He had a small wooden box he kept in a drawer that he sometimes opened and traveled back in time to days long passed. With nimble fingers, he turned the pages of his life and remembered when things were simple and held great meaning.
He took out a box and removed the purple heart he received back when he was just twenty years of age and fighting for freedom. A sniper's bullet found its way to his leg and ended his time in the army, but he felt okay most days, and his limp was a constant reminder that freedom doesn't come easy.
He pulled out a picture of his wedding day, which had yellowed over time, and his beautiful bride, Marie. She was his nurse at the VA hospital, where he recovered from his wounds. It was love at first sight for him, but she needed a little more convincing.
The day he was discharged from the hospital, he promised her he'd come back carrying a dozen red roses and an engagement ring. He did, and she said yes. They had sixty years together, and when she passed, his heart broke into pieces he could never mend.
The next thing he removed from the box was a bag of marbles that belonged to their son, who left this world too young but filled their lives with joy and happiness every single day they had together. He wiped away the tears that always flowed when he held that bag of marbles.
There were letters from his wife she wrote to him in battle, sometimes taking months to reach him, but he didn't care because reading her words and smelling her perfumed envelopes got him through the darkness of war.
His son's baseball cap he never took off, a piece of rope he taught him to tie knots with, an old pitcher's mitt, and a pocket knife he thought every boy should have. They were his treasures in the old wooden box in an old dresser drawer under lock and key to preserve his memories, good and bad, happy and sad.
His wish was to be buried with the small wooden box so he would always be close to everyone and everything who gave his life meaning. On a cold and windy day, he was lowered into his final resting place next to his wife and son and his old wooden box that would join him on one final journey.
Mike 2024
No comments:
Post a Comment