[center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/627389932335529985/643301088086327297/image0.jpg?width=375&height=375[/img]

[img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/12606d51-d406-43b2-9e02-ddd4234dbfc4.png[/img]
[/center]


Resting against the courtyard wall was a simple wooden picture frame. A candle and a carnation sat to either side of it. She stared long at the picture, seeing not just the person in the portrait, but a vivid technicolor memory of who the person used to be. Nalini had no tears left. The pit in her stomach, which had weighed on her like an anchor, was gone. Now she just felt hollow. A weak smile tugged her lips. 

A woman stepped beside her. [Color=#ffc6c6]"That's one of my favorite pictures of her. I remember we hung it in the hallway next to one of her parents."[/color]

It took a moment for Nalini to process those words. She turned, slowly, and came face-to-face with a fair-skinned woman with bright, brown eyes that gleamed in the light. The lines of her face betrayed her advanced age, weathered by the sun and a full life. Her eyes were painfully familiar.
Nalini studied her, lost in the moment. [Color=#dcd0ff]"She has your eyes..."[/color] She said absentmindedly.

The old woman grinned warmly as tears threatened to ruin her mascara. Her voice cracking. [Color=#ffc6c6]"I'm sorry. We're you one of Bobby's friends? I'm her grandmother, Elaine."[/color] 

Realizing too late what she had said, Nalini opened her mouth to speak, to apologize, but the words caught in her throat. She averted her eyes, a bit embarassed. [Color=#dcd0ff]"No."[/color] She said quietly, and turned back to stare at the picture. Her mind wandered through the jumbled mess of feelings she had been struggling with for the past several days and found no good answer. [Color=#dcd0ff]"No, I don't know what we were... but I miss her all the same."[/color]

She eyed Nalini curiously, but didn't press for more details. Elaine knew the look all to well. [Color=#ffc6c6]"I miss her too. After her parents died in Palestine years ago, I was all she had. It's been hard for her growing up without them, so I'm glad she made friends with people who cared about her."[/color] She tightened her shawl to ward off the cool breeze. [Color=#ffc6c6]"Now, I just pray for the good Lord to finally take me home."[/color] A sigh escaped her, carrying a lifetime of regrets and such longing. 

Hearing those words was a punch to the gut. Nalini shot her a look of disbelief, but Elaine payed her no mind. She was simply smiling at her granddaughter's portrait with a distant gaze. Her expression was gentle like she was lost in a nostalgic daydream, reliving a happy memory. Watching her, Nalini could feel her own cheeks warming with new tears. She took the old woman's gloved hand into her own, and squeezed it with gentle reassurance. [Color=#dcd0ff]"I'm sure you'll see them again."[/color]

The two of them stood there quietly, leaning upon another as they took a stroll down memory lane.