A Prague shop window, Photo Barry Jones

Spring

He stepped out of the door and locked it behind him. He knew it couldn’t be so long ago, but he saw the blue sky for what seemed like the first time in months.

The daily dog walk was probably the only reason he went outside most days, but the appeal had waned as the winter rolled interminably on.

This early March day was different; as he walked towards the beach in a still thin wind he could smell the sandy earth and he remembered how much he loved that smell.

And the brown fields and bushes seemed to have a pale green aura.

When he reached a spot where he could see neither houses nor the sea, just dunes and trees, he turned to face the low morning sun.

He took off his hat and felt the slight warmth on his head and, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he slowly turned his face until the sun shone directly on his eyelids, and all he could see was bright orange.

Exhaling slowly he felt a surge of renewed hope that he realised had been missing from his daily life, and as he and his dog turned for home he thought to himself, “Come what may, today is a good day!”

Barry Jones,  March 2015