She rocks back and forth monotonously,
untangling the web in her hands. She
glances out from the porch and sees a small girl skitter across, blond braids
gliding behind her. The girl rushes
towards a tire swing and slides through in one graceful motion. A man and woman stand at either side of her,
smiling at each other as they push the swing.
He tips his fedora and kisses her on the cheek only to then pick up the
girl and spin her around, their ring of laughter echoes in the wind.
On the porch steps, not ten feet away, a woman
brushes her daughter’s hair. Her face is
serene and kisses the girl softly before she runs off to play, leaving a small
lipstick stain on her temple. The woman
smoothed her golden hair down, attempting to hide her sadness that is evident
in her eyes. A car pulls up to the gate
and she glances up curiously. He is
dressed in a crisp uniform, stepping out of the car, his brown suit pressed and
his cap perfectly positioned. She rushes
to him at once, embracing him so forcefully that he stumbles backward. He strokes her hair as she cries on his
shoulder and he kisses her on the nose.
As she sits on her porch swing, her
aged hands move skillfully with the needles to weave a child’s sweater. She sighs heavily, a lifetime of worries imbedded
in her face. Her hair has turned grey,
silver strands shimmering when the sun hits it.
When a creaky car pulls into the driveway, she stands slowly, holding
herself steady on the rail. A young
woman in a nurse’s uniform wraps around to the passenger side to help someone
out of the car. The process is slow,
painstakingly slow but soon he emerges.
He no longer wears a hospital gown that outlined his frail bones. He has a glow in his cheeks and extra pounds
under his suspenders. His cane causes
him to shuffle gently but that doesn’t matter.
She descends the aged steps and hugs him longingly, weeping with
happiness.
