There..

“There’s no disguising it. I don’t like it. You know what I’m like. I don’t like their attitude. I don’t need to be positive. I’ve never been positive. I wish they would leave me alone.”

**

Moira stared deep into the black of the room. She imagined she saw Jay’s silhouette, darker still, than the darkness they lay in. She thought she could see him smile. That one dimple on his left cheek, like a transient impression on a piece of brown silk. He said nothing.

**

Moira smiled. There was nothing else to do.

**

“You’re right, of course! They only have my best interests at heart. They’re good children. Now, don’t look at me that way. You were always so smug!”

**

She lifted two fingers to her lips and kissed them, before stroking the air, as if she were putting her fingers to a face.

**

She knew there was no one there. She only whispered into the silence, in the hope that he may hear. But she knew she was all alone, in the dark, in her room, in her bed.

**

And this is what she was accustomed to, after all. They would talk, every night in bed, facing each other, sometimes propped up on their elbows; frowns and smiles, lines and wrinkles on each other’s faces, shifting constantly until they were gently smoothed away by sleep.

**

After Jay’s death she couldn’t bear not to imagine him still, by her side, still smiling, teasing, rebuking, snoring.

**

The cat padded into the black. She saw its shape, she felt the sheets be pulled and tightened as its weight moved closer to her face. She felt the tickle of its whiskers against her cheek and was grateful for its warmth. It settled and curled into the curve of her stomach, eventually.

**

Eventually they both slept and entered into their dreams of familiarity and silence.

**

Originally from the UK, Devjani is settling into a new life in Kolkata, the land of poets and dreamers. Writing is a passion for her, a way to vent and explore the world that she currently finds herself in. She blogs on http://barelyherenorthere.wordpress.com/