The Photograph, great uncle's album Flashcards
The faded green album sat before me, resting on the mahogany dining table.
The corners were frayed with the action of impatient fingers over the years.
My hand turned the stiff, creaking pages.
Between each one was a slim, silky translucent page veiling each new collection of images.
This was an object that belonged in another time and place but to people I knew and loved so dearly.
Each page held a new event or gathering: garden parties, birthday celebrations, children playing or pets looking admiringly at the owners through the lens.
All were smiling.
Life seemed to be an endless parade of high days and holidays.
Frivolous but apparently all-consuming for those captured by the camera.
One by one I considered those youthful, joyous faces.
In their features I saw the echoes of the future, my parents, my brothers and even my own self.
Where are they all now?
Under the ground or in urns is the answer.
They had all now passed away and here I was left with this album, full of their lives and happiness.
I sat in the cold room, the table’s squeaky polish spoke to me of another era.
Soon this little pocket of time would also draw to a close as my great uncle’s house and possessions were to be dismantled by his family after the funeral.
I looked to see if I could find a photograph of his face in the album.
Yes, there it was.
He face was smooth and youthful.
Dressed in a crisp, white shirt and smart trousers pleated at the waist.
He eyes gleaming as she smiled over to my grandmother.
He had been on the beaches of Dunkirk…
Could I detect that in his smile?
No, there was nothing more than that moment in the garden with his family that day.
My hand drew a soft arc as it closed the stiff pages.
I placed my palm on top as if to drink in the power of the past and the memories within.
How should I feel, I asked myself?
What can the album tell me? My great uncle had left it to me so he must have thought I needed it or wanted it somehow. As I left the room and emerged into the piercing sunlight streaming in through the hallway, I knew the answer. He meant me to understand that is about enjoying every day that comes along.
What can the album tell me?
My great uncle had left it to me so he must have thought I needed it or wanted it somehow.
