The water wiped away the dust as it rolled down the photograph. The face of a grumpy looking toddler sitting on his father's lap was revealed. Elizabeth laid the picture in the small wooden box beside numerous drawings done by an enthusiastic child. She shook with silent streams of tears as she took up the next treasure. It was the threadbare teddy that had lost its fur after years of pure devotion. He had taken everywhere with him up until the age of about six, when he decided that he was a big boy and so it must stay on his bed. It couldn't be thrown out, though, oh no, it had to be kept there so he could snuggle it at night. Not that he ever admitted to this. The teddy bear went into the box too, another reminder of the happy child Jasper had once been.
The letter informing Anna of Jasper's disappearance had arrived that morning and, with no body to mourn over, she was having to pack away his things and lock them away to say goodbye to him. It had been a harsh blow to Anna, Jasper's mother, when she realised that Jasper had been brought to the same fate his father received in the army. She had been hoping that her son would return home for Christmas. Now, she was alone.
Her hands shaking with the consuming sorrow, Anna added a lid to the box and carried it over to the cupboard where it would be laid to rest on the top shelf. These memories would be kept alive for ever, just like Jasper but Anna would never know.
Jasper sat on the edge of his bed, the small rotting wooden box on his lap. Over a century after his mother's death and Jasper had kept the box of possessions his mother had left on the top shelf of the cupboard. He lifted the lid gently and took out the small threadbare teddy. His smiled at it sadly and held it close.
Whispering quietly, he said, "Teddy, my old threadbare friend."
There was a rhythmic knock on the door and Alice came dancing in. She tilted her head at the box and asked musically, "What's that, darling?"
Jasper replaced the teddy in his box and closed the lid. In a matter of seconds he was in the walk-in wardrobe and the box was on the top shelf. He smiled at Alice and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her on the top of her head and resting his head on hers.
He paused for a second and sighed. Then, he answered, "A memory of a past forgotten."
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