It was evening, though you would not have guessed.
The sun shone fiercely from a copper coloured sky. On a patio
chair she sat with her hair damp with perspiration and curling
against her scalp. She was dressed in crumpled cotton and looked
as if she had been gardening. On the table in front of her was
a pair of gloves and a garden trowel. One hand held a glass with
an amber liquid and partially melted ice cubes. She seemed to
be gazing into the distance with an unwavering glance. So still
and intense was her countenance that she seemed to be a sculpture
cast in some exotic material. It was not until your eyes began
to examine the other hand and saw the red stains that you suddenly
became aware that something was amiss and began to search out
other clues.
She stood up, too quickly and nearly lost her
balance. Her gaze dropped to the tabletop. The eyes widened as
if in surprise to see the gloves and trowel there. Turning, and
with her glass still in her hand she began to walk down the cobble
stone path. She reached the end of the walk and continued on
through the grass. At one of the beds there was a sack and shovel.
Draining the glass of it's liquid she threw it into the shrubbery
and began to dig. She dug purposefully and without regard as
to the heat or the physical strain she subjected herself to.
When she had finished, there was a pit about
four feet by three feet dug into the loamy soil. She then rolled
the long round sack and its contents into the pit. Her expression
did not change through out the time consuming process of digging
the pit or the burying of the sack. She began to put bedding
plants into the freshly dug soil. When she had finished she sat
back on her heels and tears began to course down her cheeks.
Silent sobs wracked her as she slowly stood. It was going to
be hard explaining to the children and to her husbands boss that
he had run off with another woman. But, being a strong individual
she would survive and surmount her difficulties. Wiping at a
tear and leaving a muddy track she collected the garden implements,
retrieved the glass and proceeded up the path to the gardening
shed.
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