Faded Memories #FictionMonday

Despite the frayed edges and faded faces, the photo caught my eye. How long had it been since that day? Forty years? Something like that.

Suddenly, memories I thought I’d forgotten came rushing back. She wasn’t in the photo, but I remembered that day as if it were yesterday. She was there, walking away from us without a word, refusing to join us for the picture we took on our last day at the hostel.

In that moment, I knew I’d never see her again. Just like the friends from her past she never spoke of, we would soon be another closed chapter in her life.

I often wondered why she chose to lock away the past and throw away the key, cutting off contact with all of us. But it was her call. It was simply who she was.

If we crossed paths today, would we even recognize each other? Recognize enough to smile and exchange pleasantries? Or just enough to look away and keep walking?

It was an old photo yet it hid so many memories in plain sight, leaving me wondering.

© Vinitha Dileep

This piece is written in response to the two hundredth and thirteenth edition of Fiction Monday inspired by the below photo prompt hosted by yours truly. Do join in if you have a tale to tell.