A short, pointless story for 'The Writing Game' on The Village Square forum.
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Galen sighed, tugging gently at his wiry tuft of hair that protruded from his chin. It wasn't a very big sigh, or a very sad one. Just a small light expression of loss. Reaching out an old, withered hand, he stroked the top of the stone, feeling the cool, hard granite beneath his trembling fingers. Now, that stone meant more to him than anything in the world. Because it was beneath that stone that his dear wife had entered her eternal slumber.
A light chuckle escaped his lips.
"I'm getting old, love." He murmured, bending down to the tombstones level, his weary old back creaking. "I'm getting old."
Across the river he could see Gustafa playing his guitar- a gentle, calming song. Galen felt it suited the sharp, clear autumn morning perfectly. Beyond that he could see, through blurred vision, the fuzzy outline of the turtle that lived at the swamp. Nina always loved that turtle…
He could see Jill, the young farmer girl- though maybe she wasn't as young as she used to be- galloping down towards the beach on her old mare, Chestnut, with as much skill and enthusiasm it was almost as if she was twenty once again. To think it had been over fifteen years since he met that girl…
"Jill's doing fine- her son's almost grown up now, would you believe…" Galen said softly. He knew Nina would be happy- she had grown so fond of the playful young farmer, and had come to think of her as the daughter she'd never had. "I still can't see why she married that feller, though…" Galen allowed himself a smile. "Coulda done better, in my opinion."
A sudden breeze rushed through his thinning hair as if in protest.
"Aye, aye, don't look at me like that," He said. "Love is all that matters, I know." He paused. "I love you Nina." He whispered.
And somewhere in the distance, a bird chirruped, and the breeze blew calmly, and Galen felt his wife's presence near, and, even though he couldn't see her, he somehow knew that she was smiling.
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How depressing… Review if you feel like it!