by Christina Collins
A Tale To Tell
Present Day MAGGIE’S head sank into the pillows as she lay back. Her carer, Alison, had helped her bathe and dress ready for a visit from Abbie, her granddaughter.
She tugged the sheet up under her chin and sniffed at the white cotton. There was nothing better than clean bedding, bringing the scent of spring to her room.
Although she felt tired after her shower she insisted on styling her hair and dabbing on her favourite perfume, Opium, behind her ears and on her wrists. She frowned at the fragile skin that hung loosely from her small frame, brown and leathery, sagging where it had been filled with her shapely figure.
Then she smiled, reminding herself how much Abbie resembled her in her youth.
Alison appeared at the door.
“I’ve got your favourite, shepherds’ pie!” she exclaimed. “Shall I help you into your chair before I head off?”
Alison was right, it was Maggie’s favourite. One thing she hadn’t lost was her appetite. She eased into the armchair.
“Yes, please. Abbie will be here soon.”
She picked up the fork and scooped up a generous portion, but when she brought it to her mouth her appetite diminished as she thought about the conversation she intended to have with Abbie.
The knot in her stomach tightened. When Abbie had called yesterday, to say she’d be popping in today, she had decided that the time was right.
Death was imminent, but Maggie had no intention of leaving this world before revealing her secret to Abbie.
The girl was her last hope. She trusted her, out of all her grandchildren, to keep the secret for as long as necessary.
Abbie was her first grandchild. They had formed an unbreakable bond and had shared many good times together. Maggie cast her mind back to Abbie’s early years.
“Nan, is there really a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow?”
“There might be but I’ve never been lucky enough to find the end of one.”
“Next time there’s a rainbow can we try to find the pot of gold?”
That was where the adventures had begun – chasing the rainbow’s end.
The memories brought a smile to Maggie’s lips that vanished when she heard a key in the lock and the front door opening, down the hallway of her small terraced house.
“Only me, Nan!”
Maggie set down the plate of food, swallowed hard and smiled as the door opened and Abbie walked in.
“Come and kiss your old nan.”
Abbie bent her head down and kissed her on both cheeks.
