Collection of Short Stories

The Photograph

A/N This is a narrative I wrote for my mid-yearly English assignment. Hope you guys like it. Feedback would be much appreciated.  

To Jamie: I know this isn't the happiest story but I hope you especially like it (since this is the story you feature in :D). I know that none of this is probably true but you were the first person to come into my head when I needed a character so sorry if you hate me and this story!  

The Photograph 

The black and white photograph hung on the wall amongst several coloured photographs. I looked at the photo. The nearly empty place, the twisted stairs and randomly placed trees. Nothing looked right in that photo, except the two people on the left side of the photo. The two people, father and daughter walking closely together.  

I thought back to the time when that was me. When the young girl in that picture could've been me. When that man in the picture could have been my father.  

A tear trailed down my face as the harsh memories of that night filled my head. The screaming, the crash of glass against the wall, the shouting and the worst of it all, the slamming of the door as he left. The slamming of the door as my dad walked out of mine and my mum's life. The last time my dad would ever slam our front door.  

It was bound to happen, they would keep me up late at night with the constant arguing and fighting and every night, he would walk out and slam the door. But that night was worse. He never came back. He didn't die. No. He just never came back.  

I sighed and looked back at the photograph. I smiled as memories of times with my dad filled my head. The laughing on the beach as the water lapped at our feet, the star gazing at night when we both couldn't sleep and the talking late at night under our makeshift tent. It always felt right. Like nothing was wrong in the world and we could just sit together and forget about everything else. But these things were never to last.  

The memories of these days haunted me like a plague knowing I would never experience these again. It was like the photo. Nothing felt right except for the two people close together but in my picture, even that didn't exist. Nothing felt right.  

I glanced down at the bottom right hand corner of the picture. The lonesome figure standing amongst the palm trees. It was if they were glancing enviously at the two. Like they wanted that. The feeling of love that came from being with one person. Was that what it was? Love? That love between father and son, mother and daughter? Or in this case father and daughter? That feeling that the whole world is in the right place when you're with that person?  

I took a couple of steps back, keeping my eyes fixed on the picture. The almost empty building seemed to be eerily quiet and wrong. Why was it so empty? However, the whole atmosphere of the building was lit up by the joy the two figures seemed to have. But what if they weren't there? The atmosphere of the room would seem dull. The warm, friendly atmosphere that came from the two figures would be gone.  

The picture would just seem wrong. I tore my eyes away from the picture with tears still pouring out of my eyes. Did one person really change that much about someone's life? About my life? Could one person really just flip the world around? Could one person really light up my world? 

I turned away from the photo and glanced down at my wrist. 'JamieJammies' it read. The only thing I still had of him. A bracelet. A reminder of all the times we had together. Another tear splashed onto the metal of the bracelet, causing it to shimmer in the gentle light of the hallway of the art gallery.  

"Remember to wear this all the time. Ok, Jamie?" He had told me. I had nodded happily in agreement, my face lighting up as he put it on my wrist.  

"If you always wear this, I'll always be there with you. No matter where I am, I 'll always be with you." He'd told me. He was still with me now but it wasn't the same. He wasn't with me physically. Only through a simple symbol of his love for me. Where is he when I need him most? When I need the world to be right? When I want the world to be set right? 

I lifted my pale hand to wipe my eyes as I heard a cough next to me.  

Turning my head, I looked to see an older man with dark brown hair facing me. He glanced down at my wrist before looking back up to my face.  

"Jamie? Do you know who I am?" He asked me. The familiar voice was like music to my ears A smile lit up on my face as tears of happiness blurred my vision.  

"Hi Dad." I said to him, my voice cracking at the end from my crying.  

"Hi Jamie." He replied, gathering me up into a hug, his strong arms enveloping me and his familiar smell, flowing into my nose.  

He let me go, and brought his hand up to my face, wiping away the tears that were racing down my cheeks.  

"I'm sorry for not coming back before, Jamie." He said. I couldn't say anything cause I was still so overwhelmed so all I could do was shake my head.  

"I love you, my JamieJammies." He said, bringing me into another hug.  

"I love you too daddy." I looked back over at the picture. The twisted staircase didn't look so twisted. The randomly placed trees didn't look so random but rather enhanced the warm atmosphere and the quiet, dull atmosphere of the room didn't seem so dull anymore. Rather it had a sense of warmth and life to it and amongst the coloured pictures that hung on the wall, that picture seemed to be the most radiant, colourful and cheerful. One person really was able to set my world in its right place.  

THE END 

A/N not really my best work but hope you guys liked it anyways! Feedback appreciated! Thank you :)