Sheila could feel the cold wrap around her like a big heavy wet blanket, weighing
her down, its weight getting harder to bear. Her insides were crushed as she walked
along the busy streets. She stopped to look in the window of a shop that sold
‘Stoves and Fireplaces’. The fires on display danced a merry tune and she willed
their reflective lights to warm her.
‘We offer much more than great prices’ the sign danced, along the front window.
‘If only’, Sheila’s teeth chattered.
The smell of popcorn floated out of a nearby cinema, teasing and haunting her
cold closed stomach. She could almost taste it in her mouth. Its salty, sweet taste
always enticed you to want more. The pangs of hunger stabbed the closing walls of
her insides.  She shuffled along the cold wet roads as the evening drew in, touching
her nose to see if it was still present on her face, she buried her hands in the
pockets of her threadbare coat. Reflections of her shadow danced merrily in the
puddles as the streetlights shone down on them. It reminded her of Christmas
lights and of James.
James, her erudite husband, was so handsome and well read, he stood 6ft 3 inches
tall on a base of size 14 shoes, well-polished of course. His sturdy shoulders carried
a tailored suit, a perfect fit, with a tie that almost laughed at you. It was so full of
colour and gaiety with a backdrop of a sharp blue shirt that matched his eyes.
She sat on a cold damp bench on the edge of the park, partially protected by the
sturdy trees towering over her. The tall silver gates, standing like giants protecting
nature with silver pointed spears.
She felt warm with James’s memory. She allowed herself to float back to their first
meeting. He had bumped into her in the office as she was walking back to
reception with a nice hot cup of coffee, causing it to spill down her thick tweed
suit.
‘Oh, I am so sorry, ‘
‘It’s perfectly fine,’ she replied as she melted in the blue jewels that were his eyes.
She immediately felt a deep hot feeling engulf her insides and she suddenly realised
the definition of love at first sight.
He had offered to pay to get her suit cleaned and in the same breath asked her out
for a drink. She had declined the suit cleaning offer and grabbed the offer of the
drink. Thinking back, smiling to herself, as she remembered stuttering and
stammering with her reply as he cheekily grinned at her.

A whirlwind romance had followed. Her heart had fluttered and her head had
spun. Wonderful childlike skittish feelings made her shyness emerge every time
they met. He would gently tease her and put his forefinger under her chin to raise
it to kiss her.
She closed her eyes and, in that moment, she felt his finger beneath her chin, the
gentle flutter of his lips on hers. She could smell his faint aftershave, her heart
flipped with joy. The heat raised from the tip of her toes to the top of her head.
She wrapped her arms around herself tightly holding on to the memory.
If only she could turn back time. She pulled herself up, still wrapped in thoughts
of the good old days and continued on her way to the soup kitchen. Fond
memories of her dead husband, her only company.