Love

The water splashing on her feet jolted Poppy out of her daydream. She had been mesmerised by the rain drop rivers flowing their way down the window pane. She hurriedly turned off the taps and removed the saucepan that had managed to block the sink overflow, before mopping at the spilled water with the closest tea towel to hand — annoyingly it was an heirloom passed down from her grandmother and meant to be kept ‘for best’.

“Deep in thought again” said a comforting voice from the doorway. He had a suspicion that the thought was probably unwanted but had decided long ago that he wouldn’t pry. She looked over her shoulder with a small apologetic smile. He still saw her as the vibrant twenty one year old that he’d met whilst huddled in a bus stop on an evening much like this one. He’d lent his shoes to the woefully underdressed young lady who had failed to escape the downpour and knew there was something special about her that he wanted to keep close. She’d returned the shoes to him a week later in a white box tied with a ribbon, accompanied by a note, that he’d kept to this day.

Returning her gaze to the window she noticed a white fluttering beyond the glass. A butterfly. Without thinking she went to the back door and headed outside to help the delicate creature. It had come to rest on the window sill, but looked worse for wear. She gathered some leaves and twigs that had collected along the edge of the house and started fashioning a small shelter. He watched her in awe, as she became soaked through once again yet totally focused on her life saving mission.

Trying to fathom how her mind worked would always be a mystery, but she’d prepared him for that.

She dripped back into the house without any explanation, beaming ear to ear. He wrapped her in a towel, held her close and kissed her on the head.