“Woman at Gothic Window” 2023 Flashscapes! Competition Shortlist

I am drawn to a daub of yellow, freesia on a sill, set deep in the lime-stone wall. Jarrah boards creak as I move towards it. Old glass obscures the outdoors; diamond-shaped lead-lights, triptych panes, secured with solid brass locks. Slight breeze, soft calico brushes my arm.
Were you confined for days, months, years? Your breath still mists this window. Did you dream of buttercups, sunlit like freesia? You are no flimsy ghost, or ghastly apparition, they’re for tourists. You are absolute presence.