Faded Memories

The Story of Faded Memories

As he sat outside, the man held the morning paper. He read the weather, cloudy and chance of rain. As he read, he saw people walk past him. Left, right, left, right. Faces he didn’t recognize smiled at him, talked, gave him things all wrapped up. He didn’t know where he was but remembered what to do every morning. He woke up at 7:15, brushed his teeth, and drove to get a donut at the local shop. He never knew why but he followed this daily pattern. He knew the roads. A left turn, followed by a right turn, then a long straightaway. This time, there was in the car with someone he did not know the name of. All he knew was that they looked familiar, as there were pictures throughout their house of him. He was 17, tall, slender, and had dirty blond hair. As he entered, the kid offered to pay for the two of them. The kid asked for a Bacon egg and cheese on a whole wheat bagel lightly toasted. The man got 2 Boston cream donuts, vanilla, a jelly, and 2 glazed. He then took the bag and gave the bagels and donuts. They then walked to the car and as they got in and clicked their seatbelts, the man stopped and asked, “I’m sorry but what was your name again, I have forgotten to ask when we got in the car.” The kid looked over and hugged him, clutching his shirt. He responded, “ I am your grandson, Johnny. Remember when you used to go on camping trips and play at the park on Saturdays when you came up to see us?” The man drew a blank and smiled nervously saying “Oh yeah, I remember those times. Wasn’t that for your last birthday when you turned 11?” The kid looked out the car window into the distance and said “pop-pop, I’m 17 now. I’m going to be a senior next year in high school”. The man said nothing and kept driving. He made it home a few minutes later and saw people wearing funny-looking hats calling out to him. They said things like “Happy birthday old man, what are you now, 75”. “Looking good John” and “Hey dad, how was the ride with Johnny? I bet I can guess what he ordered.” He didn’t know who any of these people were, only that they were in his house. The same house he bought back in 1968. He walked to the dining room table and set the box of donuts down. He opened the box and grabbed a doughnut. Looking at it, he got a flashback of a memory of Johnny tearing off a piece of paper and sliding it under the door. It always used to say “Hi pop pop, would you like to go to Dunkin donuts with me before mom and dad wake up? I can tell you how to get there” He smiled as he remembered this and walked outside to finish his doughnut.

A few minutes later, he left to check the mail. He saw a lady with red hair, relatively short, wearing a warm smile on her face. She then said in a sing-songy tone “Happy birthday pop-pop!” He then gave her an awkward smile and a hug. She then said, “I got you a gift, you can open it now if you want to!” He nodded and said to the lady “I'm sorry but I can't quite remember your name, can you help jog my memory?” She looked to the street and said in a rather quiet voice, “I’m your daughter-in-law, Jill. Remember when I asked out your son John back in 2001?” He shook his head with a blank stare. “Don’t you remember when we hiked up Devils Pulpit? It was like an initiation for me to ask him out. Do you want me to tell you the story again?” He nodded as he sat out on the front patio with Jill. “It was back around Thanksgiving when we drove over to see you guys in Ohio. We drove about 8 hours so I could have dinner with you. It was on Thanksgiving. Hah, remember you had posters up that separated where we would sleep?” He looked at her as if she was psycho. He doesn’t remember who this was, let alone making a poster. He looked up at the clouds as she continued, “I was upstairs and John was downstairs in the basement, remember? You woke us both up at 8 A.M. and you gave us bags for our journey to climb up Devil’s Pulpit. We drove 2 hours there and began to hike, which also took 2 hours to climb. On the way, we stopped and visited some overlooks and rocks extended out. I think you have the pictures saved on your computer because we had them made up into a book. We took pictures together on a rock extended out around 1,500 feet up. I remember when we got to the top you handed us our very own packages of m&ms and we sat in the neck-high grass before we went back down to the base of the mountain. You remember all of this right? We did this a few years ago.” He looked down to the ground in embarrassment, where he had placed the present. He dared not look at her to confess that he had no idea what she was talking about. He grabbed the gift bag and opened it. It had a party size m&ms bag and a $25 gift card to Dairy Queen. Then it came to him, all of the memories of them together, the camping trips, the hiking trips when his son introduced her to him. He stood up and hugged her without letting go saying “I remember now, all of it, t-thank you… I'm so sorry for forgetting. ” He walked up the stairs as he thought of the memories of Jill as he was munching on the m&ms.

