There was someone standing in the doorway. It was just a silhouette but there was something very familiar about it.
She pushed back the covers and stood up. It was so lovely to be upright again, she was tired of lying in bed all day. She missed being outside in her garden. Evelyn took a cautious step, fearing after being immobile for so long that her aching legs wouldn’t be able to support her any more, but she was surprised when not only could she stand unassisted, she could do so without any pain. When was the last time that had happened? she wondered briefly, before a movement in the doorway grabbed attention once more.
It was a man. He stepped out from the shadows and Evelyn caught her breath as she saw the face she’d held so firmly in her mind for the last seventy years and more.
‘Jimmy?’
‘Hello, Evie,’ he said, smiling as he came towards her, holding out his hand.
‘What are you doing here, Jimmy?’
‘I’ve come to take you home. Just like I promised.’
‘Home?’ said Evelyn, automatically reaching for his outstretched hand and gaping at her own. What was going on? This wasn’t her hand. Where was the fragile skin that bled and bruised whenever she knocked it? This hand was smooth; it was like her skin used to be when she was just a young girl.
‘It’s all right, Evie,’ said Jimmy, smiling in that lopsided way she loved so much. ‘Everything’s okay now.’
He pulled her to him and she sighed as his arms held her tightly. She had missed him so much. Every day. And now he was here.
‘We have to go now,’ he said gently, easing away to look down at her.
Evelyn turned and looked back across the room. In the distance was the bed that had trapped her, and two young people who held an old woman’s hand so lovingly. She smiled tenderly at the scene and knew that woman was very lucky to have people who loved her so much sitting by her side in her final moments.
‘Yes, Jimmy,’ she said, turning her gaze back to the man she’d loved for a lifetime. ‘I’m ready. Take me home.’