It happens by accident. Marian is sitting up in bed as is usual on a Tuesday afternoon – and every afternoon, for that matter – when a ticklish breeze invades the bedroom. Well, it’s really the lounge but since the stroke, Marian can’t manage the stairs, or much else, and so this space is her everything – sleeping quarters, dining room, library, cinema. Cage.
The breeze persists. Come to think of it, Marian could swear the hum of traffic is louder than normal. Surely, Yvonne didn’t forget to close a window before she left. Marian had dawdled over her lunch, and Yvonne had then needed to rush to her next ‘lovely’ as she calls the elderly persons under her care. But still.
Energised by panic, Marian levers her ailing body…
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The Simple Things (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2025