While he walked into the living room, there were multiple people on the couches including Johnny on the recliner, his chair. This bothered him but he felt bad for earlier. He walked past them and into the dining room into the basement to see if he had the posters still but to his surprise, he saw a man sitting down there. He was playing a game with a chalkboard in the background and a beachball on his computer. He then said to the strange man sternly “Excuse me but who are you and what are you doing on my computer.” The man turned around and laughed, not knowing he wasn’t joking. The man said “Hah, nice one dad. Could you help me with this level? I can't get past this one.” He looked at the man in confusion, Dad? Was this the person Jill was talking about? There was no way he could forget something like that. It was his son! So he then questioned him “Ok, then what is my full name then.” The man laughed out loud “Oh come on dad, you're a junior and I'm the third. John Kenneth Walker III.” He stopped. He did forget this, he knew nothing of his son, and didn’t know how to admit it. “Ok ok mister, then tell me a story about us if you're so confident.” He said in a joking tone. John then said “come on dad, you at least know of when we climbed mt. Washington... Right?“ He gave him a slight nod as he looked at the photos on the wall above his computer. “We were on a trip with both Franks and Kevin. It was in 2006. Here, take the book we made up and look through it as I tell you. I don’t blame you if you don’t remember some parts. I know your memory is getting worse and worse by the day.” John handed him the booklet as he flipped through the pages. It was like he remembered it but couldn’t see the memories as they flew around his head. “We started from the bus and hiked a few miles to the base. We all told stories and other fun things while we walked. We walked around 6 miles until we reached the first stop, Pinkham's Notch. We made camp in the building and we heard stories of a moose sighting from the others that were there, so we went to go explore. We didn’t see any moose, let alone life, but we had to cross a freezing river with a waterfall on the side. We made it, but we were freezing and wet. Well, at least I was. We slept and continued the next day straight up. It was exhausting but I stayed strong. It is funny, I remember you, dad as the hero. You just kept chugging through everything that hit you. And you were 60! I was only 35 and exhausted at this point and I knew I wasn't even halfway. We then reached the next area and it was a terrible shack, with like 40 people of 50 there. There were rats, it stunk, and do you remember us all laughing at the man snoring loud? Oh god, it was like a trucker on his hangover! We didn’t sleep that well but we just kept going. We were too far away to give up now. We hiked along the flatter part until we got to the camp Lake of the Clouds. We slept well knowing what it would be like at the top.”The man walked over to the window and saw the sky was clearing up as he listened to the familiar story. ”As we made the final stretch, it started to snow hard, we almost didn’t know where we were. We kept walking until we got to the peak. We were all disappointed but you spotted an opening in the sky approaching, like a veil to heaven itself. We watched it open up and oh my god it was so pretty. We could see for hundreds of miles, the trees, other mountains, the lakes and rivers, We stood there on the precipice of greatness for about 15 minutes in awe. Then we made it our way down. I can still feel the pain on my feet to this day. Oh, remember the man that gave us the electrical tape for my blisters? It helped so much and now, I'm so thankful for him. Oh, I still remember at the bottom, when you put your feet in the water and said it felt nice… And I yelled like a girl!” He let out a laugh and John did as well. He then said “How could I have forgotten, I have pictures all over down here! I'm sorry. John then said “Oh it's no problem, I enjoy talking about our outing. Anyway, here is your gift. I'm going to get a sandwich. Want one?” He smiled and nodded. As John left he opened the gift. It was a picture book and an old busted camera. He turned it on and looked through the photos. Then it hit him, this was Frank's old camera he lost on the way. He shed a tear as he saw the views atop the mountain and the pictures of them. Then he picked himself up off the chair and walked upstairs to the table as he began to prepare for lunch.

