Even the smallest photo can bring back so many memories, especially when you're trying so hard to smile again. -- Anon Guest
"We've restored it to its original condition. Honestly, it was a miracle such fragile ephemera made it to this century. A miracle find, considering where it was found." The Archivaas went on and on and on about anaerobic bacteria and all the varied things that ate cellulose and assorted photographic chemicals in a landfill.
Shayde had stopped listening, staring at the copy of the image that had been cleaned, processed, run though a thousand procedures, and returned to what it might have looked like. They were scary close to complete accuracy.
It was a family snap. A polaroid of a group of four at a tourist trap that claimed to be the world's largest rubber band ball. Two adults, a teenager, and a kid who hadn't quite figured out how to fake a smile for photos yet. The teen girl was wearing a Madonna T-shirt and had her red hair done up with a thousand rainbow neon shoelaces. Her jeans looked like they fell through a shredder before being worn. The boy was in a sports numeral and shorts. The parents - her Mom and Da - wore the smiles they wore in every photo, practiced and smooth and false. Tie-died shirts and handmade canvas pants made with practicality in mind. The photo didn't show their practical, steel-toed boots.
She remembered that day. On their long, long road trip to Berkeley campus. Before she started her advanced physics degree. Two years before it all went bad. Before everything changed, including herself. Young Katie Walker and her family, doing family things. Enjoying the moment preserved with an instant photo.
The tourist trap was typical of its kind. A town bypassed by diesel trains, thrown into neglect by a more modern highway system, desperately clinging to income with a draw they could attain. A little one-horse town with little else to merit its existence than it was the place they loved. So they drew in tourists and hoped others would fall in love with it too.
The food was average for road stop food. The scenery relatively dull. Typical for middle-of-nowhere America. Some buildings hadn't been altered since the previous century, and mostly because there was no need or finances to have anything new.
For her, it was a special day. The last stop before Berkely. They spoke in cliches all day and had cliche food just for the fun of it. Waffles and chicken. Banana split sundaes with cherries on top. Milkshakes with two straws for Mom and Da. They wound up the day with a terribad televised movie at the motel they were staying in. It was the last time any of them would be able to do that, the young Katie had said, because she was going to change the world.
It was terrible to be right and wrong about why at the same time.
She missed them all, of course, but remembering the day it represented still brought a smile to her face. Even though she also knew where it had been found.
A landfill.
This, among who-knew-how-many other memories had been chucked in the garbage. How much of her own history was left to rot? How much was lost?
Her only answer was, Not this bit.
"What is that?" asked Rael.
"Me fam'ly's last good day taegether," was all she could say, smile still on her lips.
[Photo by Andres Siimon on Unsplash]
If you like my stories, please Check out my blog and Follow me. Or share them with your friends! Or visit my hub site to see what else I'm up to.
Send me a prompt [21 remaining prompts!]