Most dark was that night and most terrifying was that silence. Yet he sat there –all alone, all old, all cold, all grieved, all proud, all dead, yet all the same! How swift had been the time! It seemed like yesterday, when the silent abode was a tumult home. There were cries of his grandchildren, there was noise of his offspring, there was that blooming spring and that rising sun, that sun which shone radiantly and spread life in its every aspect. "Alas! It’s all so cold today… so dark… so painful..!" he muttered to himself and gently closed his eyes as if he was preparing to watch the real drama of his life.

How excited was he the other day. It was his first time that he had come this close to a woman. What could have he desired more in his life! There was no rush, but it was a planned proposal. He had taken out that ring from his pocket. In the gentle aroma of the soft candle-light, he had opened his grip to expose that brilliantly shining piece of gold. That was the most beautiful moment of his life. He could have composed books on that soft smile from the corner of her face. And they had been married. A perfect ending to a perfect fairy tale! "How can you even think that I may not mind that?" suddenly he heard her yell as years passed swift. "Do you think that you deserve to? Don’t forget that your mother had been divorced twice!" How stupid had he been to say that. He knew that he loved her. He knew that he never wanted to leave her over any young girl. He knew that she was worth more than any love affair of his. But yet, he had made a mistake. And under his so called integrity, he was not willing to take back his words. After all these thirty years with her, and then the kids, was he willing to get separated? No, but why would he do that. "Well then, I would like a divorce for myself too" she had been blunt and had answered within seconds. His eyes suddenly opened with a tear running down his cheek. Had she not been all that quick, had she…

He sat in his cozy chair and glanced at the photo frames resting on the bureau. His eyes slowly closed again. "This is the most precious gift someone has given me ever" he remembered himself say to her when she had told him of her expectation. How moving had been those moments. He had said nothing but embraced her slender body and sealed her lips with his love for her. How happy had they been! And then all those nine months had passed in a fraction of a second. "It seems that now my love is divided" he remembered his words when he had taken him in his lap for the very first time. It was the most amazing moment of his life when that half an hour old had gripped his finger tight. "Where are you going?" he had shouted at the top of his voice. "To my mother, the only person who seems to care" he had responded. "Remember, if you go, there shall be no come back!" His eyes opened at once. And he had not come.

He was tired today, too tired to move out of his chair. It was good that he had his dose on the table. He picked up the medicine and put it in his mouth. He gulped the milk over it. "Drink slowly, it is always good to drink the water slowly without a rush" he remembered his daughter’s gentle words. "And finish the glass. It is very important to have milk with these medicines." How quickly had she grown! It was yesterday when she was crying in his lap. And then those dolls, those innocent questions... He had never known how he would feel about his second child. But this girl was so full of wonders. She was so caring and charming. She would make him forget his tensions. "Why don’t you try to understand me Daddy, he loves me dearly, I know!" she had tried her last to make him understand. "You can not get going with that dumb-head. He has nothing to give to you. You want to get married then do it without the father of the bride!" he was harsh. She had committed. Like father like daughter. She would never go back at her words.

He opened his eyes again. His heart throbbing against his chest at its full. He looked at all the images scattered in his living room. He was feeling tired again. Too tired to keep his eyes open. And he closed his eyes again, slower than ever. The heart stopped pounding. He was never to open those eyes again.