It’s always exciting to receive a response to one of my writing prompts. This intriguing tale was written by Rachel Smith from the prompt ‘repressed memories‘ prompt I published in August.
The Return by Rachel Smith
Having a clear out isn’t always easy. You can end up keeping things just in case you find the time and affection to use them again, but eventually you reach that point when you know it’s time to let go. That’s how I felt about my guitar. The dream was over. I leant it against the box with ‘Rubbish’ scrawled on the side.
Wanting to break the bond quickly before I changed my mind, I moved straight on to the next task: my desk drawers.
I like clearing out drawers. You find things you’ve forgotten you even had. They become brand new again. It feels like opening presents. There’s something about having new things that gives me a warm feeling inside.
I spent about half an hour sorting through bits of old paper. It all turned out to be rubbish, apart from a pad of drawings I’d done as a child and some humorous letters my friend and I had written in a made up language in primary school.
Re-discovering childhood memories is my favourite part of clearing out drawers. They bring me back to a time of fun, when I could make a game out of anything, where my endless free time allowed me to explore and imagine more. And of course, when everything seemed so much simpler. Well, most of the time.
The second best thing I like about clearing out drawers is the organisation. The act of sorting through what’s needed and what’s not, helps to de-clutter my mind as well the drawer. I divided things into a pile for shredding and recycling. I’d heard it’s best to shred things with your name on, although I’m not sure if it’s paranoia really, as in the rare likelihood that the bin men did go through your recycling, why is your name such private information? Anyway I figured it’s better to be on the safe side. I took the staples out, because who wants that added on to their boring job of sifting through recycling? And anyway, if you’re going to do a job, I always think it’s best to do it properly.
There were only a few pages left now, revealing a thicker object, which I could see by the plastic edges of the pages was a photo album. I reached out for it. A jolt ran up my arm and I pulled away. There was something familiar about the feeling that made my stomach churn.
I took a deep breath and reached out again. The same thing happened, but this time I didn’t draw back. I opened it quickly.
I relaxed. Just photos. Well, what were you expecting, really? I thought, letting out a relieved chuckle.
I looked more closely at the photos. My friends and I were in mid-bounce on a bouncy castle at my tenth birthday party. I studied the faces. There was my best friend Josh, and my other friends, Daniel and Mike… and
Who was that?
He was wearing a blue shirt, done up to the top, and brown trousers. The rest of us were all wearing jeans and t-shirts with our favourite cartoon character on them. My aunty worked in a factory that produced them so we’d got them at a discount. Why wasn’t he wearing one?
I frowned. How did I not know who that was? There were only five of us; it wasn’t like it was one of those big parties where you’d invite the whole class. I brought the photo closer to my face and looked again.
I gulped. How could I forget?