She is Real

Jane

Jane lay awake in her small bed for one, pondering the day she had just experienced. She was warmed inside as she thought of Eli's kindness towards her but simultaneously mystified by the card he had given her. It was such.... a coincidence, a really weird coincidence. It was weird because, while Eli was trying to cheer her up, he had reminded her of the reason she was sad. Jane missed her husband, who was whisked away in the war. The card was false because she had received a telegram over breakfast explaining that her husband was now among casualties. Jane would never see her husband again and didn't want to tell Eli about her loss because it meant no more postcards. Jane's husband always sent her postcards from his stations but Jane only kept her very first ones. The ones after that we're mere reminders of the distance between her and the one she loved. And so she gave them to Eli to collect and he quite enjoyed it, but his collection would now be at an end unless he found a new "almost widowed" woman to collect from. She thought of her husband's smile, his laugh, his hugs, his love and she slowly began to cry some more, just like how Eli had seen her earlier. She couldn't shake the feeling that the card was destined to be hers, even just to mock her. Of course she knew it couldn't have truly been for Eli, he was orphaned since infancy and had lived with Earl for over a decade. There was no possible way he could be receiving a visit from someone he hadn't seen in a while. Yet she wondered, she hoped, maybe that card had meant that the telegram she had read was fake, maybe her husband was still alive. As these thoughts continued to whirlwind through her mind she tossed and turned in the blankets she was wrapped in. She was careful not to fall off her new, small bed, the one that was a replacement for her two person bed. She longed for someone to be beside her as she realized her blankets might not warm up due to the cold weather outside. She shivered as the new found hope slowly slipped away as her eyes drifted shut. All Jane could feel as she fell asleep was empty. Emptiness was what mostly filled her heart even though there was a small portion dedicated to Eli. Jane felt herself slowly move away from consciousness and towards her short night's sleep. She knew she would dream of her husband and therefore be disappointed when she woke to his lack of presence. But nothing could stop the small visions of Eli, walking around the market with his bags full of groceries and smiling at her as he passed by her small excuse for a stand. As sadness and warmth and mystery and longing filled her mind she was rudely awoken from her near sleep and deep thought by a loud knock on her door.

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Sorry for the short one, more on Jane should come out soon! 👋🏻