A Moment in Love- FB-FWG- 300-word flash fiction based on the picture below. Drama – Triggers: Dementia

A Moment in Love

Elizabeth opened the tiny wooden music box, a present from her husband on a birthday she wouldn’t remember. “Who would’ve thought we would make eighty-seven.” He said, having himself hit the milestone a month ago.

His wrinkled hand slowly turned the metal crank attached to the device. The swollen redness around his knuckles hinted at years of hard work. A soothing hymn emerged. Lizzy, as he called her, hummed along, swaying from side to side in her rose-colored house coat. She abruptly stopped and stared brazenly at her husband.

“No, come back to me, Lizzy.” He picked the box up and held it tightly in his hands. “Look at the picture.” He pointed to the lid, there embedded in the wood, the bluest of skies, a hitching post and the oldest of buildings outlined by sparse trees. She returned to the present. A smile took the place of confusion.

“Frank.” She whispered.

“I’ve always been a sucker for love. You were just a sucker to marry me.” Frank’s deep laugh was familiar.

“Our honeymoon in Texas, remember the ghost town you insisted we visit?” He held the personalized gift a fraction closer to her. “There wasn’t anything paranormal about it. I just wanted you to be happy.”

A single tear exited her hazel eyes. He took a handkerchief from his shirt pocket and dabbed away her sadness.

“Don’t cry, dear.” She allowed his gentle embrace.

A nurse tapped lightly at the door. “Mrs. Delgado, I brought you a cupcake to celebrate.” The glow from the candle sent a slight twinkle across the darkened room.

Frank respectfully waved the woman away. Without words, she quietly reversed her steps, knowing that a moment close to his wife was so much more than the commemoration of another lonesome year.