Sandra - Place

Sarah decided to park her car on the village hall car park and walk to St. Annes Church.  It was a bright sunny May day. Sarah locked the car and walked towards the exit past a green wooden notice board with a yellow poster advertising Saturday night bingo. One of the drawing pins had come out and the poster flapped against the board in the morning breeze. Opposite the village hall she noticed Bernie Gotts was putting out
runner bean plants into a wooden pallet to sell to locals and passers by. Not that there was much traffic likely to be idly driving through the village as it was well off any major route and not easy to find.
Bernie noticed Sarah and tipped his flat cap. Sarah waved back and made a mental note to buy some plants before she left.
The grassy path to the church was still wet with morning dew.  Trees on either side of the path formed their own aisle the sun glinting through the new bright spring leaves. Sarah could feel May's presence all around her. This was the village where May had grown up and where three weeks earlier Sarah had watched as her
grandmother was buried next to her brother Jack.
Sarah smiled to herself imagining her grandmother as a young girl skipping along this very path with her brothers and sisters. May had told her that every Sunday the whole family walked to church for morning and evening worship. It felt very right that this should be her final resting place.
Sarah had been amazed at the large congregation at the funeral. She had no idea that her grandmother had so many friends.
Pansy Potts had brought bundles of bluebells to the church and festooned it with them. She told Sarah later that she had gathered them from the garden of May's old family home. Now almost derelict but still standing and used as a grain store by the farmer that now owned it.
Sarah paused at the duckpond to watch a mother duck swim proudly across with her brood of ducklings.
Then sighing she carried on. Turning the corner the large tower of St. Annes swung into view. The iron gate was open as if she had been expected.
Sarah walked towards the left of the church door and round the side of the church. May's grave distinctive because of its newness.
As Sarah drew near to the grave a pair of skylarks soared above. Sarah looked up into the sky to watch them and  her grandmothers face smiled down on her.  A great sense of peace washed over her and a weight lifted from her heart.