Summary: Over the course of our life we all collect mementos.
Word count: 753
Disclaimer:I don't own The Big Bang Theory or the characters. I also don't own the idea, I based this story on a Crossing Jordan story with the same name. (Same plot, some words might be the same, the characters are different and the season is also different – this one is set after season 3 episode 19 when Leonard and Penny break up)

A memento can be an object kept as a reminder of a person or event.

It had been three weeks since he moved out of the apartment he had shared with his best friend for the last, what seven years?

It was weird, entering that apartment without him there, smiling at her as she entered, having his computer and geek stuff scattered around the old apartment and his wooden desk.

But as weird as that was, the weirdest thing was yet to come. Her getting into his new apartment.

He lived there alone, with no roommate telling him when to go to the bathroom or what temperature the room had to be in - just him, doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, with no one bossing him around or telling him what to eat.

And as she entered that apartment he probably never called home, she saw the same scattered items he used to have on his old apartment, but now in this one. She sat on the couch, the reason for her to be there hanging on her mind, weighing her down. Tears don't come out, for some reason. She looks around, seeing a fireplace like the one she had on her old house, back in Nebraska, where she grew up in. On those cold winters, watching TV curled up on her dad, in front of the fireplace. It was always a sweet memory for her, and now, she realized, he had seen it has a great place to put his memories too. Memories, she thought, of the good old days.

It had pictures of her friends, some at the apartment, some that she took of them when they least expected. She had fun taking those pictures, but all of them - except for Raj that started to do the same - didn't find it that amusing.

One of the pictures was of her and Leonard, one that Raj took when they didn't expect. They were looking at each other, with loving eyes that said everything she couldn't tell him since she was so scared. She smiled.

On top of the coffee table, she found the book he had meticulously written since a child, one his father helped hide from his mother. She opened it, reading everything that Leonard had written as a small child. The handwriting was somehow worse than now, but it was a clear evidence of genius - he wrote in the first page that he was three years old and learned how to write through his dad, who taught him how to. There was a handprint of his little, chubby, three-year-old hand, one she never touched but somehow missed. She traced the lines on the print, smiling now that the tears were starting to form.

Over the rest of the pages were other sentences that made her smile. In one of the pages, it was one of those lists that everyone, at least once, did at elementary school. An 'about me' list. There he wrote what his favorite food was, turtle pies - whatever that was, something she never saw him eat and probably didn't exist anymore -, his favorite drink was 7up - still was - his childhood-hero was Superman - something that made her smile because it was still his favorite superhero.

The rest of the pages were filled with pictures of his family and friends, one being at elementary school other at middle and high school. He was one of the shortest kids but had the biggest smile.

There was a copy of his Ph.D. diploma, after the picture of him receiving it, with the year engraved in it.

There were some entries, one being important dates for him. She never got so far, so it was the first time she would read that part. It had his birthday there, his brother and sister and his parents birthday. Then, on the first day of school, the first day he met some of his friends, the day he moved to California, the day they met, the day they got together.

She cried a river then, realizing the next dates were all hers.

In front of her were his mementos, things that would make him remember the good in his life. His first comic-book, a can of his favorite soda and a picture of the one he loved the most.

A memento can be an object kept as a reminder of a person or event.

Those were the mementos of the person that was lost... forever.

The End

Back at killing the characters. It's not that bad, I guess. I mean, only killed one person, Leonard for those who didn't understand! Well, this was a short story, once again. I just didn't know what else to write, and quite honestly I think that if I wrote more, I would ruin the flow. Anyway, this story has been methaforically collecting dust on my hard-drive, just sitting there for quite some time now, completely forgotten. I finally found it, finished it and voilá! Hope you all like this.