Post by Brian on Jul 7, 2018 8:09:19 GMT -6
"Mrs Battersby I'm sorry, it's very advanced, there is nothing we can do for you. I have a room set up for you at the hospital. We'll do every we can to make it as painless as possible."
"Thank you doctor, I suspected it would come to this when I started feeling ill earlier this week. I have one or two things I must do. Thank you for everything."
Mrs Battersby left her doctor's office, hailed a cab, told the driver "424 Seaside Lane" Normally the trip from town to her cottage-home by the sea was a scenic one that gave her a great deal of pleasure to view. Today though her thoughts were elsewhere. She absently handed the driver nearly double the requested fare, muttering something like keep the change and climbed out of the car.
Mrs Eliza Battersby was fifty-five years old, brown eyed, greying hair that was being battled back to its natural auburn colour with the help of some cosmetic hair care products. She stood at five feet three inches tall, laugh lines marked her eyes and lips, proud of her hard kept respectable figure, made her way up the old cobble stone path between the well kept five and one half foot hedges that lined her property. The hedges that ran nearly all the way around three sides of the cottages and partly covered the back end afforded her a great deal of privacy. She stopped to really look at the sky blue door with white trim. She had all the window frames inside and out freshly painted back to their original white just last week. The rest of the exterior was to be have been done next week but that didn't matter now.
She unlocked the door and went inside. Once inside she hesitated, wondering what one did at a time like this. She thought of her husband, lost at sea 30 years before. He had been swept out to sea during a rescue operation during a severe storm. A family in a houseboat had been stranded, all of them were rescued but....here her thoughts choked off as she bit back tears at the memory. His body had never been recovered. He was still out there somewhere.
She wandered through the cottage looking at the old pictures on the walls and on the shelves. Memories of happier times that she never found the strength within to take down. As she worked her away around the main sitting area, picture to picture she came across the most recent ones of her son Adam and his family. She looked long at the picture. She loved her grandchildren, Henry Jr named after her husband and Lillian named for her daughter's-in-law mother. Lillian's middle name was Eliza but that was never referred to because the name Eliza, was as Lillian put it, "Just so out of date". Mrs Battersby smiled as she heard Lillian's voice in her head.
Taking a deep breath Eliza went to her little desk in a small alcove in one corner of the main room. She unlocked the old roll top desk, opened it up, pulled out a single sheet of paper with a checklist on it. She pulled her pen marked in gold and silver trim with her name engraved on it, a present from Adam last Christmas. She neatly checked off items on the list one by one. When she finally finished with it, she went into the kitchen thinking to make herself a cup of tea. It was a little stuffy in the kitchen so she opened the large windows that overlooked the sea. Thoughts and memories of Henry came flooding back. Her deep brown eyes grew moist with tears this time unable to hold them back, they burst like a failed dam.
Her mind saw but didn't really quite take in how the hedges turned to tropical bushes. How the sky colour changed from bright blue under a clear sun to orange and grey with red tinge. She heard the sea whispering her name, "Eliza, Eliza." She shook her head to clear it but view didn't change, nor did the whispering cease. She was being called. Only semi aware of what she was doing, Eliza climbed through the window and started down towards the water.
Three days later Eliza's doctor contacted Adam. A trip to his mother's cottage revealed a note left on the kitchen table "Gone to join Henry." It was unsigned but Adam swore it was his mother's handwriting. On the other side of the note was a list of things with a check mark beside each one. One of the items on the list was 'Update Will'
Several boats put out to sea when the news spread, looking for some trace of Eliza Battersby. After a two days the search was called off because of the elapsed time. The police maintained a search on land for a short time but the footprints that were still discernible in the sand made it fairly obvious where Eliza Battersby had gone.
Fast forward thirty-five years. Adam has moved into his mother's old cottage. The hedges are still there, there are flower beds in the back. The building has been repainted many times, but always in the colours Adam's mother preferred. Furniture has been replaced, the old shelves have been removed and now there are book cases and display cases lining the walls but all the old photographs are still on display.
Two months earlier Adam bade his wife farewell as she was taken by cancer after a long and bitter fight. Thoughts of his wife plagued him, haunted his waking dreams. Still in mourning Adam went to the kitchen thinking a cup of tea would make him feel maybe a little bit better. When he entered the kitchen the air felt stale. He opened the window and then pinched himself to make sure he was awake, for he heard from the sea his name being called in a whisper..Adam, Adam....
