The Gift of Time

 

Here’s this…oddly familiar cash box,

the sort you use for a yard sale or craft show,

I’ve just dug out of the ground where the roses are strangled.

To say the previous homeowner had a green thumb would be a lie,

so it would also be a lie for me to say

I’m not confused by this cash box,

Which has my initials on it.

 

I’m tempted to stand here

at the kitchen counter with my brow knit with confusion,

drinking a glass of clover and mint tea

while the tiniest fingertips of fear creep up my spine,

but curiosity is killing me.

 

Strange, the key to the cash box in the garage is the same…

 

How in the world…

Did my Aunt Marguerite’s bible end up in here?

I lost that sixteen years ago.

And who took these pictures of me

at age fourteen sitting in the café on the mall in Cape May?

Or this picture of me

reading a book on a Lake Michigan beach when I was twenty?

Where did they get this ring I lost when my ex-husband left that one time?

Or this gold and sapphire bracelet I found at St Alban’s and lost again in Elephant and Castle?

This…is a monogrammed handkerchief my Nan gave me

when I was eight…I cried a lot back then.

What’s most confusing is this envelope full of pictures…of this young man who never seems to age.

He takes a frightful amount of selfies…

He’s got lovely handwriting, though.

 

Wait, that’s me again.

This was taken yesterday at the eye doctor.

How in the world…?

I hope this notecard gives me some sort of identification the police can use to find this stalker.

 

Dear Gusha,

You were ninety four years old when I was born.

It was a pretty big deal because you couldn’t see what I looked like;

mom always said that made you incredibly sad.

And I remember describing things to you,

and you telling me about the world before you lost your eyesight.

You always told me anything was possible;

that I could rule and reign over time and space if I set my mind to it.

So, I have, as you’ve guessed by now.

And I’ve collected these things for you, precious things you lost.

I know how much you hate selfies, but I took some with you

so you could see who I am

and how I set my mind to

rule and reign over time and space.

You will be happy in this house…and use this box to leave a time capsule with my dad.

Thanks for everything, Gusha,

Asher