The old lady sat slumped on the park bench, even the scavenging pigeons left her alone, certain she’d nothing to offer. Desire and hope had deserted her, leaving in their wake a desolate state of exhaustion. Her upper body quivered as she shouldered her woes. What had gone wrong? Where had all her dreams gone? Had they died with age like her beauty, gone but sadly not forgotten?

How had she ended up all alone? Where did they all go, those important movers and shakers of your youth? One thing was certain, they’d faired better than she. Now here she was, a figure of fun for the children to mock and the adults to shake their heads in dismay, tut tutting as they passed. Just an old bag of brittle bones and papery skin.

She was so engrossed in her misery she didn't notice a stranger tip toeing toward her.

That's her, thought Tilly; she is most definitely on my list.

Ethel, Tilly whispered. Hello Ethel, I’ve come for you.

Tilly climbed up onto the seat beside her and gently ever so gently tapped her on the arm.

An angel’s kiss they call it in the manual.

The old lady looked up, her watery eyes clear for the first time in a long time, something was different but she knew not what.

A smile settled on her thin lips as she recalled a moment of happiness from her past. A young man's strong hand on her back as he waltzed her across a ballroom; the tiny whimper of her firstborn as he suckled her breast; snuggling onto her father's lap as he read her a fairy story. 'Yes', she thought, I suppose it has all been worth it.

Tilly ran off, glowing with achievement. Ethel leaned back on the bench and drew her final breath,