Meadowlark Prairie the irony of dying on your birthday

I am sorry for the delay.

A lot happens very suddenly that she struggles to follow along. Another shows up and she looks warily in his direction but she diverts back when the familiar voice asks her a question. She sends her gaze back to the dark woman to consider what to say but there's a pause when she gives the first male a job. He disappears to complete the task and she works to stand on all four legs. With her limbs shaking beneath her, she takes a careful step away from her sick to clear the smell from her nose. 

She glances to male with a flash of her teeth in warning. 

"I don't have a fever," she says to the white woman. She feels compelled to move again but in neither direction does she feel comfortable. "I am in pain," she speaks to describe her "symptoms" as nondescript as possible, "my joints are older than I am, it seems." And the cold offers a mask to hide and present arthritis to those none-the-wiser.