Torn Apart (contest entry)

All that was left of it was a picture-tucked away in the corner of one of her drawers, hidden underneath a box, covered by old linens. It wasn't even in good condition. The corners were chipped, the ink was fading and there was a long scratch that ran from one side to the other, connecting them, like a line between two dots, engraved deeply into the paper cutting the man in half.

Man. Man might not have been the right word, but boy wasn't either, the same was she hadn't exactly been a woman back then and hadn't been a girl either. It was during that time in between where nothing was sure but everything was possible.

Nobody knew about the picture. not her five children, not her nine grandchildren and certainly not her husband. This was all that was left and it hurt to think it had to be hidden clandestinely this way.

Oh, there were pictures of him elsewhere, in their house. He was on many walls. He was even in her bedroom. But he wasn't hers on those pictures the way he was on the one tucked in the drawer. It was her in his eyes, he had said, and even after all these years, after everything, she still believed him.

That picture was all that was left, yes, and it was hidden, but it was better like this. Because she didn't, couldn't share this with anyone else, share this part of him, this small reminder. That was all she had left. On that picture, he was hers, and strangely enough, she was his too.

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Back when they were children, they thought everything was going to be perfect when they got older. They didn't, couldn't even, imagine the challenges that would break them apart. The gold band on her little finger was the key to his soul, to his everlasting love, to her own heart which was also his. She looked at the gold band with a single small diamond in the middle reminiscing of the times when she was young and in love. She took the gold ring off and looked inside. It was the first time in years she ever took the ring off. 'My dearest Emily, I love you always. Your Lover Eternally, Jason.' She read the inscription that was dedicated to her over and over until she started to cry.

She remembers the picture hidden in her drawer by her bed. Jason. His name still causes her to melt internally. She promised herself not to let anyone see the beautiful moment in an old picture. Her husband, Tim, never knew that part of her past as she never told him. Jason was always part of Emily just like Emily was always part of Jason. She never thought anything horrible would come to a sweet young lad. Emily would always remember the night her dearest was violently taken from her.

Flashback

Jason was walking in the park with Emily on his arm. Emily glanced at the pond where little ducks and their mother swam in perfect harmony. Jason glanced at her then followed her gaze.

"What are you staring at, Emily?" Jason laughed as Emily looked up at him.

"I was watching the ducks swimming in the pond." 

"You're too adorable."

Emily blushed as she looked down at the grass. Jason suddenly came to a stop causing Emily to pull Jason a little bit.

"Why did you stop?" asked Emily as she turned to see Jason on one knee.

"My dearest, sweet Emily, you have made me the happiest man on Earth. You would make me even happier if you were my wife. Emily Parkins, will you marry me?"

Emily pulled her hands up to her mouth in shock. she didn't expect this. She felt someone watching her, taking a picture but she was too in awe to notice. She nodded her head quietly saying, "Yes."