Opening the curtains Anna looked out on a kaleidoscope of colour: the perfect day, the birds awakening, a flurry of sleepy tweets, trees rustling .
Climbing back into bed she sighed in relief. Six in the morning and since her mother’s death there was no hurry now to start her day. Turning on her clock-radio a distant memory wrapped around her, a favourite song of her and Joe. She cried, recalling all the hurt of her choices.
In Sydney, Australia Joe Harvey sat looking through the family album. Jan, his wife, had passed away some time ago. Living on his own was hard, he missed the companionship. Out of nowhere a shaft of misery drove deep into him. A name popped into his mind, consoling, one that he had buried long ago.
Anna lay back, remembering Joe, her first love. They were going to get married until Joe heard about the government offering a new life in Australia for ten pounds. He thought it would be a new life for the two of them. She had been all for it until her father had his first heart attack. She spent days by his side with her mother.
Weeks of arguments ensued, Joe adamant they should leave. Love and duty pulled, her mother fearing widowhood pleading with her to stay. She told Joe she wasn’t going. He stormed off, angry hurt, and she didn’t heard from him again.
Joe opened his wallet, saw the creased photo of him and Anna. What had become of her? For some reason he now wanted to know.
Anna shuffled downstairs and made tea. Tiddles, her cat, wrapped herself around her legs, its purr relaxing her. She carried the cup back to bed and took out her memory box. She’d been wrong to give up the love of her life and stay. Strangely, at the time it hadn’t seemed a sacrifice. Now though there was no doubt.
Some weeks later Joe waited to board his flight, still not sure why he was doing this. He had to know.
Anna, her mother’s will sorted out, could now relax. The house was hers and she had enough money to live on, if she was careful. Time to get out and start living a new life; she had made an appointment with a local hairdresser. Her need to change her life engulfed her. There hadn’t been time to indulge herself as her mother had needed a lot of care in the end. She looked around the charity shops, gathered up dresses and tops .
She admired herself in the mirror: a touch on the stringy side, hair freshly cut, a bit of makeup and one of her new dresses. She twirled around, saying, ‘Silly old bat, prancing about, with nowhere to go.’
The front door chimed. She opened it and her heart leapt. It can’t be!
In harmony their words tumbling out their mouths like waterfall.
I’ve been thinking of you !!
