A bleak Midwinter by Mongolita

Winter was saying goodbye to autumn with its blistering winds. The sky was loaded with grey heavy clouds  carrying enough rain for the whole winter, it was most certainly going to be a bleak midwinter. Jane stood shivering, by the green mouldy window of her new council flat, contemplating the trees swaying in the wind. Though she was over the moon that the council had given her an apartment after sleeping rough, that feeling soon disappeared.

Two years ago was when it all started going wrong.  Jane woke up at the usual time, following her normal daily routine before going to work when her phone pinged.  It was her monthly bank statement showing that the direct debits for the mortgage hadn’t been paid for a few months, and there were no funds in her account to cover  payments.  She called out for Robert,  but there was no response.  He has been a stranger to Jane since he lost his job.  Jane has been keeping the household going for some time. She called out his name again. She went to the bedroom where Robert had been sleeping but the bed was untouched, he wasn't in the shower room either. She opened the wardrobes,  empty, all his clothes gone. 

There was a note on the bedside table:

‘Jane,  I am sorry but this is not working. I am leaving. Good bye. R’ 

She sat down in disbelief. Was this what 15 years of marriage was with Robert? Who was this man I  married and trusted?! 

She was in no condition to face a day at work.  She phoned her office to say  she wasn't going  despite the important meeting she had with the board of directors. 

One day rolled on to two,  then a month passed by.  Jane lost all interest in her work, in her house, even living.  

‘All this is  my  fault, because I  couldn't have children,' she thought.

Her boss called a few times, he had no option but to dismiss her. The loss of her job followed the loss of her house, after the eviction letter was delivered by hand, which was the tipping point of her nightmare. Robert took all their savings and she was left with no money.

Living in a council flat was different to the comforts she was used to.  The one bedroom flat  was damp, cold and  drafty, and had no furniture. There  was an old divan bed in the bedroom. The mattress had yellow stains in the middle giving a musky odour which collapsed in the middle.  Jane reached for  her handbag, took a  bottle out, inside were white tiny pills,  she  swallowed a few. She laid on the smelly mattress as she was feeling lightheaded.

“Hmm, I feel so tired and sleepy. I’ll just lay here for a little while.”

Days passed by, the police were called when neighbours became concerned about a putrid  smell  emanating from the top floor.  When no one  came to the door, the officer knocked the door down,  and in the bedroom found a decomposing body.