As he sat and ate his dippy egg on a bagel, a bigger man with glasses sat beside him and patted him on the back. “Hey man, how's your egg? I got you a gift, well us men a gift. It's a reservation to go back to the Moccasin-run golf club. You know, for that rematch?” He looked at him and read the tickets. The name sounded familiar, well, more familiar than the man’s name before him. He read the tickets to remind himself of who he was and stuff. It said “9 AM RESERVATION FOR BOB FUHRMAN.” He then said, “Sure Bob, I'd be down for that, since you beat me last time we played.” Bob laughed and then spoke “I know I didn't win the game before my wedding but come on. Hah, I remember you won by a long shot.” He tried to remember but failed. “Can you refresh my memory, I remember golfing but not anything else.” Bob smiled at him and said “It's ok man, I love this story anyway. So back in ‘95, me, you, and John went on a golfing trip the day before my wedding. We went to Moccasin Run Golf Course and we played a family game of just us for the day, 18 holes. We played for a few hours under the sun and we all had fun… Even though you won by double my score. I remember I got mad because I kept chipping the ball and I threw the ball onto the green in anger at one point. Hahaha, I think I played it from there and sank it. Anyways, after we went to a diner for a late meal and when I got home, I was beet red. I had the worst sunburn I have ever felt, to this day even. Then the next day I had to wear a full tuxedo and it stung like hell. I enjoyed marrying the love of my life but DAMN I was hot and it hurt.” He then interrupted his story to laugh, as it slowly came back to him. He remembers how much fun it was, and how uncomfortable he looked wearing it. They keep talking for a few minutes about other random memories of them together.

A few minutes later, a lady then walks into the room. “Hey y’all, whatcha talking about?” she says, seeming happy as she puts a small box of cigarettes away. “Oh hey, we were just talking about when we got married” The lady bursts out into laughter and says “Oh yeah, I remember that, you looked like a tomato! Hahaha” Then the man then says to the lady “I don't think I introduced myself to you yet, I'm John. Who might you be?” The lady’s face is one of sadness and understatement of sorts. “Dad, I'm your daughter. Penny? Remember? I was the one who got in trouble the most, even though Johnny used to cover for me.” The man drew a stare as Bob gave him a pat on the back saying “It's ok man, getting old ain’t fun. One day you're fine and the next, everything hurts.“ As the man sat at the table he put his hands together on the table and then spoke in an upset tone, “Yeah, I barely know anyone here. They all just look so familiar. I can't stand it. It's like my memories are just all... clouded.” Penny then said “Well how much do you remember about our Christmas growing up? Do you at least remember the year you got me my first 10 speed bike?” The man shook his head as Penny took a seat across from him folding her hands together. “I was around the age of 12 and I woke up early on Christmas day. I ran and woke Johnny and you two up because I was excited as always. I flew down the stairs and begged if I could open the gifts first. I remember you always said, “No, not until we have breakfast as a family.” I used to get so upset, I remember I always asked for only one piece of toast but you said it wasn’t a complete breakfast. I was very impatient back then but it was just so much fun. When we finished I remember I got a huge box under the tree. I was always so impatient I always rushed to open the huge gifts. I remember that one big gift box was a 10-speed bike. It was bright red and it was PERFECT! I remember rushing outside to ride it. I began to peddle it and it was amazing until you guys threw a football into the front tire and I flipped over.” The man then interrupted “Hey that was Johnny. We were playing catch in the front yard and he overthrew it and you hit it perfectly. It was a one-in-a-million shot! Johnny was in the grass laughing!” Everyone in the room then looked at him with a joyful look as he was gaining his memories back of them together. They began to talk for hours about all the good times they had. He then even said aloud “I remember the day you told Penny her hair looked bad Bob. Heh, she was so pissed at you that day” Bob then burst into laughter as they kept talking as Penny pulled out a gift. It was in a brown box with a bow. As he opened it, he smiled and hid it. It was a box of Dakin farms with pancake mix with sausage. He smiled and hugged her and instantly pulled out the mix for tomorrow morning to eat. He began to set all of the bowls out then he spilled a bit of water on himself. As he looked down he gigged and walked upstairs to get a change of clothes.

