As I open the cover of my green, leather and cloth photo album, I see a wallet-sized photo of my grandmother as a young teenager, smiling, with short, light-brown hair in curls. There is an excited sparkle in her brown eyes as she innocently grins for her school picture. I turn the pages and stop at a photo of my grandmother playfully posing for the camera while a bright smile adorns her porcelain face. Her legs are wrapped underneath her as she sits on a bright red couch and her beauty is effortless, like a movie star. I see her playing with my brother at the beach on an overcast summer day, laughing like she’s never had more fun. Her joy brightens the faded picture, makes it like new. In the next picture, her smile is gone, the sparkle in her eyes is replaced with a weary sadness. The album continues without her smile and I, a wiry eight year old girl, begin to smile brighter to compensate for the loss of my grandmother’s happiness until the photo album ends, the last ten pages empty.
Whoa--I'm confused. After your mother was introduced, I thought the pix were hers, but at the end I thought you meant your grandmother was being referred to.
ReplyDeleteThe last two sentences are excellent, very fine, but with three females, a lot of "she"s and a Zak in here, there is some confusion that undercuts the piece. Do you see that?
You're right; I can see how that was confusing. I edited it and now I think it is clear I am talking about my grandmother.
ReplyDeleteYes, that does the trick.
ReplyDelete