He stared at the photograph. The colours were already starting to fade and the corners had been folded by accident when it had slipped behind the desk.

He remembered the spot exactly. It had been his favourite place as a child. Sitting on the rocks, listening to the wind rustle through the leaves of the trees and the water flowing somewhere in the distance down the slope. It had been a tranquil place, where he had always been at peace.

After a while he had stopped going to the place. He had started socializing more, had a girlfriend. He had almost forgotten all about the place, until their one-year anniversary as a couple.

She wanted to go somewhere romantic, so in the spur of the moment, he had packed a picnic basket and taken her to his special place.

Looking back, he couldn’t quite piece together what had happened. It had all been wrong.

Trying to reconnect his new self with his past had ended in a disaster. Somehow, in a rage of sudden aggression, he channelled his anger towards her. Then she stumbled backwards.

As though in slow motion, he could still see her tumble backwards over the stones, hitting her head hard and her body bouncing down the slope of the hill until it came to a rest.

Snapping out of his dream, he ripped the photograph into tiny pieces. He couldn’t let the memories rip apart his carefully constructed perfect life.

© 2017

FFfAW, Week of June 6, 2017

Photo prompt provided by Pamela S. Canepa