Fading

Her eyes opened up and stared into the darkness around her. Knowing she must greet the day, but wondering how her aging body would adjust became a heated discussion in her mind. The ticking of the clock had already gone one tick too far, and the impending work of the day was beckoning. How was it that, at this age, she was still required to slave away with the rules of society? The ache in her right knee began, and the sharpness in her back returned as she slowly slid out from underneath the covers and placed her tender feet on the flood. With a careful hand, she outlined the wrinkles in her face; each line a memory, and each dark mark a lesson learned. A heavy sigh heaved from her frail chest, and she arose, carefully making her way to the vanity across the bedroom.

With all the aches and pains she endured, this next part remained the most painful of all, for looking into the mirror would make her realize the truth; her days were numbered. She raised he greying blue eyes and peered into the image peering back at her.

A gasp escaped her.

The elderly woman she felt she was... wasn't. Every line erased, and every pain gone. She was young. She was beautiful!

Time hadn't escaped her after all, for this elderly woman was not yet 23 years of age. Time had not escaped her body. But, sure as the years go by, time had escaped her very soul. This woman, although young in body, was old, sore, and dying in spirit. Time hadn't decided her seniority. Time was her for the taking, and yet... she was fading. Quickly.

Will you let time escape your soul before it escapes your body? She had.