OrdinaryPerson
patiently waiting
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2022
- Posts
- 11,930
@Indie
Melody sneezed as she set down the heavy box of pictures she took down from the attic. The box had sat undisturbed for years and a thick layer of dust had gathered on the lid. She had taken the box from her grandmother’s house when she moved into a nursing home, meaning to organize the loose pictures and mementos inside into photo books and displays for her grandmother’s new room. But life had gotten busy with newborn twins and then another baby until she forgot all about the box. She had forgotten anyway, until her beloved grandmother mentioned the box two weeks ago, right before passing away, telling her to be careful.
Now she was taking a break in between doing laundry to shift through the memories. Heeding her grandmother’s warning, she had made sure to wait until her kids were at preschool and her hands were clean before touching the treasures inside. She smiled as she found school pictures of cousins, siblings, and her younger self, pictures she remembered seeing at her grandmother’s house before they were rotated out for more recent ones. She also found pictures of her grandparents together, some while they were young and maybe still dating. She looked away when she felt tears starting to sting her eyes as she thought about how in love her grandmother was with her grandfather and how she had embraced her role as a mom and wife so fully, something that Melody had always admired but struggled herself with. Even though her grandfather had passed a few years before her grandmother, she often thought about their relationship and tried to draw strength from it during the low points of her marriage. Be careful with the box, she remembered her grandmother warning again, and concentrated on holding back her tears so nothing would be damaged.
She dug deeper into the box and found a small decorative box, tied with red ribbon, like a present, ready to give to someone. She gently untied the ribbon and opened the box to find a beautifully handwritten letter, unsigned and addressed only to a “You”. Under the letter was a small antique looking key. She gasped as she started reading the letter, telling herself that it couldn't be for her grandmother. It was impossible that anyone but her grandfather would have written something so intimate and so explicit to her grandmother, could have propositioned her so clearly. She couldn't let herself believe that her grandmother would have carefully preserved the letter instead of trashing it as nonsense if it was written to her.
Melody sneezed as she set down the heavy box of pictures she took down from the attic. The box had sat undisturbed for years and a thick layer of dust had gathered on the lid. She had taken the box from her grandmother’s house when she moved into a nursing home, meaning to organize the loose pictures and mementos inside into photo books and displays for her grandmother’s new room. But life had gotten busy with newborn twins and then another baby until she forgot all about the box. She had forgotten anyway, until her beloved grandmother mentioned the box two weeks ago, right before passing away, telling her to be careful.
Now she was taking a break in between doing laundry to shift through the memories. Heeding her grandmother’s warning, she had made sure to wait until her kids were at preschool and her hands were clean before touching the treasures inside. She smiled as she found school pictures of cousins, siblings, and her younger self, pictures she remembered seeing at her grandmother’s house before they were rotated out for more recent ones. She also found pictures of her grandparents together, some while they were young and maybe still dating. She looked away when she felt tears starting to sting her eyes as she thought about how in love her grandmother was with her grandfather and how she had embraced her role as a mom and wife so fully, something that Melody had always admired but struggled herself with. Even though her grandfather had passed a few years before her grandmother, she often thought about their relationship and tried to draw strength from it during the low points of her marriage. Be careful with the box, she remembered her grandmother warning again, and concentrated on holding back her tears so nothing would be damaged.
She dug deeper into the box and found a small decorative box, tied with red ribbon, like a present, ready to give to someone. She gently untied the ribbon and opened the box to find a beautifully handwritten letter, unsigned and addressed only to a “You”. Under the letter was a small antique looking key. She gasped as she started reading the letter, telling herself that it couldn't be for her grandmother. It was impossible that anyone but her grandfather would have written something so intimate and so explicit to her grandmother, could have propositioned her so clearly. She couldn't let herself believe that her grandmother would have carefully preserved the letter instead of trashing it as nonsense if it was written to her.
