Bending down, with his joints creaking so loud, it filled the entire room, he picked up the photo frame. The gnarled and wrinkled, leathery brown hands, slowly forced its digits to coordinate and cooperate with each other. The triumph of grasping the gold-plated frame shone on his face, bringing a smile to his chapped lips. Yet the smile rippled across the weather-beaten visage, reaching his dark brooding eyes, filling it with sunshine.
“Ha! Gotcha!” he laughed.
The full throaty laugh slowly filled the vast space, as his eyes alighted on his precious possession. The sepia photo reflected the homely face of a middle-aged lady. The auburn curls flew across her forehead, tumbling down in a cascade. Gently arching eyebrows drew attention to friendly, pools of molten charcoal, which seemed to hold the love of the entire universe. The short perky nose, which had a delightful habit of wrinkling up with at times distaste and at times, as much with unbridled joy! And the mouth, so clearly defined… capable of only the most encouraging words, delightful squeals of joy and the promise of laughter lurking nearby. A hand rose close to the face, as if to brush off the stray hairs which were kissing her face, at the behest of the truant wind. It had been tugging her dress, hair and had already snatched her hat.
It was a face he dreamt of all those years, nay decades ago and also now. Every day and every night. Whenever he rolled off into torpor, whether a short snooze or deep slumber, it was her face which made him smile.
The love of his life, his wife.
He looked at the photograph again, noticing the band, simple and inconspicuous. She had asked him only for one thing… a diamond ring, but he could not get her one. At least not the kind she deserved and the kind he wanted to present her with.
Peering at the beloved face, he could not help but recall the last time he had held that face in his hands. The day, she had left him to face the world on his own. He had broken down. Felt lonely and abandoned! He had become angry, with her and the world. How could she go? Leaving him all alone?
That’s when the tears started to trickle down.
“Oh, my Darling! Why did you not wait for me? Why the hurry? There was so much we had planned. So many plans in the pipelines.”
Of course, he didn’t realise, he had started moaning and crying aloud, once again.
The door opened silently, and bare feet came padding quietly towards him. Soft, smooth arms went around him, gently comforting him and his sob wracked chest. “Shhhhhh! There, there now!” cooed a soft and gentle voice.
The voice pierced through the fog of pain finally, as his tears were wiped away with a soft, spotless silk hanky. “So, you came back finally?” He turned to look at the gently arching eyebrows framing pools of molten charcoal, the short perky nose, wrinkling up with distaste and the clearly defined mouth, with the most encouraging words and the promise of laughter lurking nearby. The auburn curls tumbled all around that most cherished face. “Yes, Nana!”
As he tried to mumble something, the lump in his throat wouldn’t let any sound out.
She smiled and said, “Show me your hand Nana, I have something for you!”
Confused and puzzled, he wondered, what was she up to. And she gently placed a beautifully gift-wrapped box in pink glazed paper, with red hearts stamped all over. There was a shiny satin ribbon, in her favourite golden yellow, tied across deftly into a neat bow.
“Go ahead, open it!”
Again, he willed his fingers and thumb to work together in tandem, hold the silky-smooth satin ribbon and tug it undone… spilling more memories from his mind than gems from a treasure trove.
At last, it was done… slowly the paper was ripped apart, red hearts and pink glazed paper flying in all directions. With childlike glee, he wondered what had she got him. And there it stood, cradled in his big brown hands. A golden frame with a picture of the most precious face in the universe. A tad younger than he remembered, but it was the same:
the gently arching eyebrows framing pools of molten charcoal,
the short perky nose, wrinkling up with distaste and
the clearly defined mouth, with the promise of laughter lurking nearby!
The auburn hair was neatly held in place, the fair complexion was highlighted under the blue sky as were the red cheeks and lips. The red dress complemented the beauty. And the uplifted hand had… wait a minute… a diamond ring, with the biggest prettiest solitaire!
He looked at the photograph and then at the beauty beside him.
They both sat their smiling and hugging each other. Finally, she had helped to bring closure!
