Last year I wrote a story for a competition, sadly I did not win but I enjoyed the creative writing to a brief of 'Lost and Found'. It resonated with me as my solo exhibition in Penang was titled 'Lost and Found'.

How would I know months later it would resonate with me on a more painful and personal level.

I hope you enjoy reading it. No AI was not used for this story.

The Gate - By Dbee Robinson 

Submitted to The u3a short story competition - 06.10.25

There was a distant creaking sound, just on the edge of Jenny's consciousness; she’d heard it many times over the years, bringing her joy and making her smile. She rested on her favourite wooden bench next to the roses with her eyes shut and the summer sun on her face. Inhaling their heady aroma and absorbing the heat like a lazy lizard on a rock. Wishing for some peace of mind, but couldn’t deny her feelings and the anguish of what she had lost. They were raw, like festering open wounds, reminding her she was feeble and alone. She held her insipid-looking tea in her weak hands, and she reflected on the time they had spent pruning the roses together. She couldn’t even do that anymore; her fragile fingers resembled thin, gnarled twigs poking out of her worn cardigan, useless, just like her. And although she sat in full glorious sunlight, she was actually in a dark place. Somewhere she had been for quite a few months; she couldn’t remember how many exactly, it was all a blur. Each day dragged itself into the next, and each month merged until she didn’t even know when to turn over the next page on the calendar. But she no longer cared. Like a robot, she moved from moment to moment, waiting, no hoping for it all to end, and she could finally sleep and never wake up. 

“Excuse me!” The words drifted into her mind. She refused to look up, busy wallowing in her melancholy.

“I said Excuse me!” Came the voice again, this time louder and more forceful. 

“I’m sorry to wake you, but my son’s rabbit has escaped into your garden,“ the voice announced.

Jenny finally forced her tired eyes open and saw a young blonde woman leaning over her green picket fence. Her first thought was remembering that she was that young once, and she sighed, waiting for her brain to catch up with her eyes.

“I'm sorry to disturb you, but my son’s rabbit has escaped into your garden and is eating your plants. Can I just nip over the fence and catch it, please?” The voice pleaded.

I used to be able to ‘nip’ over the fence, Jenny mused. And she stared at the woman in the pretty summer dress, wondering who she was and what she was doing in Peggy’s garden. It was then, like a punch to the stomach, that she remembered her best friend was gone. Jenny brought herself back to the land of the living and gestured to the woman to come through the gate that Peggy had put in all those years ago. The gate was a joke at first; they spent so much time in each other's gardens that they might as well put one in, which always made them laugh. And then one day, when she got back from shopping, there it was, a little green wooden gate with pretty flowers etched on either side. It was now faded and a little warped, but it was Peggy’s gate, and Jenny loved it, and she reminisced to herself on how much pleasure it had given them both.

The rabbit was now munching its way through some of the chamomile flowers she and Peggy had planted together. Antagonised, she waved her frail arms about to shoo it off the flower bed. 

“I’m so sorry,” uttered the mortified woman watching the rabbit bite off another flower head. “We’ve just moved in and haven’t made sure the garden is bunny-proof yet.  My name is Lesley,” trying desperately to get Jenny’s attention. “What an idyllic garden you have,” she enthused. 

And like a slap to the face, Jenny remembered her absent friend again, and her heart felt heavier. She stared at her neglected garden with despair. The long moss-ridden grass full of rotting leaves, brambles poking through the fence, the borders overrun with weeds, faded flowers that had escaped the usual dead heading, and figured the woman was mad. 

The white fluffy offender was gently extracted from the garden and taken back to its cosy hutch. Then, without another thought, the woman re-invaded Jenny’s garden and sat in the chair opposite her. This usurper was actually sitting in her best friend's chair, and it cut Jenny’s heart like a knife. She looked at the gate and these new encroaching neighbours and immediately decided to have the fence panel put back in!

“We’ve just moved next door,” the woman stated again. “It was the garden that clinched it for me. I couldn’t believe such a beautiful garden was possible in such a small space.”

When will she stop talking? Jenny thought and wished she had the energy to ask her to leave.

“I fell in love with it the moment I saw it,” the woman said. “It was like it wrapped its arms around me and announced, You are home!”

Jenny was suddenly conscious, and she turned her head slowly towards the woman, staring at her, as if seeing her for the first time.  “What did you say?” She questioned.

“We have just moved in, my name is Lesley,” she smiled broadly, showing her perfect white teeth.

“No, the other thing you said?” Jenny asked, wondering if she had heard her correctly.

“It was like the garden wrapped its arms around me, and I felt at home,” the woman repeated. 

“I’m no gardener, and I would hate to let my beautiful new garden suffer because of my lack of green fingers. I can see you must like gardening. Will you teach me what I need to do?” And she smiled as she sat back more comfortably in the chair, breathing in deeply and enjoying the scent of the roses.

Jenny sat mesmerised, her heart now beating faster as if awakening after a long sleep, and was suddenly transported back to her previous neighbour. ‘Peggy always used to say that,’ Jenny thought. ‘Her garden wrapped its arms around her as if it was saying, You are home!’ She sat rooted to the spot, shocked, excited, sad, and confused all at once.

“Would you? Help me?” And the woman touched Jenny’s arm to ensure she had her attention, waiting patiently for a reply whilst studying the older woman’s face. She saw how the wrinkles crawled from the corners of her sad eyes, how her pale skin looked so dull and lifeless, and her heart felt pain for this older woman without even knowing why.

Jenny tried to speak, but nothing came out, fearing her pounding heart would explode. Trying to calm herself, she took some deep breaths, slowly taking it all in. New neighbour, name Lesley, wants to garden, and wants my help. Her brain was suddenly thinking, assessing, coming alive, thoughts and ideas flitting like a bee from flower to flower.

Jenny gazed into the woman’s bright green eyes, and she saw warmth, compassion, and eagerness to learn. Lesley, looking into Jenny’s grey eyes, saw sorrow and yet a glimmer of light. Something was flickering behind them, just waiting to escape, and it was hope.

“I’m not able to look after the garden as much as I used to, as you can see,” said Jenny, gesturing at the tired and unloved garden, feeling a little ashamed at its unkemptness. Peggy would be horrified to see how she had let the garden go, she thought.

“That’s ok,” uttered the woman, gently placing her soft, slender hands over Jenny’s twisted fingers and feeling a connection. “With your expertise and my enthusiasm, we can grow and enjoy our gardens together.“

Jenny started to feel warm inside, and it wasn’t the sun that had driven out the chill of despair. She felt a glimmering light had been switched on deep inside her, lifting her out of the cold, dark place. Her name was Lesley, and it felt good.

Just then, the gate creaked and slowly swung itself open, joining the two gardens and neighbours once more.

Hugs 

Dbee x