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The Photo Album
The Photo Album
A young man in black attire sits by an old man’s bed. The young man is holding his hand, and there is a smile on the old man’s face. The old man’s wife is on the other side of the bed, grasping his other hand. The young man holds a photo album, and he holds it up for his old friend to see.
He opens the album. It shows the old man’s baby pictures, and also pictures of him as a little boy. Pictures of him running through seawater, and catching butterflies in fields. There was a little girl with him too. She was in most of the pictures actually. They seemed to be the best of friends, and were always together in all of their activities.
He turns the page. The next page in the picture book shows him at his prom, with that very same girl. They seemed to be very much in love. There were many pictures of them sitting in the countryside, having picnics and just laying around in the golden sunshine.
He turns the page. They go off to college together, studying the very same thing. They had pictures of all of their friends, the parties they went to, and things they did. They traveled the world, and experienced many cultures. They explored every nook and cranny of the world.
He turns the page. Then they came home. They got married. They lived in a large house on a hill with a white picket fence, and three children. They had a dog. He went to work everyday, and his wife always greeted him with love when he came home. They had a large tract of land, which was populated with weeping willows, and there was a swing under the largest of them. Everyday after work, he would go out there with his love, and they would spend hours out there with their kids, just talking and laughing.
He turns the page. They are growing older. Their kids have moved away and started their own families. They still go out to that old, old swing, and remember their past. They wonder about how the world will be for their children. Will it be as good as it was for them? Their time has passed however. In the twilight of their lives, they must be content to know they did the best they could with their past, and that the future of their children is in their hands. They know they have lived good lives, and never had want for anything. They raised their children well, and they provided them everything they could.
He turns the last page. He bends down to kiss the old man on the forehead. He wipes away the tear that begins to leak from his eyes. He clasps the old man’s hands as a final gesture of respect. The old man closes his eyes. He closes the photo album.
The young man in black attire walks out of the house, and the sun shines upon his face. He goes over to where the old swing still sways in the breeze, and takes a seat in its well-worn leather cover. He begins to swing, and he closes his eyes.
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