Saving the Memories

Many people think of the attic as a place of ghosts. Maybe they are right. However, the only ghosts in my attic are the ones from my past.
Opening the door to the attic stirs up dust and dead insects, and I know I should have tried to keep the place cleaner. Coughing from all the dust, I walk over to the window and pull down the sheet covering it. The sunlight comes streaming through the window, chasing away the shadows and catching every particle of dust in the air. Though covered in dust, the room is almost tidy, every box stacked on top of each other by the walls. A small wardrobe stands almost alone by one of the walls, catching my eye. The doors creak as I open them, letting the light fall on the silken fabric that hangs inside. What once was white has now faded to a yellow colour, the fabric not as soft as it once was. I sit down on the floor, my legs tired, and look up at what once was a beautiful white wedding dress. My wedding dress. I remember how happy I was that day, how my face was lit up with a smile as bright as the sun. That day has long since passed, with many joyful days in its wake. Now all I have left are the memories. Except for them, I am all alone. I look down at the hands in my lap; the hands that were once smooth and beautiful are wrinkled and grey.

I sigh and let my gaze wander around the room, stopping at the broken mirror standing beside me. I look at the old woman staring back at me, the cracks dividing the face I know is mine but still cannot recognise. When had these wrinkles started to appear, and since when had my face looked like that of a prune/dried grape? I touch my cheek, seeing the lines fade away until I look like the young bride I was so many years ago. Have I really changed that much? Has time really passed so fast? I turn towards the wardrobe, seeing the white dress shine in the last rays of the evening sun. Slowly I reach forward, closing the doors to keep the memories safe. As the dress fades back to yellow, my body grows old once more before finally fading away with the dying sun.
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