Mary.

Lockdown had been hard for Mary. She was alone now since her husband Charles passed away two years ago ,and both of her two children, Anna and Andrew had left the nest in the few years prior to his passing.

They lived in different states now. Anna was doing graphic design in Brisbane and Andrew was a builder in South Australia.

Mary's days were now spent at home, unable to leave , not just due to the coronavirus, but also because she could not drive anymore , as her eyes no longer worked as well as they once did. And going to the shops was just too much for her now ,and the only time she saw another person was when a man dropped off her grocery delivery each week and she would wave out the window to him. Other than that nobody else visited her.

She would get up around 9 am, make herself a cup of tea, and a slice of toast with butter and vegemite, and then go and sit on her front porch swing and admire the garden that she and Charles had grown, loved and nurtured during their 50 years of marital bliss.

It had a few more weeds now, as she was unable to get down on her knees to pull them out.But the bluestone rocks provided a little haven for the skinks, and lizards to roam in and out of , and the bees loved the plentiful and colorful arrays of flowers that were in full bloom.

After breakfast , and washing up her plate and cup, Mary would get her duster out and gently wipe over all of her picture frames that sat on the sideboard in her dining room. She would lovingly dust each one and reminice about the wonderful times she had with family and friends, before they had all left due to passing or moving away .

Every morning she would clutch the photo of Anna and Andrew to her chest, that had been given to her when they visited last. The tears would well up in her eyes and she would wonder when will be the day, that she would be able to see her children in person again.

Sitting down to watch the news each morning was more of a chore now for Mary than it used to be. Nowadays it was pretty much all about coronavirus , and leaders telling her what she could and could not do, and each day more confusing than the one before. She didnt like to watch ,but she was longing for the day when they would tell her that Anna and Andrew could safely cross the border to visit her and she could hold them in her arms again.

After watching the news, she would get her cane off the hook near the front door, and slowly walk out to the letterbox at her front gate, hoping to get some mail and then go back to the swing on her porch to rest her tired legs.

Lunch was usually the same each day. Sitting in her favorite arm chair with her feet up on the ottaman eating a ham and cheese sandwich, and then a banana that she had chopped up and put in a bowl. Her only company is the huge big grandfather clock on the wall of her loungeroom, going boing each hr and tick tock tick tock, as she ate.

After she had would , Mary would put her head back and nod off to sleep.

One of these long begrougingly routine days, she was awoken by the sound of the front gate closing. She reached for her cane and after a few agonizing minutes managed to get up off the chair.

She opened the front door and stepped onto the porch..

There on the round table next to the swing, was a small box wrapped in brown paper with a pink bow tied on top.

'Thats strange' she thought suspiciously..Who would that be from"?

She didnt have any neighbours that lived near her, as her property was the only one on the main road and there were any other houses for a couple of miles.

She slowly sat down on the swing , and unwrapped it.

Inside the paper was a small brown box with a lid and a note attached.

It read: 'Hello.I am fairly new in town and I have driven past your house a few times lately and I have seen you sitting alone on your porch. I noticed that the car cover is always on your car, and that maybe you don't drive anymore. I hope you dont think that i am a busy body, but i hope that you are ok and that when we come out of lockdown and you are allowed to have visitors again that maybe i could come around and have a cup of tea with you and i could bring some more of what i have made in the box for you. Or if you ever need help with anything, I have put my phone number and address on the other side of this note. If you want some company please call me. Best wishes Jane.'

Mary's eyes started to glisten with tears.

She opened the box and inside were 4 homemade chocolate chip cookies.

'How thoughtful of her" said to herself, wiping away the tears.

Mary closed her eyes and smiled.

She suddenly didnt feel so alone anymore.