A Love Forgotten

I looked at the pair of emerald bracelets that had appeared out of nowhere.

The form of the bracelets was familiar, but I couldn’t recall who they belonged to. My first instinct told me that they must be very important to me.

Upon noticing my confused expression, Elijah took out a yellowed photograph.

After only one glance, I was thunderstruck.

It was a photo of my family!

It was a photo of me, my late grandma, Dad, Mom, and Jonathan,

In the photo, I was wearing a pink dress and was about ten years old. Meanwhile, Grandma–who was seated at the center–was dressed in an old–fashioned blouse with a kind smile on her face.

She looked ahead quietly, as if she were staring at me through the photo.

Suddenly, a loud bang went off in my head. Something had smashed through the railings of my memory

with a roar.

“Grandma!” My legs went limp, and I crumpled to the ground.

Elijah stared down at me coldly.

I looked at the emerald bracelets.

I remembered–Grandma gave me the bracelets before she died!

My voice shook as I said, “Give it back.”

a tear.

Elijah sneered, placed his hand on the yellowed photograph, and made a

I screamed, “Don’t tear it! That’s the only photo I have. It’s Grandma’s last photo before she died. That’s the only one!”

I rushed over to grab it, but Elijah held up the photo and the bracelets. Every time I tried to jump, he held me down.

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Elijah looked at me as if I was a clown as I failed time after time.

Frantic, I said, “Give it back. Give it back, please?”

Elijah was apathetic. “Are you still leaving then?”

My tears kept falling.

He then raised his voice, saying, “Are you leaving, or not? If you leave, I’ll tear up this photograph.”

As he spoke, he tore at it anyway.

Now, the photograph had been torn in two.

Screaming, I pounced over to catch it.

Tears blurred my vision, and I sobbed as I tried to put the photo back together.

Elijah was wretched. He’d ripped the middle, and Grandma’s face was split in half.

I couldn’t hold it in anymore and bawled. “Give me back my photo. That’s Grandma’s last photo. I don’t have any photos of her anymore.” I lost my composure and lunged at Elijah to hit him.

But Elijah was strong. He grabbed my hand, and pain shot through it.

However, I kept struggling.

I was going to kill us both.

Soon, Elijah could no longer restrain me. With a growl, he threw me onto the bed and pinned me down. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe under his weight.

Then, I heard his voice beside my ear. He sounded like he was pleading. “Ari, cut it out. Don’t leave, and I’ll return your grandma’s belongings to you.”

I looked at the emerald bracelets in his hand. My tears nowed unrelentingly.

I was distraught.

Grandma had raised me. Both my parents were busy traveling for work, and once I was seven, I was taken back to the city. But Grandma was worried and came with me.

Grandma was an illiterate old woman from the countryside and could only speak a rural dialect. People would tease her when she went grocery shopping.

In the city, she’d even struggled with using electric home appliances. But nonetheless, she took great care of me and my brother, especially me–she doted on me.

Early in the morning, she would make for me my favorite bread pudding. She would even make ravioli. When I headed to school, she would give me a warm egg.

She was an illiterate old woman. Yet, worried that I wasn’t used to the food in the school cafeteria, she would come to my school by bus in the afternoon to feed me her homemade spaghetti. She would make sure my stomach was full before allowing me to return to the classroom.

When Grandma was with me, I was healthy and plump.

When Grandma was with me, I was a happy and beloved princess every day.

I was Grandma’s “Aria“, the most blessed Aria.