Captured Memories

T’was all black and white. People were cheering here and there. People were smiling from ear to ear. It was a glorious day, so it seemed. Everybody was in their respective seats. The crowd roared in amusement as the runners began their leap. Runners were running against one another. They were running at maximum speed.

“Look Mum! The one in the red is going to win!” exclaimed one little kid. He got off from his seat when ice cream dripped down from his chin. He made a mess – Oh yes, he did. But the main event was just about to begin.

As Natalia closed her Nana’s old Photo album, she then began to ask her mum a bunch of childish questions.

“Where did those pictures take place?” She asked.

“At the old sports arena, of course.” Her mother replied while busy folding clothes.  

“Where is the old sport arena at?” Natalia continued asking.

“At your Nana’s old hometown.” Her mother replied again.

“Where is Nana’s old hometown?” Natalia eagerly asked.

“In San Pablo.” Her mother shortly replied.

“Where in San Pablo?” Natalia asked.

“I don’t know.” Her mother gave up as she looked at the mountain of clothes that needed to be fold.

“Natalia, dear. Would you be a darling and help mum fold the clothes please?” her mother asked in her sweetest voice.

“Okay.” Natalia shortly replied then immediately went to her mother’s side and started folding.

“How old were you in Nana’s old photographs?” Natalia continued her quest in searching for answers.

“I was barely even a human being in your Nana’s old photographs. She haven’t met my father at the time yet.” Her mother replied while smiling. Amused at her daughter’s questions, she decided to continue listening as they both folded clothes together.

“I see. But then, who took those photographs?” Natalia curiously asked.  “I didn’t see Nana in any of the pictures that I saw.” She continued.

“Well, that’s because your Nana was the one who took those photos. Your Nana used to love taking pictures while she was young.” Her Mother replied as she winked at Natalia which made both of them giggled.

“Is that so? Well, do you know where Nana’s camera is? I would love to take photos too.” Natalia insisted.

“Well, it must be hidden at the old attic somewhere. Let’s go check after we’re done folding. How does that sound?” Her mother offered.

“That sounds like an adventure!” Natalia exclaimed.

“Everything’s an adventure when it comes to you Natalia.” Her Mother giggled.

“Well, that’s because everything is.” Natalia grinned.

And so, Natalia and her Mum finished folding all of the dried up clothes. It was already around noon when they finished folding. They brought a flashlight with them as they explored the old attic upstairs.

Everything seemed to be dusty and covered in cloth. Old clothes were folded inside old boxes and the walls were covered with spider webs. The attic had a little window and little light eminated from there.

Then began the search for Nana’s old camera. Natalia was in charge of searching through the lower places while her Mum was in charge of the places that Natalia could not reach. Although already ten, Natalia was still a bit small for her age. She stood 4 feet and 11 inches while her classmates stood over 5 feet. Despite her shortness, Natalia was a sweetheart and so the kids around her really did not pay much attention to her height.

  “Mum, why do we have a lot of stuff in the attic?” Natalia once again asked.

“Well honey that happens when most of the stuff you own can’t fit inside your house anymore.” Her Mum explained.

“Ohhh. Where do they all come from?” Natalia continued.

“Here and there, everywhere…mostly from thrift stores or antique shops. You know, your Nana owned most of these antiques.” Her Mum told.

“Really? Intriguing…” Natalia responded.

“Huh? How is that intriguing?” Her Mum said, confused.

“I dunno, my teacher one day used that word while he was teaching us and I guess I liked how it sounded. What does it even mean, Mum?”

Her Mum laughed. “It means, “Interesting”, sweetie.”

“Ohhh….Intriguing.” Natalia repeated.

Her Mum laughed again at her daughter’s enthusiasm. “I guess so. These antiques were from her old home in San Pablo. Let’s just say that it was such a hassle to bring all of these up here. Then after that, she left and flew away to the States. Turns out she just used our house as a storage unit.”

“Why did she flew away to the States again?” Natalia asked.

That seemed to have struck a nerve, but luckily her Mum quickly recovered and scoffed. “Hah! Maybe it’s for money. Or maybe she just doesn’t want to see me again.”

“Aww, that’s not true. From a TV show I watched, most people fly to different countries to work so that their families could have a better life.” Natalia explained.

“Then she should’ve known that I didn’t want a better life. That I wanted her to stay.” Her mum sighed. “You’d understand if you were in my shoes.”

Natalia was rummaging through some stuff when suddenly she encounters a box.

“Sorry if I seemed to be angry…” Her Mum apologized.

“But you weren’t…Well…are you angry?” Natalia asked.

“No. Uh…Maybe” Her Mother said, unsure.  

“Maybe?”

“It’s hard to explain…”

As Natalie opened the box, she then found the camera that they’ve been looking for.

“Ooh! Mum! I think I found it!” Natalie exclaimed.

“The camera?” her Mum asked.

“Mm-hmm! Take a look!” Natalie insisted.

Natalie’s mum then looked inside the box and found a Kodak's Automatic 35 Camera.

“So, is this the camera that we were looking for?” Natalia asked.

“Yup. Wow, you have a great eye. Good job!” Her Mum beamed, impressed that she ruffled Natalia’s hair.

“Adventure!!!” Natalia exclaimed and then hurriedly went downstairs, leaving her Mum and the camera alone.

Inside that camera were pictures of old. Natalia’s Mum – Jean – was intrigued that the camera’s battery didn’t die out. There she saw a picture of Nana kissing her cheek. She pressed left and then found more pictures of Nana and her hugging. They were smiling and laughing. Jean was confused. This wasn’t the image that Nana had left her. Nana flew to the States for money. Nana didn’t love her…or did she?

She continued to press left that she later fell into the depths of forgotten memories. Forgotten memories which were then recovered from the dirt. Forgotten memories which made her realize one thing – a belief that turned out to be a lie. The fact that her Mother – Siony – actually loved her. It was too much that Jean didn’t noticed a tear left her right eye. She then realized the sudden longing that she had for Nana. She immediately then reached for her phone and dialed the numbers which she didn’t knew would save her from loneliness. The phone rang three times when Nana finally picked up.

“Hello?” Nana spoke.

“Hey Mum? Can we talk?”