Delete from Playlist

A purple bruise spreads across the sky, which had earlier shimmered blue in the warmth of the morning. A storm is brewing and Georgia watches as the leaves at the top of trees shiver in the wind. She hears the creak of the fence as it gently sways to and fro, and feels a splash of rain hit her bare shoulder. A trail of water makes a rivulet down her arm, but she does not move from her seat at the garden table.

Distracted by movement, she turns her gaze to the bird table and watches as two visiting blackbirds help themselves to what remains of the seed placed there earlier in the day.  On the fence, Reggie, the local ginger tom. is also watching them closely, probably waiting for his chance to pounce. 

Briefly, the sky is filled with a silver light, which is followed almost instantly, by a rumble of thunder. In a flash, Reggie leaps from the fence and, startled by the sudden movement, the blackbirds take flight, leaving Georgia alone with her thoughts.

In pensive mood, she chews absent-mindedly at the cam on the end of her pen, and watches as the page of her notebook becomes pitted with moisture. She stares at the smudged lines on the page. Her pen is poised but, for the moment, her mind is blank and she stands, turns, picks up her notepad and makes her way into the house. 

"Hey Google," she says as she enters the kitchen, "play Spotify playlist Sleepless Nights".

"Playing Spotify playlist Sleepless Nights on Spotify," the Google Dot replies and, as Eva Cassidy mournfully sings about fields of gold, Georgia sits down at the kitchen table. 

What a couple of weeks it had been! A longed for trip to Paris had come and gone, now a distant but happy memory. A family wedding - a weekend of laughter and reminiscence, an 18th birthday party, all now passed. Despite these blessings, however, Georgia found herself feeling lethargic and low, seemingly unable to snap out of the funk that was shrouding her day.

Fat drops of rain begin to fall faster and faster from the sky. The rapid pit-a-pat as it hits the paving stones, is soothing and melancholic and fits perfectly with both her mood and the music that now fills the kitchen. Chris De Burgh's "Fatal Hesitation" - a poignant tale about the failure to act on the chance of love. The thunder sounds again, this time a little closer and, impatient with the song choice, Georgia speaks again,

 "Hey Google, next track," 

Google complies, but her hopes of something more upbeat are dashed as the baritone voice of Eric Clapton tells her that she looks "Wonderful Tonight."  She rolls her eyes and looks down to her bare feet and chubby ankles, taking in her khaki shorts and dirty white t-shirt - "hardly wonderful" she says aloud, but she lets the song play out. 

Georgia picks up her coffee cup, the liquid is cold but she drinks it anyway.  Leaning against the work top she looks out into her small garden. Another flash of light - a roll of thunder. Another downpour. She is glad to see the rain bouncing off the flags. It had been a dry month, the garden looks parched and the ground cracked and dusty. She had neglected it for too long and her heart sinks as she makes a mental list of everything she needs to do. 

Mow the lawn. 

Stake the lilac. 

Do the weeding. 

Paint the fence. 

She usually liked pootling in her garden but today, it just seemed like another task to add to her growing list of chores. The sound of Clapton's guitar faded away and seconds later it is replaced by the opening chords to "Everybody Hurts."

"Now you are just taking the mickey," Georgia says to the speaker, and as Michael Stipe begins to sing, she steps back outside and walks to the top of the garden.

The rain has stopped and the smell of petrichor, rising from the wet grass beneath her feet, tickles her nose and makes her smile.  As she reaches the furthest point, she can see that the plum tree is laden with fruit and Georgia begins to feel her melancholy shift. She lifts her face to the sky, feeling the warmth of the sun kiss her cheek as the cloud moves to reveal its orange glow. She turns back towards the house and into the kitchen once more. 

After pouring the cold dregs of her coffee cup into the sink, Georgia speaks to the speaker once more.

"Hey Google ... turn off."

She walks towards the kitchen table and sits down. Opening her notepad,  she picks up her pen and begins to write in neat block capitals at the top of the page ... DELETE FROM PLAYLIST.