Fading embers
Sunlight spills through the dusty window, painting a warm rectangle on the worn chair nestled against the far wall. My wife, the girl I chased fireflies with under endless summer skies, sits there, dwarfed by its embrace. “Are you alright, love?” My voice trembles, the question hanging heavy in the air between us.
“I don’t know,” she murmurs, her voice faint, carrying the weight of years in its quietness. Sleep descends, her eyelids fluttering closed. My eyes track her movement, shifting from the computer screen in the room’s center to her peaceful form in the chair.
At my feet, our old dog, a loyal she, snores softly, her breaths shallow with age. She finds solace in this quiet corner, oblivious to the winter gnawing at the edges of our lives. Outside, the trees stand stark against the bleak sky, skeletal fingers reaching for the gray clouds. A chill seeps in, mirroring the one deepening in my bones.
Silence settles over the room like a thick cloak. We are two figures adrift in a sea of unspoken anxieties, waiting for the tide to turn. My fingers hover over the keyboard, yearning to capture this scene, to bottle the bittersweet ache in my heart. But the words dance just beyond my grasp, as elusive as the youthful laughter that once echoed within these walls.
Rusty's Armory 
February 9, 2024 at 4:51 pm
And yet, you did. You captured it. Gently. Lovingly. Poignantly. I’ve always envied the way you manage to say so much, and imply even more, with so few words. I love ya, bud.
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February 9, 2024 at 5:08 pm
Sometimes the simplest truths resonate the deepest. I’m constantly trying to find the balance between saying enough and implying even more. So happy we share this connection through words.
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February 9, 2024 at 6:13 pm
Rusty, I have been reading your posts for years, but none of them have moved me to tears like this post. It really is that special.♥
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February 9, 2024 at 6:30 pm
Thank you, sweetheart!
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February 10, 2024 at 5:00 am
Beautifully said, poignantly felt. Your embers may be fading but your way with words burns as brightly as ever…
💕
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February 12, 2024 at 1:08 pm
“We are two figures adrift in a sea of unspoken anxieties, waiting for the tide to turn.” I love this line, it speaks volumes to me and I can relate for many reasons that I won’t go into here. Your writing…….. BEAUTIFUL and TOUCHING and all the words that escape me at the moment. I am totally not crying, really ❤️
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