Judith McClanahan was her name. She was a retired teacher who loved to read and play piano. She loved to recall her dead husband. She loved her rebellious granddaughter, Abba. She was alone.
And she was tired as well. She had been up all night reading a new book that she had gotten from the library. She had started it the night before, after supper, and then hadn't stopped until the morning after, just before breakfast, when she was totally done reading it. She loved getting her old, withered hands on a good book- one that she could just get completely lost in. But then again, she hated finishing a good book, because that meant that the journey was over. So many books had she read in her lifetime. She rarely left her apartment, but when she did, it was to make a trip to the library, church, or grocery store. Her life was lonely, she admitted, but she at least had her books and piano...and the good Lord to talk to when she was feeling exceptionally down about life. That was quite often- more often than not, actually. She was coasting through life on a plateau of the same routine. In the morning, she would get up and took a shower. Then, she would get dressed while her toast was in the toaster. As she ate her breakfast of eggs, toast, and orange juice, she read the morning paper that was delivered to her doorstep daily. She never missed a day of the news, however depressing it might have been. After breakfast, she would read a book for an hour and played piano for an hour. The time would vary depending on the book or piece of music. By the time she had done this, she would take her currently checked out books back to the library and select a couple new ones then drive back home in her small pickup truck. By this time, it was time to eat again, so she microwaved a T.V. dinner and read a book while she did. After she ate and read, it was time for her afternoon nap. She napped for two hours and then got up to do her chores. This would take an hour or two, depending on how much she had to do. Her evening trip to the grocery store would occur after this. She came back home and cooked dinner for herself. She would get ready for bed and then sit up and read for a while. Now, finally, it was time to sleep. She did this until her alarm clock went off at nine o'clock in the morning and then she got up to repeat the process. Her life was nothing but a routine, and she was beginning to not enjoy it anymore. The only thing that really gave her solace was going to church. She found so much peace sitting there, listening to the word of God and singing his praises. This brought her back to thoughts of her precious granddaughter Abba. She needed some kind of light in her life. Many times had she considered talking to her own daughter about adopting Abba, but Judith had a feeling that that proposal wouldn't be accepted with very much consideration, so she dismissed it quickly.
She needed a vacation. From her family, from the agonizing circle of life that she was stuck in. She wanted to break away and get away from everything. Even from memories of Bill. She couldn't handle the depression his death had left her with anymore. She had to let it go and leave, if only for a little while.
She grabbed her latest issue of National Geographic and began reading.