“A Lifetime”

Extract

It was very early in the morning. She was looking at the yard from behind a window. The tree was in full bloom. She removed a lock of white hair from her forehead. It was the forty-first time that she was watching the tree blossom. She was standing in front of the window in her thick white nightgown with long sleeves and closed collar. She was a bit cold. The wind made the blossoms shiver. It seemed that the flowers never felt cold. The woman recalled the very first time she watched them.

She has awakened to the sound of her husband's voice, “Wake up! Come and see! The tree has blossomed!” They have stood watching together at the window. Her long white nightgown was sleeveless and thin, with lace around its open collar. She wasn't cold, or perhaps it was her sense of decency that made her forget the cold.