Fiona opened her eyes and looked up at
the clear blue sky. She tilted up her chin, feeling the sun's warmth
caressing her face.
A half smile formed on her lips. This
was the life. She had felt so lucky to be able to book this perfect
getaway. A real family holiday!
The idyllic, fairytale cottage sat
within a small wood, just a stones throw from the white sands of the
beach.
It was so tranquil. The trees whispered
softly to each other in the breeze, the gulls called, soaring above
her. The gentle waves lapped the shore – perfect!
She reached out her hand and scooped up
a handful of sand, letting it fall back to the beach lazily through her
fingers.
Fiona turned to look at her husband,
who was fast asleep. He deserved this break. He had been working so
hard lately. They all deserved this break!
She dozed into a light slumber, happy
and content.
A child's laughter woke her. She turned
her head towards the sound and opened her eyes, smiling.
Her two daughters were paddling at the
edge of the sea, shrieking and laughing as the cold water tickled
their toes.
She got up and ran across the beach to
them, laughing. 'Come on girls, let's go for a swim!'
The three of them waded out into the
cool water, and were soon swimming, enjoying the cool silkiness of
the sea against their hot skin.
Ah, sweet isolation, sweet, sweet
isolation. No cars, no trains, no TV. She could get used to this.
Her vision faded, lost like smoke into
the Summer's clear air, silence fell, darkness pressed against her.
* * * *
The sound of a siren broke
the silence.
Fiona opened her eyes
groggily, looking at the clock on the bedroom wall. 7 AM!
Time to get up and at 'em, I
suppose, she thought.
She rolled over painfully,
and got out of bed, straightening up slowly and carefully.
Looks like another sunny
day, she though, pulling the curtains open.
She hobbled to the kitchen
and made herself a cup of tea and carried it into the sitting room,
walking across to the window of her tiny flat.
The park looked so nice down
there. She was so high up that the few dog walkers and runners that
were out at this early hour looked like ants.
She smiled. She loved that
park. Each day she would take a slow and gently stroll around it, if
her knees would let her, that is.
But everything had changed
on that fateful day four weeks ago! That letter. It changed
everything! Nothing would ever be the same again.
The Government letter had
made it very clear. She was to stay inside, not go out for 12 weeks!
Coronavirus! An invisible
and indiscriminate killer had invaded the Earth
Her world had shrunk to the
size of her tiny, one bedroom flat.
She was on her own. Her
husband had passed away years ago, and her children had grown up,
moved away and had families of their own now.
She longed for conversation,
to speak to the dog walkers, the other elderly people that also took
walks in the park.
She longed to visit the
shops, the hairdresser. But it was not going to happen any time soon.
Once a week, a crumpled
piece of paper was pushed through her letter box – A government
food parcel had been left outside.
Once a month the local
pharmacy did the same with her medication.
She was lonely, unhappy,
vulnerable. The darkness of her life closed around her, enveloping
her in its icy grip.
She thought back to her
dream of the night before, the bliss, the sweet isolation of being
with her family once more on that holiday, so many years ago.
This isolation felt like a
jail sentence! When would it end? Three months, maybe more? She
yearned for the feeling of fresh air upon her face, the sights and
sounds of normality.
She had lost track of the
days, they seemed to merge, coalesce into one long nothingness.
Just
hour upon hour, waiting, hoping that it would soon be over, that she
could once more step outside.