Brian Paul Sullivan © 2007
"Thank you doctor, I suspected it would come to this when I started feeling ill earlier this week. I have one or two things I must do. Thank you for everything."
Mrs Battersby left her doctor's office, hailed a cab, told the driver "424 Seaside Lane" Normally the trip from town to her cottage-home by the sea was a scenic one that gave her a great deal of pleasure to view. Today though her thoughts were elsewhere. She absently handed the driver nearly double the requested fare, muttering something like keep the change and climbed out of the car.
Mrs Eliza Battersby was fifty-five years old, brown eyed, greying hair that was being battled back to its natural auburn colour with the help of some cosmetic hair care products. She stood at five feet three inches tall, laugh lines marked her eyes and lips, proud of her hard kept respectable figure, made her way up the old cobble stone path between the well kept five and one half foot hedges that lined her property. The hedges that ran nearly all the way around three sides of the cottages and partly covered the back end afforded her a great deal of privacy. She stopped to really look at the sky blue door with white trim. She had all the window frames inside and out freshly painted back to their original white just last week. The rest of the exterior was to be have been done next week but that didn't matter now.
She unlocked the door and went inside. Once inside she hesitated, wondering what one did at a time like this. She thought of her husband, lost at sea 30 years before. He had been swept out to sea during a rescue operation during a severe storm. A family in a houseboat had been stranded, all of them were rescued but....here her thoughts choked off as she bit back tears at the memory. His body had never been recovered. He was still out there somewhere.
She wandered through the cottage looking at the old pictures on the walls and on the shelves. Memories of happier times that she never found the strength within to take down. As she worked her away around the main sitting area, picture to picture she came across the most recent ones of her son Adam and his family. She looked long at the picture. She loved her grandchildren, Henry Jr named after her husband and Lillian named for her daughter's-in-law mother. Lillian's middle name was Eliza but that was never referred to because the name Eliza, was as Lillian put it, "Just so out of date". Mrs Battersby smiled as she heard Lillian's voice in her head.
Taking a deep breath Eliza went to her little desk in a small alcove in one corner of the main room. She unlocked the old roll top desk, opened it up, pulled out a single sheet of paper with a checklist on it. She pulled her pen marked in gold and silver trim with her name engraved on it, a present from Adam last Christmas. She neatly checked off items on the list one by one. When she finally finished with it, she went into the kitchen thinking to make herself a cup of tea. It was a little stuffy in the kitchen so she opened the large windows that overlooked the sea. Thoughts and memories of Henry came flooding back. Her deep brown eyes grew moist with tears this time unable to hold them back, they burst like a failed dam.
Her mind saw but didn't really quite take in how the hedges turned to tropical bushes. How the sky colour changed from bright blue under a clear sun to orange and grey with red tinge. She heard the sea whispering her name, "Eliza, Eliza." She shook her head to clear it but view didn't change, nor did the whispering cease. She was being called. Only semi aware of what she was doing, Eliza climbed through the window and started down towards the water.
Three days later Eliza's doctor contacted Adam. A trip to his mother's cottage revealed a note left on the kitchen table "Gone to join Henry." It was unsigned but Adam swore it was his mother's handwriting. On the other side of the note was a list of things with a check mark beside each one. One of the items on the list was 'Update Will'
Several boats put out to sea when the news spread, looking for some trace of Eliza Battersby. After a two days the search was called off because of the elapsed time. The police maintained a search on land for a short time but the footprints that were still discernible in the sand made it fairly obvious where Eliza Battersby had gone.
Fast forward thirty-five years. Adam has moved into his mother's old cottage. The hedges are still there, there are flower beds in the back. The building has been repainted many times, but always in the colours Adam's mother preferred. Furniture has been replaced, the old shelves have been removed and now there are book cases and display cases lining the walls but all the old photographs are still on display.
Two months earlier Adam bade his wife farewell as she was taken by cancer after a long and bitter fight. Thoughts of his wife plagued him, haunted his waking dreams. Still in mourning Adam went to the kitchen thinking a cup of tea would make him feel maybe a little bit better. When he entered the kitchen the air felt stale. He opened the window and then pinched himself to make sure he was awake, for he heard from the sea his name being called in a whisper..Adam, Adam....
Brian Paul Sullivan © 2007
