Hannah stood looking out of the front room window watching the removal men load the last piece of  furniture

into the van. She turned and looked around the empty sitting room and sighed. Her mind wandered back to the

first time she and John stood in this very room and spoke of their dreams for the future. How quickly time had

passed since that first day of their life together as husband and wife.

John had put his arms around her and promised how he would make their home fit for a Queen and told her to

start thinking about the colours she would like the rooms painted.

She had later asked him to paint the kitchen first in lemon. While John was at work she got stuck in and made

her own yellow gingham curtains

Hannah stood back and admired the sunny kitchen with pride.“Right, we've finished loading, Mrs Clark”

The removal man's voice broke into Hannah's thoughts. “Yes, ok, thank you very much. I’ll see you later then”

she answered softly as she closed the door behind them.

Hannah walked through the sitting room into the kitchen noting the now light green walls.  John must have

decorated it a dozen times over the years.

Her mind drifted back to when she would bake cakes and listen with delight as John would sample the cakes and

say how delicious they were. She would scold him playfully and tell him to wait until after his dinner.

Later, when their two children, Jane and Paul came along she remembered how they would all sit around the

table at meal times and exchange their stories of the day. The children would pour out their problems and

worries from school and John would moan about his work. He was a supervisor in a machine tool factory and had

served his apprenticeship there. Hannah would sit quietly listening and then with all her wisdom, try to advise

and perhaps help in some way. Later, in bed, she would sometimes unload her worries to John and they would

whisper quietly and try to solve the problem between them.
 

Hannah bit her lip to stifle a sob trying to escape and she turned into the hall. She started to climb the stairs and

as she stood on the seventh step, the familiar creak sounded twice as loud as usual. John had kept promising to fix

it but had never seemed to get around to it. She smiled to herself remembering how she would nag him about it.

Now, he never would.

She walked into Jane's room and thought about the mess and noise she would make. The radio would blare out

and John would threaten to throw it out of the window. Jane was a difficult teenager and Hannah would often

have to keep the peace between them. After a telling off Jane would sulk for hours but then John would ruffle her

hair and all was well and for all that, the children loved and respected him. John was a man of strong moral

values and they had never had a knock on the door from the police with trouble from the children. They grew up

into fine adults and she and John were very proud of them.

Hannah walked into Paul's old room. He was very different to Jane. He would keep his room immaculate and his

collections of model cars and planes would be dusted and set in orderly fashion. His clothes were always put away

tidily, he did well at school and was a model son. He adored her and even when he met and married his wife ,

Hannah knew he would always keep a special place in his heart for her. Hannah also know that his wife was his

first priority and Hannah would not have wanted it any other way.

She dragged her feet into the bedroom she had shared with John for the last forty-one years. It looked so much

bigger now it was empty of furniture. Hannah walked over to the window and looked down into the garden. Her

mind went back to the years when Paul and Jane were small and all the summers seemed hot. John would fill the

plastic paddling pool with the water hose for them and then turn the hose on her laughing and she would scream

and run around the garden trying to escape. She would always get her own back though and he would pretend to

sulk. Hannah would tell him if he could not take it, do not give it. He would laugh and they would kiss, both wet

through.
 

Her mind drifted back to that fateful day when John had keeled over clutching his chest. Hannah had cradled

him in her arms while he slipped away from her.
 

The next few days were a blur. Paul took over and had made the arrangements for the funeral while Jane tried to

comfort her even though she was grieving herself.
 

Hannah felt so alone. This house had seemed so empty. Although she felt Johns presence often.
 

She had decided to move nearer to Paul and her two lovely grandchildren. He had found a lovely two-bedroom

bungalow for her. The second bedroom could be for the grandchildren when they stayed .

The only problem was that now she was beginning to think it was the wrong move. She had so many memories

here and felt like she was abandoning John, leaving his memory here, at the house.

Hannah thought about the first time John had wall papered their bedroom. Noticing a tear in the seam of the

wallpaper, she walked over to it and tore it away. Then, uncovering the writing on the wall, she tore and pulled

away the paper, almost in frenzy and making her finger nails sore.

Hannah stood perfectly still, staring at the writing on the wall. The tears fell freely from the eyes that had the

look of distress and despair. “Oh John, John” she sobbed over and over again.

On the wall, John had written her a message all those years ago. It wrote, ‘I will always be there for you darling

because I love you’

‘Of course’ she thought as the look of despair in her eyes turned to the look of hope, ‘John would always be there

with her, no matter where she was. He was in her heart, her soul and her memories. He was even in her children

and grandchildren.

She could almost hear him telling her to go and make a fresh start.

Hannah smiled for the first time in a long while and breathed in the fresh air as she closed the door behind her

for the last time.

She would not look back as she looked to the future with fresh heart.

                                                                    ©

     THE END

This is the Copyright of the owner of this web site (Fengshuijoy.com) Joy Murray and may not be copied or used

in any way.
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Right, well I have started a children's story page which of course I expect you to check it is suitable reading for your child
I will show it in a serial basis.

CHILDREN'S PAGE
ENTER
 
 
 

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