The missing piece (760 words)

“I found you this jigsaw puzzle in the Oxfam shop.” Sandra’s voice had the forced cheerfulness of a daughter with a guilty conscience.

“Thank you dear, Have you time for a cup of tea?”

“I’m sorry mother, I must dash.”

Ruth listened to the banging of cupboards in the kitchen as her daughter put the groceries away and she sighed. It was kind of Sandra to do her shopping, of course, but what she longed for was company.

She stared at the jigsaw box. How unusual - there was no picture on it. It looked expensive. The cardboard was thick and glossy and embossed upon it in gold letters were the words: A Time of Change. Tarot design by Rider-Waite.

“Bye, mother. I’ll see you next week.” Sandra swooped in from the kitchen and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Bye, dear, and thank you.”

She watched her daughter go, ready to give a final wave as she disappeared through the door of the flat, but Sandra left without looking back.

Ruth looked at the clock, it would be many hours before a carer came to help her to bed. The long afternoon stretched before her like a desert. She got to her feet, clinging to her Zimmer frame, and hobbled to the table with the jigsaw puzzle. She sat on the chair, which had been part of a set of eight in the glory days when she and Cyril had given dinner parties in their grand house.

She must not let her mind wander down familiar pathways of loss and regret. Ruth frowned and tried to take the top off the box. It was stuck down with Sellotape of the type so sticky that Ruth’s arthritic fingers had trouble peeling it away. At last she was able to tip the pieces on to table. It was good quality – not wood but a nice strong card and about 500 pieces.

Ruth sorted out the edge pieces. There was a lot of grey. The sky must be grey, that was a disappointment, she like a nice cheerful blue. She fitted the pieces together and found a white hoof and a tail – there was definitely a horse. She collected all the white pieces from the pile and put the horse together. There was a knight in armour on his back it must be a mediaeval scene – a knight rescuing a damsel in distress? She had found the face of a maiden and she did look distressed. There were other figures too. Ruth found pieces depicting brilliant yellow robes, but when she fitted them together she discovered they belonged to a bishop, rather than the maiden.

There was someone lying on the ground beneath the horse, Ruth worked on the jigsaw until she found that it was a man in a blue robe with an ermine collar. Was he the enemy? Surely not. There was a crown lying on the ground beside him, he must be a king.

A bishop, a king, a mourning maiden and there was also a child. There were more yellow pieces and Ruth discovered a sun rising between two towers. It was turning out to be a strange picture.

She glanced at the clock. Her carer would be here soon. Ruth started to work on the knight. He was holding a flag depicting a white rose on a black background. This must be something to do with the war of the roses. Ruth frowned. The hands holding the flagpole looked strange, he must be wearing white gloves.

The jigsaw was almost finished now. All it needed was the rider’s face. There were no more pieces on the table and Ruth felt annoyed that after all her work the picture lacked completion. She looked in the box and found one final piece.

She picked it out in triumph and put it in position, then she felt a chill of fear. The face was a skull. The man was no ordinary rider but a skeleton. Death, who she had dreaded for years had finally found her.

“Hello dear, I’m sorry I am late.” The carer let herself into the flat then gave a cry of dismay as she saw her charge slumped over the table. She felt for a pulse but there was none. With trembling fingers she rang for the paramedics. She would have to wait until they came so she might as well make the place tidy. She broke up the jigsaw and put it back in the box. It would do for some other elderly person.