jia en's short stories

The Memory Jar

     It's another note! I wonder what it is this time! Oh, did i forget to introduce myself? Hi! My name is 'Memory Jar', i keep the most beautiful memories- oh no! She is crying again. My owner, Rachel. She is a beautiful and cheerful girl, but recently...she cries often and seems very sad. I wonder why, haha. Humans are weird. But anyways...i wonder what is written in the notes she put in me everyday...

     "I'm sorry but you only have about a week left." A funny man wearing a weird, long white coat said to Rachel and walked out. She weakly reached out for another blank note on the counter and scribbled some words on it. As she wrote, tears poured out of her eyes. Ah! I want to see what it says! Hmph! She then grabbed me and dropped the new note into me before carefully closing my opening with a piece of cork. She looked at me with her swollen yet beautiful brown eyes, than hugged me tightly. "I'm so sorry Bryan, i can't hold on anymore!" She cried as tears rained down her face. I could not comprehend what was happening but as a little jar, what can i do?

     A few days later, a tall man around Rachel's age entered Rachel's room. Why does people keep intruding into her new room anyways, it does not look special or anything, unlike her own room! Ok whatever, but anyways, this tall man came in and hugged Rachel tightly and started crying. What's with everyone these days? Crying so much...They hugged each other for a while and the tall man sat at her bedside. Rachel picked me up and passed me to the man. Is she abandoning me? "This...this contains all our memories together...i love you Bryan." Rachel said with tears welling up in her eyes. The man took the jar and hugged Rachel again, as she went into deep slumber. Who knew, that would be the last time she would ever close her eyes again.

     Two days later, the tall man brought me to a void deck, dressed with white linen, filled with lots of people dressed in white. What is this, a celebration? Wait but...people..they are crying...Ah! There Rachel is! But shes trapped in a long wooden box...oh what a beautiful smile! I stood on a table as people walked up to the wooden box one by one, with faces full of sorrow. The tall man suddenly picked me up and stared at me. He then opened me up and took out the notes one by one, reading every single one of them. As he read on, more and more tears welled up in his eyes. After a while, he walked up a little stage set up beside the wooden box and said, "We were going to get married in about five months. This disease took her away from me, our families, and from her dearest friends. This beautiful ray of sunshine will forever resonate in our hearts. I love her and will always love her till the day i die. Rachel, i love you." He then smiled facing up to the skies, tears streaming down his face.

     After many weeks, i finally understood what had happened to Rachel, whom i never saw again after that day. As an object which would remain existent for hundreds of years, it was tough for me to understand the meaning of "death". For me, i just know that Rachel went somewhere...far, far away. The people around her missed her and longs for her, especially the tall man. He would stare at me for days, re-reading the notes he have already read many times over, reliving the "memories" enclosed in them. He did so for many years, until he himself went far away too, to find Rachel, probably. Humans sure are interesting.