As the man walked upstairs he tried to dry up some of the water, and that's when he saw a younger lady with black hair leave the spare room. He thought long about her name but only remembered her last name, Furman. He then approached her and before he could say anything the lady spoke “Hey Dude! Happy Birthday! Because you're getting older, my name is“ The man interrupted her and spoke “Erika, I can remember a bit about you, just not everything.” She looked at him with a smile and gave a warm hug. She then said as she pulled away, “This reminds me of when I was a kid. Remember our bike rides when I was a kid?” The man walked into his room and said no. Erika sat beside him as she laid back on the bed stretching. “It was when I was a kid, you and I used to go on long bike rides for fun. We used to go around town and see all there is to see. We visited the-” The man then interrupted her and spoke out “The Cemetary and the schools and everywhere else around Glenolden. I remember that. We used to have so much fun. It is the simple things in life that matter.” Erika nodded with a smile of satisfaction. “Yes, I love that. Do you remember when we used to play stickball on the pitcher’s mound at the school? I loved that. Oh my gosh, I never gave you my gift did I. Here, open it.” The man takes the gift and opens it. He is taken back immediately when he looks at the gift. In the small torn-up shoebox sits a hand puppet. It is one of Donald Duck. He puts it on and laughs hysterically. He then says in a spot-on impression,” Hewwo, how are you. Hehehe” The both of them burst out in laughter and the man then shares a hug with her and says “Thank you very much. This means a lot to me.” He then breaks the hug and walks into his room and changes his shirt, the whole point of going upstairs.

As the man walked back downstairs, he looked around the living room. He saw everyone getting ready for bed. He gave them all a hug and a warm thank you. As they all went to bed, one was left. He walked over to the lady and sat beside her on the couch. They both smiled at each other. The man then said in a hushed voice as to not wake everyone up,” Phyllis, thank you for one of the best days I’ve ever had. I know I’m losing a piece of myself every day. Even today, I was forgetting who each person was. They all helped jog my memory of who I was.” Phyllis then said in a warm and thankful tone,” Why I’m glad everyone made you feel special. I hope you enjoy your gifts.” The man then said,” I did very much so, thank you. You know I still remember when we first met. I was a nervous wreck.” Phyllis laughed in agreement as the man continued. “I was around the age of 22, I just got out of the army and was talking to my friend Anthony. I had no other friends and no real place to go so I hung out with him. He told me we needed to go and get me a girl to cheer me up. So we went to the Holy Cross school dance. I remember walking in and noticing you instantly. Anthony built me up and I walked over and we talked for a while, danced together, and even shared a few laughs. I was so awkward that day I swore I messed it all up.” Phillis then put her hands on his and hugged him closely. He then continued the story,” I got your number and we kept talking for the next few weeks. I still remember to this day when I had to ask your father if it was alright to marry you. I asked him if we could go to another room to talk in private. We entered and as I heard the door click, I just stood there frozen in time. In the next instant, I burst out of the house beat red, and just ran. I drove back to my house and put my head in my arms.” She then said in a thoughtful tone,” And we lived happily ever after right? We have been through all of the ups and downs, here’s and the there’s, and we got through all of it. It has been a wonderful fifty-three years together and I’m glad I had someone as nice as you to celebrate it with. Happy seventy-fifth birthday John. I love you.” The man then looked out to the moon, seeing a lit full moon, and said in a truly loving voice,” I love you too.” Phillis then kissed him and went upstairs and went to bed. The man was the last one left downstairs. It was silent and peaceful. He looked upon the table and saw one last gift in the corner. He bent over and grabbed it. The tag read “To my love”. He shook the box and then cut the tape off. He then paused when he saw the gift. It was a C.D. named “We are Soldiers”. He grabbed it and held it close to his heart. He shed a single tear as he held it and placed it on the top of the television. He looked at the T.V. looked at the forecast for the next few days. It was all clear, no rain. Not even a single cloud in sight. He clicked the screen off and walked over to the lamp in the corner. He turned the knob clockwise and listened to it clock two times. He then made sure all of the lights off before he walked upstairs. He slowly opened the door to his room and walked over all of the creaking floorboards as he sat on the bed. He laid back stretching his back, then set his head down on the soft pillow. He closed his eyes and began to slowly drift off to sleep. He dreamt of all of the gifts he had received from the day before, just before he drifted off into another world.