by Yara Doleh
In a dusty box in the basement there were all sorts of antiques and old stuff. Lily, the 11-year-old girl felt like it was her dream box. Overjoyed and excited with the treasure she has found, she forgot her parents’ punishment, wiped her tears away and started taking out one piece at a time with complete care and caution, and delicately tried to clean them.
Dusting away what the years had left behind, she found an old watch. It was big, a man's watch. She took it in her hands, huffed the dust which was accumulating on it, and turned it around to find writing engraved on the back. She tried to read what was written, but as the light was dim, she simply couldn’t so she decided to put it back. But, just before it touched the table where she was about to place it, the back of the watch opened and a small picture fell down. She picked up the picture to find a couple standing there, a man and a woman; the woman looked familiar to her. But, as she was more excited about the other stuff, she just slide it into her pocket and continued her dusting.
The treasure was enormous indeed: china, cutlery, candleholders, and much more. Bit by bit, every single piece she cleaned started glittering, and came back to life, it looked as if it was just used a while ago. Seeing how wonderful they looked, her excitement increased; she gathered the pieces, and started arranging them in the small basement room. Once everything was put in its place, the whole room brightened, as if each piece had found its original place.
Once she finished, a banquet hall was ready, only food and people were missing to bring more taste and color to the beautiful set of authentic antiques. She stood there watching the completion of her work, proud of her discovery as well as her organizing skills. After spending sometime playing around, dancing and talking with her imaginary friends, she felt tired; she looked around, trying to find a chair to sit on. She could only find boxes lying around, so she took a couple of them, placed them on top of each other and sat down. Resting her head on the table, she went into a deep sleep.
She woke up at a voice calling out her name. But it wasn’t her mother’s voice; it was somehow different. Suddenly the door opened, and a young girl came in, she smiled, and said in a loud voice, “Mom, I found grandma, she is in the basement, as usual!” Once she stood up, something fell on the ground. It was the old watch. She bent down and picked it up. She turned its back to read the engraved writing: “For You On Your 50th Birthday. Your wife, Lily!”
In a dusty box in the basement there were all sorts of antiques and old stuff. Lily, the 11-year-old girl felt like it was her dream box. Overjoyed and excited with the treasure she has found, she forgot her parents’ punishment, wiped her tears away and started taking out one piece at a time with complete care and caution, and delicately tried to clean them.
Dusting away what the years had left behind, she found an old watch. It was big, a man's watch. She took it in her hands, huffed the dust which was accumulating on it, and turned it around to find writing engraved on the back. She tried to read what was written, but as the light was dim, she simply couldn’t so she decided to put it back. But, just before it touched the table where she was about to place it, the back of the watch opened and a small picture fell down. She picked up the picture to find a couple standing there, a man and a woman; the woman looked familiar to her. But, as she was more excited about the other stuff, she just slide it into her pocket and continued her dusting.
The treasure was enormous indeed: china, cutlery, candleholders, and much more. Bit by bit, every single piece she cleaned started glittering, and came back to life, it looked as if it was just used a while ago. Seeing how wonderful they looked, her excitement increased; she gathered the pieces, and started arranging them in the small basement room. Once everything was put in its place, the whole room brightened, as if each piece had found its original place.
Once she finished, a banquet hall was ready, only food and people were missing to bring more taste and color to the beautiful set of authentic antiques. She stood there watching the completion of her work, proud of her discovery as well as her organizing skills. After spending sometime playing around, dancing and talking with her imaginary friends, she felt tired; she looked around, trying to find a chair to sit on. She could only find boxes lying around, so she took a couple of them, placed them on top of each other and sat down. Resting her head on the table, she went into a deep sleep.
She woke up at a voice calling out her name. But it wasn’t her mother’s voice; it was somehow different. Suddenly the door opened, and a young girl came in, she smiled, and said in a loud voice, “Mom, I found grandma, she is in the basement, as usual!” Once she stood up, something fell on the ground. It was the old watch. She bent down and picked it up. She turned its back to read the engraved writing: “For You On Your 50th Birthday. Your wife, Lily!”
© Yara Doleh 2005
Here's Yara with her son Adam, aged 16 months. Yara's biog. appears on Playground 4
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