Wednesday 3rd December 2009
Mark:I walk into the tube station wearily and approach the seemingly endless steps. I usually take the stairs, today is different. Today I am tired;Alison Mason’s dog barked all night, I’m lucky if I had an hours sleep. I cram myself into the compact, claustrophobic underground lift with all the other people. As it slowly ascends, there’s a shudder. Everyone looks at each other worriedly. Then another shudder.Darkness.
Saturday 29th January 2010
Cheryl: I woke up that morning thinking it would be an usual day. But it wasn’t. This was no mundane day; this was the day my husband died. I said goodbye to him like I would any other day, he grabbed his brushed woollen coat and headed out of the door with his brief case. Not for one moment did I think that would be the last time I would ever see him.I too,hastily ate my Cornflakes and grabbed my handbag and headed out the door. I rushed over to my car, tossed my bag onto the passenger seat, and began my journey.
Looking back now I wish I had worried less about hurrying here and there and taken more time to enjoy the little things in life. I hadn’t even told Mark that morning that I loved him. Now I never will. Life’s full of things we wish we had done but I regret this more than any of them.
Wednesday 3rd December 2009
Work was a nightmare that day but it was nothing compared to what I was going to hear. My manager Mr Levy came up to my desk “Can I have a word Cheryl?” He never comes to people’s desks. Not mine at least. I must have got that assignmentwrong. It was what I’d been worrying about it all week. Oh no, he’s going to sack me. How will Mark and I cope? We’ve only been married three months and we’ve still got to pay off the bills we owe from that. Oh no, this is it. I tapped nervously on the door. “Come in.” a calm voice said. Why was he being so pleasantwith me if he was going to sack me? He’s probably toying with me. Yes, as soon as I open that door he’ll start hollering at me about how I’m such a terrible employee. I decided it was going to happen sooner or later, so I might as well get it over with. I began turning the door knob anxiously. The door opened, my sweaty hand let go of the handle.
“You wanted to see me?” I enquired.
“Yes Cheryl, you see Ihave some rather bad news, I’m afraid-”
“Please, I’ll do anything just please don’t fire me, I-”
“Cheryl I’m afraid it’s Mark”
“Mark? Then you’re not getting rid of me?”
“No not at all. Whatever gave you that idea? Anyway, I’m afraid it’s Mark; he’s been in an accident. The police have just rung; he’s dead Cheryl. ”
It had not even crossed my mind that this could be anything to do with Mark.
“Whaaa-t?” I exclaimed. I must be hearing things I thought to myself.
“They said he didn’t suffer, he died instantly”
Mr Levy continued talking to me, ensuring me that everything would be alright. But how could it be, Mark was gone. Gone forever.
Saturday 29th January, 2010
I was distraught with grief. I know it was just a tragic accident; no one’s fault. People kept telling me this but whatever they said didn’t help. Mark was gone. I’d always imagined us both dying old, warm in our beds; not like this. The papers made my pain no easier. They just named him under the “Victims of Tube LiftAccident”. He could have been anyone, but he wasn’t, he was my Mark. When the cable cord snapped and the elevatorplunged into a dark void, he wasn’t just someone, he was my childhood sweetheart. He was Mark Jones, my husband.He would always cook meals, he would bring me a cup of tea when I was down, and he was always there. The tabloid doesn’t say that, it says nothing. How is that fair, that my husband, a great man can be lost and the world not know how remarkable he really was? On the worthless scrap I hold before me he’s just a name, not a person, not my Mark.
Wednesday 3rd December 2009
Mark: I walk into the tube station wearily and approach the seeming endless steps. I usually take the stairs, today is different. Today I am tired; Alison Mason’s dog barked all night, I’m lucky if I had an hours sleep. I look into the crowded confined elevator, maybe today isn’t different. I can’t be bothered with all the trouncing and trampling. No, I’ll take the stairs, as always. After all Cheryl is always on at me to do more exercise.
