WEP - LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL APRIL 2023

 

 

WEP CHALLENGE April 2023 – LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

N.B.

I have never heard of this film, never seen it.  I took the title as my theme, presumably not relatable to the film.

HERE IS MY STORY:

 

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

Jorja trekked up the hillside, her feet hurt and her hips were beginning to protest never mind what her back was saying.  She pumped her arms, breathed in short pants until she was at the top.  She sat on the rock which had already been smoothed by many bottoms taking a rest.  The cold granite feel of the rock seeped in to her bones, through her bloodstream and into her brain.

Life is beautiful.

She drew in a deep breath, tilted her head up to the sky and let out an almighty scream.  Once she started, she couldn’t stop.  Gasping for breath, she counted her heart beats – too fast.  She needed to slow down her pulse.  Steadily she breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth.  Again.  Again. Again, and again. 

Several minutes or maybe hours passed by.  Luckily, she had the place to herself, maybe because of the early start.  Up at dawn after a sleepless night, hubby snoring lightly.  She left him a note so he didn’t worry, ‘cos he would worry that she wasn’t in a good place.

Life is beautiful.

Why did people keep saying that? 

What about her life that was so beautiful?  She knew she was on a real downer but she was doing her best to get out of her funk and the only way she knew how was to go back to nature and the wonders of the world.

Life is beautiful.

Who kept saying it?  Why was it in her mind all the time?  It was as though some other entity was trying to break through and help her.  She heard the voice.  It was comforting.  The cynic in her vied with the spirituality of her nature.  She knew spirits would help her.  They always had done.  She couldn’t tell anyone because she’d been accused of being ‘weird’ of being ‘witchy-like’, of being ‘odd.’

Somebody once told her she wasn’t any of those things.  She was unique and special. 

Life is beautiful.

Someone was coming, she could feel the rhythmic thump of feet as they traversed up the hill to her resting place.  A slow breath touched her face.  A hand placed gently on her knee.  She looked in to her husband’s face and saw compassion, understanding and all the love in the world he could give her without speaking.

Life is beautiful.

As she felt his calming presence, she took a deep sigh and nodded, turned and gave Gerry a tremulous smile.  He murmured ‘it’s alright.’  He was never one for a lot of words but it was more than enough to know that he understood her.

They held hands and looked out on the vista.  Jorja heard the call of the birds as they soared and floated on the draughts, so beautiful and peaceful to watch.  They didn’t have a care in the world, except survival and looking for the next meal, other than that they enjoyed the wind, the freedom, going where it took them. 

Gerry opened his back pack and took out a thermos of coffee, poured her a cup and then one for himself.  They sat there in quiet contemplation, sipping the black aromatic coffee, the smell re-energising as much as drinking the liquid did.

This, this is what made her life beautiful.

Back to reality and the hurt from the deceit, the secrecy but hey-ho life threw you the bends in the road, potholes to navigate, she would not fall through them again, she’d come so far, even leaving her family to live on the other side of the world. 

Ha! Family! Such a dysfunctional lot of self-centred, egotistic, manipulative women …….. somehow, they snagged men who believed in them, believed every lie that came out of their mouths.

Stop it, Jorja, just stop it. 

Telling herself off seemed to help.  She couldn’t change what had happened.  She couldn’t change what people thought, she could only move on.  Help where she could and she would help.  She would hold the hurt deep inside but she would help.

Two weeks later and now she really understood that life truly was beautiful.  The new born grandson was a joy to behold.  He was just gorgeous.  She didn’t know her heart could expand to take in a love for the new baby as well as encompassing the love she already felt for her granddaughter.

Life is beautiful.

A new home for her and her husband.  A new baby.  A new life to enjoy, to watch grow, to nurture, to love, her family was expanding. 

Thanks to the benefits of technology, she could share her joy with friends and family, pictures, face-time, Skype, Zoom and all the other benefits this technological revolution has brought into their lives, so much quicker than six weeks waiting for an air mail letter or hard copy photos. 

Yes, life is beautiful when you allow it to be.

 

A baby boy as easy as pie

New born blue eyes

All knowing

All seeing

Born wise

Born before dawn

With a mighty yawn

A stretch of his fingers

Long limbs, gangly

Murmurs, and baby sounds

She held him against her chest

Feeling less stressed

By the minute

Heart beat to heart beat

Rhythmic

Tick, tick, tick

Joining in unison

With her beautiful grandson

 

Life is beautiful

Life is full of joy.  You just have to watch for the moments, drink them in, treasure them, remember them and pull them out when the going gets tough.

She has to move forward, let her daughter and little family enjoy themselves and grow as a unit. 

No interference.

She would not interfere.

She has learnt from her own lessons, from her own mother, what is not the right way.  Jorja’s way is different, there to help but not interfere. 

That will be her mantra – do not interfere and then life will be beautiful for everybody.

 

Word count 977