The Bracelet

It was a sunny Saturday morning when my husband decided to do a general cleaning of our home. To think about it, we have tons to dispose of and the storage room would need to be cleared since our 12 year old son wanted to convert the space for his gameroom.

I was rummaging through boxes when I came upon my old jewelry box Mom gave me when I was still a little girl. I wiped the dirt away as I smiled behind the face mask I wore.

The jewelry box automatically played a tune which made me remember my childhood in our old neighborhood where I grew up. Inside the box, I saw a handmade friendship bracelet with small wooden cubes where the letters were used to be.

The bracelet reminded me of the boy I shared this with but I can't remember the name. We've all got that childhood sweetheart we thought we would eventually get married to, get kids and grow old together. I remembered how we played at the park, how we ate ice cream together, how we ran when rain fell down on our heads and how it felt like when he first kissed me.

As the music stopped playing, it reminded me how I had an early wake up call that there were no happy endings. His family had to move since his Dad got accepted on a job in a different state and as kids, we obviously had no choice. We had to part.

I remembered I was crying when I made the bracelets, telling him that it will eventually bring us back together. Unfortunately, time played a different medley which made me forget the tune I was used to. I grew up, met boys, had my heart broken, loved again and eventually got married.

I forgot about him - until today. I stood up, went straight to the phone and dialed Mom's number, hoping that she still remembers the boy I thought I first fell in love with, wondering how he's doing and if he still remembered.

The phone kept ringing, until I was cut short when Joey, my husband, surprised me from behind, hugged me hard and kissed the back of my neck as he showed me a faded bracelet with my name.