20 Day Challenge #3

This is prompt #19: Write a 26-sentence long story, starting each sentence with the associated letter of the alphabet. This one was quite challenging, as it really limited where I felt I could go with the story, and it ended up more as a 'slice of life' piece (a look into the everyday life of a character), rather than a plot-driven piece. Every time I wanted to say something, I had to rework it to fit the prompt, and some of the letters were rather difficult - X was saved by the discovery of the Xeranthemum, which is a type of flower. Otherwise it feels a bit forced in places, especially in the V sentence - I wrote from W to Z before finishing O to V, so I had to use that sentence as the transition between the two halves.

            As she walked along her sloping property, she surveyed the damage. Birch trees lay on the grass, still wet from last night's pouring rain. Cold winds tugged at her hair as she stepped over the branches, collecting what sticks she could to dry for kindling. Dark clouds still hung overhead, so she moved quickly. Every step sent a shooting pain up the back of her leg, the price of a competitive nature in her youth. Four surgeries had allowed her to walk, but the pain remained.

            Geraniums had once made a colourful display in this corner of her property, but the cold weather and her aches and pains had left the area unattended to, filled with weeds and tall grasses. Her consolation was in the potted plants that her daughter brought on every visit, dotting the house with bursts of colour. It was a small gesture, but it made all the difference.

            Just before she entered her house, she paused in front of a small metal pot that sat just outside, flanked by two potted lemon trees. Kneeling, she brushed a small cobweb off the top, letting her fingers linger on the engraving along the lid. Lichen had begun to grow across the top, softening the edges of the letters.

            Moving slowly, she stood up and entered the house, stepping carefully as her two cats came to wind themselves around her ankles. Nero and Zoom were her closest companions these days, though this was the extent to which they showed affection for her. Often, they could be found curled up on the living room furniture, or sprawled along the tile floor of the solarium on a sunny day.

            Placing her bundle of sticks down next to the fireplace, she began to bustle around the kitchen, setting a kettle to boil and tidying here and there while she waited. Quiet afternoons like these had become her favourite part of the day, far from the flurry of activity she had enjoyed in her youth. Reaching into the cupboard for her teabag, she poured herself a cup, slipped in two sugar cubes, though she knew she was supposed to be cutting back.

            She came back into the living room, gathered what dry wood she had on hand and lit a fire, smiling at the delicate smoky scent and crackling light that filled the room. Tea in hand, she settled herself on the couch and sifted through the clutter that always seemed to build up on the coffee table, despite repeated cleaning. Underneath the stack of bills and newspaper was an old dog-eared book of poetry, the one she and her husband used to read to each other when they were young. Verses had been marked as they read together, marking their favourites; she flipped to one and read it out loud to the empty room, then sat back in a moment of silence, her gaze falling on the bay window and the sky beyond. Xeranthemums, brought in by her daughter a month ago, sat along the sill, adding colour to the grey backsplash of the clouds behind them.Yesterday had been stormy and dark, but now the clouds began to clear and a sliver of blue sky could be seen. Zoom curled up next to her on the couch and purred.