The Eternal Imprint Of Love.
It’s the year of 1928, inside the Holy Trinity Church in the beautiful city of York, England. The imagery being displayed at this current time is in black and white.
A joyous day is upon this loving couple because they are going to get married, their happy families are making their way into the church to find their seats, while the nervous groom is standing at the front, with his best man beside him, that’s currently cracking jokes trying to keep the grooms feet from getting cold and the butterflies within his stomach from fluttering around,
Outside of the church and the car that’s bringing the bride is arriving, she is being accompanied by her smartly dressed father beside her, holding her hand. The pair are being chauffeur driven in a Buick Monarch phaeton, that’s pristine white in colour matching the dress being worn by the bride. The car slowly drives down the long driveway of the church, adding to the suspense for the groom.
The chauffeur is an older gentleman, which is smartly dressed in his best suit, gets out of the stationary Buick, walking around to the passenger side door and opening for the bride to exit the vehicle, followed by her father.
The chauffeur congratulates. “Good luck dear, I wish for you and your husband that all of your remaining years to be filled with happiness and love. He’s a very lucky man to have a woman as pretty as you.”
The chauffeur gently shutting the car door, turning to face the bride and her father, he tips his top hat at them while they are saying their “Thank you’s,” to him.
The priest walks up shaking the hand of her father, while greeting the beautiful bride, her natural beauty is a blessing from the good lord, and her smile is enough to melt the coldest of hearts.
The priest is leading the bride and her father towards the church, while he explains what’s going to happen next.
We are now at the present day. At the antique shop called Auntie Mabel’s in Cambridge, England. The imagery you are going to see is in colour.
Hearing the chimes of a bell as I push open the door to the antique shop, holding the door open to allow my wife to walk through, being the gentleman I am, tapping her bum with my open hand as she walks past me, a gesture she has become to anticipate, she looks back at me with her beautiful smile. I have to tell you her smile is truly infectious, it brings sunshine into every moment of my life every day.
I follow my wife into the shop, feeling a sense of relaxation because I am not working today. I can pleasurably stroll around without a care in the world, not on a strict time frame, especially now the hanger has been cured by the breakfast and the nice cup of coffee at the café we just ate at.
Noticing we are the only people in this shop, apart from an elderly lady behind the shops counter, which greets us with a warm smile. “Hello, welcome to auntie Mabel’s antiques, if you need anything, just let me know.”
I give the lady a smile in return, no need to be rude and not acknowledge her, while my wife Gemma, like a magpie that’s attracted to shiny objects, walks up to the jewellery section that the lady is behind, I can hear my wife start a conversation with who I would presume is aunt Mabel.
I start to look around at the many antiques on display, my eyes scanning the treasures and trinkets lost to time, but once where pioneers to the better things we use today, like this camera, it’s shape and technology outdated, but without this we might not be able to capture the happiest of moments in our lives today on our phones, and certainly without it we wouldn’t of be able to create video cameras, television or even gaming consoles.
Or even the next thing I look at is this gramophone on display, a lost pioneer that was once in every home across the land, with its tunes pumping it got the nations dancing, but had to give way to better technology, replaced by radios and CD players, which have even now been replaced to mobile phones.
Now this is true pioneer of its time, the next object I look at is this typewriter it’s still a sturdy bit of equipment unfortunately is now lost to time, because everyone nowadays uses a laptop or even like me typing these words on my mobile phone. Who knows this typewriter could have been at the fingertips of a great author, wielding their imagination through the powers of words.
I tell you one thing though for as outdated as this stuff is, it’s not broken and was built to last unlike the stuff you buy these days, all you have to do on some of it is sneeze and it will need to be repaired which cost a little fortune and time.
Suddenly feeling an arm wrapping around my waist, and breaking me away from my thoughts. Gemma comes around to my side and showing me a vintage bracelet, with light blue flowers tangled around three love hearts, it looks very pretty, and fits perfectly on her wrist.
Her excitement beams from her beautiful light blue eyes. “Well, what do you think babe?”
I answer her with a love filled gaze. “Well, I think it’s a beautiful piece of jewellery to match a beautiful lady.” My remark even makes aunt Mabel smile at my charm.
Then I see it over her right shoulder, the picture that has an alluring essence, the black rectangular frame, on each corner of the frame in gold are a singular hand carved pattern of a blossoming flower, but the frame isn’t what I am finding intriguing, it’s the picture it contains.
The picture is black and white, which suggests it was taken many moons ago, and is of a happy couple on their wedding day, nothing is strange about that, people get married and have their wedding photos taken all the time, well you would think that’s just a happy moment captured in time, but it’s very strange, because the woman in the picture looks identical to my wife.
I walk past my wife to have a closer look at the hanging picture, my wife turns towards where I am heading with confusion etched onto her face, the female shop keeper notices me paying closer attention to the lady in the picture.
My wife walks beside me, I reach out and touch the unprotected surface of the picture, as soon am my fingertip connect with the black and white ink, I feel like I am transported back in time, within a blink of my eye.
Everything turns black and white and I am sitting in a church, wearing my best suit. Looking to each of my sides and seeing everybody around me is dressed in old but very smart attire, hearing everyone around me speaking in hushed tones. I notice I am at a wedding as the priest reaches the bottom of the isle, giving a signal to someone nods then turns and begins playing the organ, hearing the wedding music begin and everyone around me stands up.
I feel like I am not in my own body, that I have been transported to someone completely different, raising my hand and touching my face I feel a bushy moustache, feeling across to where it twirls at the end. I involuntarily stand up and look around to see the bride with her father beside her begin walking down the isle.
Hearing the echoes of a familiar voice. “Babe, babe are you alright?”
The hand of Gemma on my should lightly shaking me and bringing me back into the antique shop, colour seeps back into my vision.
