#Writephoto – Memory

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Papa is the one who enjoys sitting and talking to her, in the evenings when he relaxes on the stoep [veranda] after a long day’s work on the farm. When she was a little girl, he would speak to her in English and read to her from his few precious books. As she grew older, he had taught her to read in English, patiently helping her sound out the words until she could do it on her own.

Papa had told her that she was just like his grandmother, Anne, who had died when he was sixteen years old. He had a small suitcase containing a few of her things: her large leather-bound King James Bible, an old copy of a book called Aesop’s Fables, wrapped in plain brown paper, a few letters written in spidery handwriting on yellowed paper and some of her clothes. Estelle knew these few memories of his deceased grandmother were precious to him. He had told her once that he didn’t like to open the suitcase too often as her smell would evaporate, the letters become even more faded and her clothes would lose the shape of her body. He opened it for her though and showed her these treasured items. He had read to her from Aesop’s Fables and even allowed her to read from it, but he always turned the old and delicate pages. Estelle longed to touch those pages and feel the smooth fragility of the paper beneath her fingers.

Share for Sue Vincent’s photo challenge – Memory. You can join in here: https://scvincent.com/2020/02/27/thursday-photo-prompt-memory-writephoto/

Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

Published

54 thoughts on “#Writephoto – Memory”

      1. she was Florence Clee an English poetess, he hand wrote a letter of thanks on Prime Minister letterhead for her poems during the war … I will collect and publish a few more 🙂

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  20. I felt the fragility of the situation and the book. Thank you! Letters from the past too are precious. I have a printed one from my Dad, stationed in France in 1939 and a letter from Clementine Churchill thanking me for sending five shillings to help feed the starving Russians in WW11 (I helped organize and dance in a concert, We must have charged a penny a head..!) Hugs xx

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    1. How wonderful to still have those letters, Joy. I have very few from my grandparents because the English family got most of their stuff [which makes perfect sense]. I would like to have a bit though, because I am the one who is probably the most interested in the past.

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