Till Death Do Us Part

Her ignorance in desiring a life of lustre and romance, like in a black and white movie, had long been beaten into submission by colour, of all things. She had once dared to expect from Father Time only happiness and love. Oblivious to his cruel disposition, she had never pictured herself donned in the green, blue and red hues of envy, sorrow and anger that tainted her now.

She hurried to her perch at the window, clutching a cup of watery tea with shaking hands, the now cold liquid reduced to a quarter of the cup as she spilled some with each laborious step. Her aching limbs slowed her, making her a match for the dark clouds that gathered sluggishly as the sun inched westward. There they were, scampering about with flushed cheeks, piercing the chilled air with their recurrent screeches of delight; the bright treasures of the neighbourhood, the beacons of laughter and joy.

She used to love the rain. She used to love jumping into puddles, shoes be damned. She used to love a lot of things that she simply couldn’t anymore, so every evening, she watched the children love them for her. She missed the days of childhood as an orphan would its mother, so watching the little ones brought comfort laced with pain. In a shroud of naïveté, they could not see what she could- Reality, lurking in the shadows, awaiting its chance to rip the childlike optimism from their unsuspecting hands. She thought back to the first time it reared its head and bared its teeth at her. It was a horrid moment, being stripped of youthful innocence so quickly and without warning. Yet, she knew that if reliving that moment was the price for returning to blinding white light, she would pay it.

She stared through the glass, feeling that perverse shred of resentment she harboured grow just a little, blaming the blameless for having something to lose and not knowing it. Whilst she did so, Father Time smirked gleefully, painting another wrinkle on her face, shaking his head for it seemed as though it was only he who knew of her hypocrisy. She would always have something to lose- until death did them part.