Member-only story
In the Bag
Here’s a short story for #StomaAware Day. More information at Colostomy UK
It was a lovely day in the park.
It was a dry, sunny day, warm for the time of year.
The little old lady sat on the park bench, feeding the birds. She had been there a long time. She was worried she would soon run out of bird feed, or that her bags would be full. It had been a long time since she’d been to the loo, she’d not dared leave her post.
The leaves had begun to fall, and most of the acorns were down, but some were still falling, startling the pigeons and sparrows that they fell near.
Unusually, squirrels were not begging for nuts. They were all busy collecting the best acorns, eating some, but burying most. Or pretending to bury them to disguise their nut caches from their rivals.
The lady was well dressed, with loose dark slacks, a fawn jumper and a pale blue jacket which added nothing to her pale complexion. Her face was not memorable, and showed signs of strain and pain, but she seemed cheerful enough watching the antics of the birds and squirrels. Her hat matched her jacket, with grey hair showing underneath.
A bird landed on her hand to feed. She looked up in triumph and delight, flashing a triple gap-toothed grin at the man who happened to be passing by, to his surprise, and…