Another Day, Another dies

She sat perched on the chair looking slowly around the now empty room.  The bed still held the impression of where he had lain, during those past few hours that they had shared. Moments in time shared forever but now gone forever. Her gaze fell on the side table  where he had placed his glasses earlier, she exhaled and knew that they would  lie there unused and unwanted .

It had been a good day to begin with, sunny and bright but she knew something was wrong from when the first rays of day had sparkled onto the window. He was not himself, he was slow and moved in pain as though trying to walk through the harshest thicket beset with brambles. 

The day wore on and he became pale and stopped moving around, just lying on the bed with only her as company. She had felt his breath strong in the morning air but now as the afternoon light was fading his breath faded with it. Slower and slower , fainter and fainter until as the sun dropped over the horizon into the darkness of night so he faded into his own eternal darkness. A final slow exhalation and all was still. 

She checked for one final time and satisfied that his life was gone moved to the chair and sat waiting. 

Then they came. 

Banging on the door, shouting his name, then a fearful noise as the door was thrown open; she retreated to a corner of the room to allow the men, who filled the room, try to force life back into the frail body on the bed. They could never help him she knew and in time they knew this too and finally  took him away.

So, she thought, all those hours we were together were spent in love and admiration of each other but now I am alone and have but a short time to finish my task.

With a flick of her wings she flew over the myriad cases of lepidoptera that lay pinned to boards to display their beauty, to the open window and into the night towards the shimmering lights to complete her task and bring her existence to an end.

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