Summary: A story about an old woman reminiscing about her family and her life. I wrote this after my great grandma died about a month ago. This is in her memory, and it's what I imagined her passing to be like.
Ave Maria
The sun shone on an old, white washed house that looked out into the street. The window panned door stood open to let in the crisp, sea scented air. A beaded curtain hung from the top of the door, and in the cool shadows sat an old woman, alone, sewing in her kitchen.
The old woman's wrinkled face sagged so that it took a likeness to a bull faced dog. Her back bowed and curved as she hunched over her work. Her crooked, callused fingers moved over the cloth as if caressing the head of a child, or a loved one. Her heavy, disfigured feet lay bare and cool on the yellow tinted linoleum. They were useless to her now from decades of walking anywhere that she needed to be. She had never owned a car, had never needed one, and in a town like hers, it was either walk, or stay in traffic for an hour just to travel a couple of blocks. Her legs had started to weaken on her years ago as well, from much of the same treatment. Nothing screamed to her louder of her old age more than the body that she was forced to live with everyday.
She listened half heartedly as she heard her eldest daughter, Francis, now in her sixties, chastise her husband. Francis, her husband, and their two sons lived in the adjoining house right next door. They watched over her and took care of her like she was a child, or an infant. She might as well have been, as it was getting harder to control her bodily functions, and that even the daily task of walking from her bed to her chair, and vice versa from her chair to her bed, was getting to be too hard. She was grateful and happy that she had her family with her at all times, and when they came home, she could hear how their days went, how her second set of grandchildren had gone to the beach, or to work, or on a date, or to rehearse with their band. She basked in the excitement and glory of their youth, and had often told them to live it to the fullest, as she was only too well aware of how time passed quickly.
Her youngest daughter, Lydia, also visited often, with her own grandchildren in tow. She smiled at the thought and vision of their cheeky, smiling faces. Oh, how she loved them so, and how she laughed when they told her stories about their friends, their hobbies, and their thoughts. The youngest of the pair, James, had just had a birthday as well, and had invited his whole class of twenty-six kids to enjoy the special day with him. She gave a small chuckle as she recalled Lydia telling her about the whole affair, and how she had to handle all of those kids by herself.
However, with this thought, the smile on her face went as just as quickly as it came as the memory of another person entered her mind. Another grandchild, her sweet Mary, and how she had left the world and her children in the saddest way. It had been a couple of years already, but her old and worn mind still recalled the tears and the grief of that particular passing. It had been cancer, that's what had taken Mary away from them. It was a shock when the news came, and at first she denied it, they all did. It couldn't be, she had thought to herself over and over again. No, not Mary, not with her thirst for life, not with her good humor, not with her kids that she loved so much. But it was true, and as the months passed, no one could ignore how true it really was. At first it was just one tumor, and in a couple of month's time, they were all over her body. She was in constant pain, and had to be put on so many drugs that in the end, she wasn't even Mary anymore. Than a choice had to be made, and she witnessed her own daughter struggle with it, but in the end, she knew what had to be done. The plug had to be pulled, and that's exactly what happened. What she hated the most about the whole thing was that she couldn't get up from this damn chair to console Lydia in her time of need. She couldn't do anything with this broken, breathing corpse. All she could do was cry, cry for Mary and her family. She could do no more.
She shook her head tiredly, dispelling her sad thoughts and returned to her sewing. Her hands worked deftly, guiding the needle and thread so that the thread was woven into intricate patterns all along the edge of the cloth. This was going to be for her second eldest, Anna, who was overseas in Canada. Tonia had two sons, Jack and Nicholas, and while Nicholas was still a bachelor, Jack had a wonderful family with a wife and two girls. The youngest daughter of Jack's was Amy, the oldest was Delilah. Amy had just recently been with them during the summer vacation, and the old woman marveled over how much she had grown in the last few years. She must have been at least five foot eight now, and just at the young age of 12 too. Oh, but she always brought a smile and a laugh to her face with her attitude and zest for everything. It was just a shame that she didn't get to see them more often, what with her living in Portugal, and a part of her family living in Canada.
Jack's other daughter was the exact opposite of her sister though. Quiet and soft spoken, she would always hang in the back round as if she was afraid to join in the laughter and the conversation. The old woman sighed. It was to be expected though, as Delilah didn't know a lot of Portuguese, but it was all right. She saw a quiet strength in her, and an obvious hunger for knowledge, as she would always be seen with a book in her hands. Oh but she was a strange one, but she was her great granddaughter, and she still loved her like her own children.
As she moved her arm to the side to fetch a different needle, she winced as her side spiked with pain. She dropped her arm and looked out the door to see if anyone was there. This pain had been with her for a few days now, and she thought that it was time to look into it. She called out to her daughter, "Francis! Come here please. I'm not feeling well."
A few seconds passed, and Francis appeared at the door. She brushed the curtain of beads aside and poked her head into the room.
"What was that mom?"
"I'm not feeling well, and my side aches. I don't know what it is."
"All right. Let me get Dino and we'll go to the hospital to check it out." She said, and the quickly disappeared to find her husband.
The old woman put down her sewing and carefully folded it up, and placed it in the basket beside her chair. It would have to wait until later for her to finish it.
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The old woman and her family were admitted into the hospital after about a one hour of waiting. The doctor told them that the woman would have to over go some tests to see what was wrong, and with some help from her daughter, she got into the gown, was at on top of the gurney, and was set to go.
The old woman looked up into the worried eyes of her dear Francis, than reached out for her hand, grasped it and said, "I'll be alright. Don't worry." She slowly let go of her daughter's hand as she was carted away by the nurses, a smile on her wrinkled face for her daughter and her family.
A few hours later, she was carted back into her room, and her family was also allowed inside. They talked until the doctor came in with the prognoses and told them that she had had a slight kidney failure, but she was stabilized, and she should be OK. Her daughter and her husband smiled at her and breathed sighs of relief. They got up, and reluctantly said goodbye to the old woman, as she had to stay overnight for observation. Her grandchild, Francis' eldest son William, stayed behind though. They talked for a bit, than William went to turn on the small TV that was in small room. She was so tired from the tests and excitement of the day, so she absently told William that she was going to sleep for a bit. William nodded and told her to rest. He brought the blanket to cover her body, and tucked in the sides for her. She whispered a small thank you, and gave a fleeting smile as she drifted off to sleep.
She slept so deeply and so fitfully that she didn't notice as her heart stopped, or that her mind shut down, and she didn't take notice to the fact that she wasn't breathing anymore. She drifted off into peaceful silence, unaware that William had now noticed that her chest wasn't moving anymore, and had now called for the nurses and the doctors. She didn't notice him break down into tears as she was pronounced dead, and she didn't notice the blanket being pulled over her still, peaceful face.
The next thing that she did notice however, was a soft, brilliant light that seemed to engulf her whole being. She felt renewed and vibrant with energy, something that she hadn't felt in a long time. She seemed to float on air in this wonderful dream she was having, and wished that it would never end, ad than a little part of her whispered in the back of her mind, that it never would end, and that she could stay like this forever. She sighed and relaxed as this feeling of utter contentment and joy filled her to the brim. But than her mind suddenly flashed with thoughts of her family, their faces moving in and out of her vision. She wondered if they would also join her in this dream, and the little voice came back again, soothing, telling her, yes Maria, they would join her, she just had to wait. And with a sigh, she put her head back, closed her eyes, and let everything that was her just float away.