I answer with confusion in my tone. “I just had the strangest experience, it felt like I was at that wedding, but I wasn’t me.”
“Oh sweetie, you have such a wild imagination.” Gemma says as she lightly smacks me on my arm.
Hearing Aunt Mabel voice, we both look at her to see what she’s saying. “Sorry folks, that picture is not for sale, it’s a picture of my mother and father, John and Janet on their wedding day.”
Gemma says. “She’s very beautiful.”
“I agree, but you don’t see no resemblance between you and her mother?” I question.
Gemma smacks my arm playfully. “You’re so sweet babe, I wish to be as pretty as this lady.”
Aunt Mabel blurts out, and instantly changes the whole atmosphere in the shop. “She was brutally murdered when I was 8 years old, a mugging that went wrong.”
“Oh, oh darling, I’m so sorry to hear that.” My wife consoles aunt Mabel.
A little later in the day, me and Gemma are still in the city centre, shopping. I am waiting outside of a fitting room, while my wife is trying on some dresses.
I am browsing social media on my phone, when a noise in front of me captures my attention, looking up everything turns to black and white and I am back sitting in the church, looking at the groom and bride going over their vows.
I look down realising I am not the same person I was before this time two mounds of breasts concealed within the black dress I see in my vision, I notice I am definitely a woman this time and I’m closer to the front. Looking around I notice on the other side of the isle, the man I was before with the bushy moustache with the twirling ends, a distinguished older gentleman.
Hearing the bride happily say. “I Do.” Makes me look back to the happy couple.
The priest with happiness in his tone of voice. “By the power invested in me by god, I now announce you as husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride!”
The happy couple embrace each other on a hug, and they kiss a long smooch, that’s when everyone in the church erupts in joyful clapping, cheers and whistling.
Hearing the voice of Gemma asking. “Well what do you think baby?” In a blink of my eyes everything goes back to colour, and I am back in the clothes story, phone still in hand and gazing up at my wife that’s turning in a light yellow flowery summer dress.
“You look gorgeous sweetheart.” I compliment her.
Gemma leans in for a kiss, when our lips connecting, I am transformed back into black and white, I open my eyes instantly realising I am the groom kissing his just married bride.
We turn still embracing each other, hearing everybody cheering and happiness radiating towards us.
In the blink of an eye we are outside, in the courtyard of the grand church, a camera fitting to the 1928 year is on a tripod with the guy behind ready to take the picture. Feeling my jaw hurt from smiling so much. Confetti is thrown up in the air and the camera is capturing the exact picture that’s in the antique shop.
Within the cameras flash I am back to the present day and I haven’t noticed Gemma has gone back into the fitting room to try on more dresses. I rub my eyes from the tiredness of the constant back and fourth from the past and present.
Once I have finished rubbing my eyes, I take my hands away from my eyes and notice I am still in the past, sitting on the grass with my wife between my legs, we’re cuddling having a picnic, hearing the different birds tweeting around, feeling the warmth of the beating sun but the nice cool breeze to stop us from roasting.
I can feel her warmth in my heart, and her smooth fingers interlocked with mine, I notice our wedding rings with makes me smile.
She notices me smiling to myself. “What are you so happy about Mr?”
“The fact we are married, I get you for the rest of my life.” I respond.
She turns with a excitably grin and glint in her eyes, she knocks me on my back, as she starts kissing me because of my remark, I’m hugging her tightly feeling her lips on mine, we start rolling around on the grass, like a couple of love struck teenagers, hearing her laughter echoing.
Later in the evening and back to the present day, I am at the gym, its legs day so I am sat down at the leg press, can’t skip legs, with the music of the gym pumping through my ears, I have just finished a set, having a short break before doing another set of 8.
I begin to think about that woman in the picture and, how it is possible that she looks so much like Gemma. They do say everyone has a doppelgänger, it’s just weird how I have been experiencing hallucinations ever since I touched that picture.
Every thing around me goes to black and white again. I feel like it’s some years later from the wedding. My mind is transported into John that’s married to Janet, that’s with me walking down the street, her arm linked around mine. We have just enjoyed a nice meal, I feel our bellies are full and we are a little intoxicated.
Janet looks up at me in a loving gaze. “It’s so nice to spend time with you darling.”
I look down at her, leaning in pecking her lips with mine. “It’s been a very enjoyable evening my love, it will be nice to go on more dates now that Mabel can be looked after by a babysitter.”
Before Janet can say anything a man has approached us from behind and has a gun pointed in my back. “Don’t make a scene and no body has to get hurt, give me all of your money and jewellery.”
Janet begins to take her handbag off her shoulder, I quickly turn and begin tussling with the masked robber, not wanting to give this piece of scum a penny let alone a pound.
A loud gunshot makes me suddenly jump nearly out of my skin, and scares me if I’m telling the truth, the robber runs away down a dark alleyway, I turn to chase after him not wanting him to get away without giving him a good beating, that’s when my heart is crushed I see my beautiful Janet, laying on the concrete with blood leaking out of the gunshot wound, I rush over to her and scoop her up in my arms, screaming for help while tears streaming from my eyes.
I can’t believe this is happening, I hear her coughing and blood spluttering out from her mouth, I begin kissing her forehead not wanting to loose her.
I’m hugging her tightly not never wanting to let her go, as I start remembering all the good and important times we had together, seeing her walking down the isle on our wedding day, the day she gave birth to our daughter Mabel, all of the laughter and dancing we shared especially when we became parents. That’s the worst type of robbery when true love is stolen from you.
Suddenly I’m hearing the alarm clock blaring, waking me up from my sleep I turn over in bed to turn the alarm off, picking up my mobile phone and clicking the snooze button. I suddenly remember all of the vivid illusion but was it all a simple dream?
