Wednesday's Words on a Friday

 

The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over by a moveable feast of participants when Delores had computer troubles. Sadly, Delores has now closed her blog forever due to other problems.

The aim of the words is to encourage us to write. A story, a poem, whatever comes to mind.

If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please let us know so we can come along to read it and add a few encouraging words.

This month the words/prompts are supplied by Charlotte and can be found here

This week's words/prompts are: 

1. agile 2. bleak 3. comfort 4. dull 5. even 6. full

and: a photo which I have included.

Also included is Charlotte's colour of the month: light ivory

Here is my story:

I sat unnoticed in a sunny corner of the terrace as the crowd of young men sipped their beers and told their tales of daring and bravado. Skiing the toughest slopes, whitewater rafting, riding camels across a desert, skydiving, even mountain climbing, and here I listened more closely.

I’d been a mountain climber myself, many, many years ago. Long before so much of the now essential safety equipment was invented. When reaching the top was a goal, not ‘reaching the top in the fastest time’ as these young men now told it. When had speed overtaken the pleasure of careful planning, of slow and steady climbing? I wanted to speak up, but also didn’t want to intrude.

I sat silent in my wheelchair, my once agile legs now still, and blessed the comfort a warm blanket could bring. Even the colour was comforting, a light ivory with narrow sea green stripes. As the young men cleared away their debris and returned the beer glasses to the bar, my mind returned to that final rocky peak. It has an official name but to me it will always be Solomon’s Sorrow, named thus by the crew who had climbed with me on that fateful day. Keith Solomon, who had reached the peak first and had somehow fallen.

We had retraced our steps, silent all the way down and reached him just before he died. His badly broken body convulsed as he took those final breaths, asking us to “please tell Janet I love her” and his wish to have his ashes scattered from that same peak. Two months after, I had stood on the peak myself, looking across the bleak landscape as I scattered the ashes, knowing Janet’s future was now just as bleak, as was mine. Keith had been my brother.

Aged ninety now, my life was dull compared to way back then, routines were even with few surprises, but my mind, my memory cache, was full. So full. I turned and smiled at Janet who had met me here today, to share one last lunch before she moved to a care home closer to her children and grandchildren. The mini bus would soon arrive to take me back to my own care home, we wouldn’t see each other again.