Crisp and Crackle

October 11, 2017

Crisp and Crackle, the constant sound was clear from under her foot. She looked around in the autumn sky. It was warm and orange, strikes of red vividly spread. It was nice, left a soothing feeling inside her.

Then she looked down at her surroundings. Crisp and Crackle, a constant sound produced from her feet as she walked down the lane in the park. Another autumn had approached, yet she was still lifeless, like the leaves scattered around her.

Who does not make mistakes? However, the mistakes she made when unreplaceable, ‘heal’ was not the word here. She had everything yet she had nothing to herself. After all, Materialistic stuff could not always be with her, love would always be there

Yet that was the only absence from her life, love.

Grace Willows, she was a twenty- seven year old woman, a successful artist, fame, money, everything thing a man could desire for, she had achieved in her life, yet the thing that completes everyone’s life.

Love, the fuel that runs human kind. She did not have that.

She was twenty when she was married to Raymond, her husband. It was an arranged marriage. Her father’s last wish, to see her daughter married, living a happy life.

Her father was suffering from pancreatic cancer, it was the last stage. Time was their mortal enemy during that time. She could not get the traditional way to find love in her partner, her father’s wish was a command to her, and she followed that command on his last breath too. She got married.

Her marriage was not a painful one. Raymond was a true gentleman to her, he gave her space to grieve on her loss, sometimes even provided the shoulder and comfort for her to shed that saline water from her tear ducts.

Soon she came out of her trauma, her father did not want her to grief and neither had she wanted that. She found comfort and happiness in her partner after getting married. They were still strangers, they had a lot to know, but even the unknown made her smile.

Raymond had been a navy officer, he was in the army, he was secretive about his job, and she never inquired. It must be something that is confidential, and she did not intend to act like a clingy wife who has to know everything about her husband. He would tell her once he felt the comfort.

But he never said anything. She remembered the day when he was so happy; they shared their first kiss as a married couple that day. It was Art show, and she had won an award. A couple had bid forty thousand dollars on her painting. She remembered her speech, what she had said about the painting.

It is a leaf, the upper part it is green to show the happiness, life symbolism, and the lower part brown and orange to show that even if life can be sad, it sure makes that there is still warmth in it. The leaf itself is like a heart because I feel love is just like that, full of life and happiness but warmth even when in pain.

She remembered later that night while going back home when she said the painting was symbolized to show the love she had for Ray. The moment was perfect; it was raining outside, small pitter and patters. The windows were steamy from the heat inside the car reacting with the condensed wind outside.

His lips met with hers. Her chapped and bruised lips from constant biting, and his perfect ones.

All these happy memories were now just a key to tears, because now there were neither kisses nor the person who used to kiss her. Raymond was gone.