Five Years Ago. Flash Fiction by Padmini Krishnan

Sheridan looked outside his window, Trees swayed slightly to catch their share of the cool breeze and the leaves hugged each other. A goldfinch sat on his window, its wings taking in the sun’s grandeur. Sheridan turned away to the laptop, but the Goldfinch squeaked as if teasing him. It flew away as he turned his attention to it. The spring cast its glow on his study, provoking and daring him to venture outside.

“Darling, would you like some coffee?” he heard his wife calling.

“Yes. No… Never mind, Shirley, I will make it myself.”

“I am in the kitchen. It is no trouble at all.” replied Shirley in her ‘old voice’. There was the same lilt in her voice that she used to have 5 years ago. Those old days when she joined him for a jog, a game of tennis, swimming, and all the outdoor activities. He went to the kitchen and stared at her back. What she must have felt like to sit at home throughout the day, venturing outdoors only when he felt like taking her along. Stuck in the house for the past 2 months, Sheridan felt disoriented. And he had not even endured the physical pain she had suffered over the past 5 years! She turned her wheelchair around, balancing the tray of coffee in her hands to find tears streaming down his face.

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