Once were boys

It had been sometime since I had visited my family. I had decided that this visit would be an extended one. A visit to satiate my desire to be with my family.
As always the moment of reunion was joyful of epic proportions, and I could almost replay the whole moment in my head in slow motion with audio commentary of me saying “It was like out of a fairytale”. Even walking out of the airport I felt like Snow White coming out of the woods with her deer, squirrels, mice and birds singing songs of happiness. Yes, I was definitely home again.

It was strange to sit around the table again and eating as one family. Listening to how my dad would sound like a larger orchestra chewing his food, my brother slurping his drink or my mother unintentional colliding her cutlery with her plate. Even though it all could sound disgusting or annoying to any other person in the world, to me it was music. I even caught my father looking at me with a reminiscent look. Yes, dad I missed it too. More than you would ever know.

In this ecstasy of memories, I did see some changes in the transparency of ghosts of the past. The grey hair covering my dad's head. The different types of medication that both my parents took to keep chronic diseases on amicable terms. It felt like someone had turned over two pages at once. Too much time had passed and no one had told me, or I hadn't opened my eyes till now.

I still saw my father's face before me filled with nostalgia. Never had I ever seen him like that, and it made me wonder, if he ever had the thoughts that I was having now. Things were different now, but once we were boys...

Edward T. Shufflebottom