Second Chance Idol: Week 2
Feb. 23rd, 2012 09:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
i_love_freddieWritten for Second Chance Idol. A very small piece of fiction. Prompt used: High Wire Act
Edward shivered, his fingers fumbling with the buttons on his coat, as he slowly shuffled down the lane. It was going to be a lovely spring day, for there was not a single cloud in the sky, but it was still early enough for there to be a sharp chill in the air. Maybe he should have waited, let the day warm up a bit, but his errand was far too important. In any case, a little cold never hurt anyone.
The lane was completely deserted – though that was hardly unusual. Apart from the tiny farmhouse he shared with his wife, there was nothing but fields for miles. Even the nearest village was five miles away. Once a month a cart came bringing supplies, but apart from that and the occasional rambler, he often saw no one for weeks at a time. But that was all right with him, he enjoyed the isolation and the freedom of his own company. And anyway, he always had his Lizzie.
Whistling cheerfully, he continued on his way. Walking long distances had become somewhat difficult recently – he was no longer a young man any more – but he did not complain. Turning a corner, he smiled at the sight before him; hundreds of marigolds dancing in the breeze. It was beautiful, a field full of red and gold and orange. Perfect, just what he needed!
It was hard for Edward to bend down to pick the flowers, but he persevered. The thought of his wife's face when he presented them to her kept him at his task. They were her favourite flowers, and what could be a more loving gift to give her on their 50th wedding anniversary? Neither of them had ever had much use for physical things, but flowers... flowers were different. He could put them in a vase near the window. She would like that.
His Lizzie... she was still as beautiful to him as she had been on their wedding day. Their whole relationship had started under odd circumstances - she had been a circus performer, a tightrope walker and a trapeze artist, delighting in performing daredevil stunts in front of a crowd. Born in the circus, for twenty years it had been the only life she had ever known. But then he had come along, and he had fallen deeply in love with her, and had been determined to make her his. It had taken some persuading, but he had been persistent and eventually she had consented to marry him and had left her old life behind... but he knew deep down that she always missed it. Even as the years passed, she never quite forgot. Edward had always done his very best to make her happy, but it was never quite enough.
The other problem was that there were no children. There was no way of knowing why exactly, or if anyone was to blame... eventually he accepted that it just wasn't meant to be. But Liz, she had found it hard to cope, and it made her ill, in her mind. That was when he had moved them both to such isolated parts, where he could take care of her and spare her from the pointing and stares and cruel remarks of the people who didn't understand. They were safe in their isolated existence. He didn't care how strange she behaved, or what she said or did, he loved her anyway. She was his whole world. Without her, he was nothing.
The house was still quiet when he returned. One of the cats, a little grey tabby, sat on the porch step, watching as he opened the door. Clutching the marigolds close to his chest, he shuffled across the small, bare kitchen. “I'm home, Lizzie,” he called out, as loudly as his feeble voice would allow. “And look, I brought you a present.”
His wife sat in the living room, in a chair in front of an empty fireplace. Her sunken dead eyes stared straight ahead. A few wisps of hair still clung to her skull. Her skeletal hands rested neatly in her lap, her wedding ring still on one bony finger.
Edward placed the flowers in the vase on the table. “Happy anniversary, my love.”
As he collapsed into the second chair, the cat sat and watched them out of piercing green eyes.
Edward shivered, his fingers fumbling with the buttons on his coat, as he slowly shuffled down the lane. It was going to be a lovely spring day, for there was not a single cloud in the sky, but it was still early enough for there to be a sharp chill in the air. Maybe he should have waited, let the day warm up a bit, but his errand was far too important. In any case, a little cold never hurt anyone.
The lane was completely deserted – though that was hardly unusual. Apart from the tiny farmhouse he shared with his wife, there was nothing but fields for miles. Even the nearest village was five miles away. Once a month a cart came bringing supplies, but apart from that and the occasional rambler, he often saw no one for weeks at a time. But that was all right with him, he enjoyed the isolation and the freedom of his own company. And anyway, he always had his Lizzie.
Whistling cheerfully, he continued on his way. Walking long distances had become somewhat difficult recently – he was no longer a young man any more – but he did not complain. Turning a corner, he smiled at the sight before him; hundreds of marigolds dancing in the breeze. It was beautiful, a field full of red and gold and orange. Perfect, just what he needed!
It was hard for Edward to bend down to pick the flowers, but he persevered. The thought of his wife's face when he presented them to her kept him at his task. They were her favourite flowers, and what could be a more loving gift to give her on their 50th wedding anniversary? Neither of them had ever had much use for physical things, but flowers... flowers were different. He could put them in a vase near the window. She would like that.
His Lizzie... she was still as beautiful to him as she had been on their wedding day. Their whole relationship had started under odd circumstances - she had been a circus performer, a tightrope walker and a trapeze artist, delighting in performing daredevil stunts in front of a crowd. Born in the circus, for twenty years it had been the only life she had ever known. But then he had come along, and he had fallen deeply in love with her, and had been determined to make her his. It had taken some persuading, but he had been persistent and eventually she had consented to marry him and had left her old life behind... but he knew deep down that she always missed it. Even as the years passed, she never quite forgot. Edward had always done his very best to make her happy, but it was never quite enough.
The other problem was that there were no children. There was no way of knowing why exactly, or if anyone was to blame... eventually he accepted that it just wasn't meant to be. But Liz, she had found it hard to cope, and it made her ill, in her mind. That was when he had moved them both to such isolated parts, where he could take care of her and spare her from the pointing and stares and cruel remarks of the people who didn't understand. They were safe in their isolated existence. He didn't care how strange she behaved, or what she said or did, he loved her anyway. She was his whole world. Without her, he was nothing.
The house was still quiet when he returned. One of the cats, a little grey tabby, sat on the porch step, watching as he opened the door. Clutching the marigolds close to his chest, he shuffled across the small, bare kitchen. “I'm home, Lizzie,” he called out, as loudly as his feeble voice would allow. “And look, I brought you a present.”
His wife sat in the living room, in a chair in front of an empty fireplace. Her sunken dead eyes stared straight ahead. A few wisps of hair still clung to her skull. Her skeletal hands rested neatly in her lap, her wedding ring still on one bony finger.
Edward placed the flowers in the vase on the table. “Happy anniversary, my love.”
As he collapsed into the second chair, the cat sat and watched them out of piercing green eyes.
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