She lay there slumped slightly to one side, propped up by the chipped oak headboard passed down through the generations. Her glassy eyes staring out, glistening with unshed tears in the solitary beam of light. The ray filtered through the particles of dust and she wondered how long it would be before she joined the dust.
Would it be before the light crept round to the glass ornaments on the dresser and fill the room with rainbows? She had heard a story once about a girl who lived in a room filled with rainbows and light - not burning bright, but soft glow - and how when she was confined to bed, unable to move, everyone came to visit her.
No one had come to see her, the door had never creaked. Lonely and abandonned in isolation. Even the wind afraid to whistle lest the cottage crumble around her. How it had ever held bustling active men she would never know.
She had once done her fair share of activity. Used to pride herself on her cleanliness and her work with animals. She did a spot of dancing and cooking too. All helped to keep her young and radiant.
Now look at her.
Lips as pale as arsenic. Skin as grey as a ghost. Eyes as dull as dirt.
Her beloved mother would have cried at the thought, but neither of them could cry anymore. Not even her hair was presentable, fanned out in greasy, tangled strands across the threadworn pillow. She wasn't able to do housework anymore, let alone keep up her personal hygiene.
Her nose itched with a sneeze that would never come (she had never been ill in her life before.) Her parched, cracked lips craved something she had never experienced, but most of all she wanted freedom.
She wanted out of her body prison. To feel the grass between her toes, to feel the gentle breeze caress her cheek one last time.
The sun had moved in the sky, the light now off her face.
When she had been happy and lively she could look around and think the cottage quaint.
Now she was stuck with reality.
The rotting shutters, blocked drains and leaky, flammable roof set premature lines on her face. She had no mirror to look at, but she knew the response would no longer be her.
The light cast rainbows over the room, reminding her of lands and skies unknown.
And next to her a beautiful rosy apple with one bite mark taunted her with its vibrancy while she faded away.