It was evening, though you would not have guessed. The sun shone fiercely from a copper coloured sky. On a patio chair she sat with her hair damp with perspiration and curling against her scalp. She was dressed in crumpled cotton and looked as if she had been gardening. On the table in front of her was a pair of gloves and a garden trowel. One hand held a glass with an amber liquid and partially melted ice cubes. She seemed to be gazing into the distance with an unwavering glance. So still and intense was her countenance that she seemed to be a sculpture cast in some exotic material. It was not until your eyes began to examine the other hand and saw the red stains that you suddenly became aware that something was amiss and began to search out other clues.

She stood up, too quickly and nearly lost her balance. Her gaze dropped to the tabletop. The eyes widened as if in surprise to see the gloves and trowel there. Turning, and with her glass still in her hand she began to walk down the cobble stone path. She reached the end of the walk and continued on through the grass. At one of the beds there was a sack and shovel. Draining the glass of it's liquid she threw it into the shrubbery and began to dig. She dug purposefully and without regard as to the heat or the physical strain she subjected herself to.

When she had finished, there was a pit about four feet by three feet dug into the loamy soil. She then rolled the long round sack and its contents into the pit. Her expression did not change through out the time consuming process of digging the pit or the burying of the sack. She began to put bedding plants into the freshly dug soil. When she had finished she sat back on her heels and tears began to course down her cheeks. Silent sobs wracked her as she slowly stood. It was going to be hard explaining to the children and to her husbands boss that he had run off with another woman. But, being a strong individual she would survive and surmount her difficulties. Wiping at a tear and leaving a muddy track she collected the garden implements, retrieved the glass and proceeded up the path to the gardening shed.