sorry to have left you so suddenly, but my Alfred died many years ago and it was time for me to move on, too.
Don’t worry-I’ve made all the arrangements. The dress is cleaned and ironed. My hair is freshly permed. The house is clean and ready for the reception.
I love you.
Ellen
Her days, just like this one, were filled with obligations. She cleaned the house. She paid the bills. She picked up prescriptions from the pharmacy. She retrieved dresses from the dry cleaners. She went to her weekly hairdresser’s appointment. She telephoned her daughter, who’d moved across the country with her husband and children. Finally, she washed the dishes, curled into bed, wrote a few quick lines in her journal, took her nightly pills, and fell fast asleep.
The next morning, her alarm sounded, but her arm didn’t reach out to turn it off. After an hour or so, an angry neighbor began pounding on her door. When she didn’t answer, he let himself in as they’d swapped keys in case of emergencies.
He found her in her bed, just as she’d fallen asleep. Her body was kept warm by the blankets, but her face was frighteningly cold. Her journal, which lay open on the nightstand next to an empty pill bottle, bore a note that read:
I’m sorry to have left you so suddenly, but my Alfred died many years ago and it was time for me to move on, too.
Don’t worry-I’ve made all the arrangements. The dress is cleaned and ironed. My hair is freshly permed. The house is clean and ready for the reception.
I love you.
Ellen