Memory Box – Friday Fictioneers – 09/06/13

~ Amy Reese

It’s time for Friday Fictioneers. Thank you to the talented and lovely Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for her time and energy hosting this group, as well as the photo for this week’s prompt.

My story follows. As always, thanks for reading.

More stories from the Fictioneers can be found here.

Copyright – Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Memory Box (100 words)

“Can I play with the shoe? My dolly could wear it,” Trina said.

“No,” her mother said. “These aren’t toys.”

“What about this little bowl? I could use it in my playhouse.”

“These aren’t toys you can play with.”

“What are they for then?” Trina asked.

“They’re here to admire. They’re memories,” her mother smiled.

“What about this medicine bottle?”

“Oh, that’s where that’s been. I guess someone didn’t remember where it belongs,” her mother sighed.

“What kind of memory is that? To not remember?”

“Exactly,” her mother nodded. “This is why we have a memory box. We want to never forget.”

62 thoughts on “Memory Box – Friday Fictioneers – 09/06/13”

      1. I have a few cigar boxes with concert ticket stubs and a bunch of pictures. I have a small handmade ceramic cup that was a gift with some personal odds and ends, and a necklace with a plastic token that I almost never take off.
        And I have my wedding ring.
        All in all, probably one cubed foot of stuff. More than enough, and I can still carry the whole thing with me if needed.

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      2. Guapo, I’m so touched by this. It’s the little things you can hold in the palm of your hand that end up meaning the most in your life. If you had to leave in a hurry, you know exactly what you’d take. Thanks for sharing this with me.

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      1. LOL Yeah, I’ve had a few characters like that lately. Not in FF, but in my book. They have all received fair warning, if they don’t cooperate I’ll just knock ’em off.

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  5. it’s always lovely how something as “insignificant” as a medicine bottle can have so much intrinsic value. that’s why i have a box with hockey pucks and concert ticket stubs, a #9 billiard ball, my initials stolen from a holiday inn message board, etc.

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    1. Rich, that’s pretty cool. I had a collection once of ticket stubs, many from movies, but I don’t know what happened to it. What’s the significance of the #9 ball? The first strike ball? That’s a nice collection you have, even if parts of it were stolen. I guess that’s the best stuff, huh?

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  8. Dear Amy.

    Perfect story for this prompt. It truly is filled with memories, right down to the masking tape ball next to the eraser stub. It’s actually one of two boxes. The one next to it is larger and has the rest of the Howdy Doody figures from my older brother’s 6th birthday cake. They have survived because my mother would never let us play with them and I, in turn, wouldn’t allow my children to play with them. “These aren’t toys, they’re keepsakes.”

    Well done with natural dialogue.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

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    1. Dear Rochelle,
      Ah, I knew this was a special keepsake box for you. It made me wish I had one and that my mother had kept one. But, someone needs to start one. Maybe I’ll start one for my kids! They love little objects, and I would need to keep it “out of sight/out of mind.” As soon as they get their hands on things, they vanish or they’re at the bottom of some box! It’s a good idea to keep them tucked away and not for play. I can see why your mother did that.

      Thank you.
      Amy

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  13. Loved this Amy, the dialogue is so realistic. It is truly amazing the number of seemingly unimportant things we keep, just because of the memories they hold.
    Dee
    🙂

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  15. It’s amazing the significance that memories give to normal items. The daughter seems toys but the mother sees the story behind them, like they’re windows to something much bigger. I like this a lot.

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  16. I collect too many things, and one day… no doubt, I will have to explain what it all means, to my kids. Or, maybe they’ll just have to sort through all my treasures when I’m gone. 😉 I like the way you interpreted this. I just threw my hat in the Fictioneer’s ring. Fun challenge, and I was inspired by reading yours each time you post, Amy. Thanks!

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      1. I plan to continue… I’ve got some interesting writing things happening, and I’ve been falling behind (in general) lately. Hopefully, with summer ending and a more regulated schedule in place, I’ll start falling in line too. I find that my blog, itself, has really upped my writing game. Writing often, and challenging myself there has improved my overall writing… or so say the wonderful women in my writing group! 🙂 Thanks for the encouragement Amy; much appreciated!

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  17. I really enjoyed this conversation – the inquisitive determination of the child is clear. I can see her face-pulling as she says, “What kind of memory is that? To not remember?”

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  20. Good lesson here, Amy. Maybe I need to start boxing away “toys” or objects with emotional ties. I’m great at preserving artwork. But, there’s tons more I could save if I had more room in my garage.

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    1. It’s a thought, huh. I have some of the kids’ clothes when they were babies, and they have lots of trinkets, but you know, they aren’t boxed or anything. They live among all the clutter that happens if I don’t keep on top of things. I think if I started with a cool little box like this, I might be capable of collecting a few things! Thanks for reading, Anka.

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  21. Dear Amy,

    What a lovely story. Yes, memory boxes have many meanings for the families involved. Time passes and the children learn the significance of things and join the adults.

    Aloha,

    Doug

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    1. Dear Doug,
      Thanks, as always, for your kind words. It does have me thinking about the importance of memories and the role they play in our lives, and how they translate into our writing. Not that my story talked about that. Anyway, that kind of carried over for me. Thanks for reading.
      Aloha,
      Amy

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  22. Another one of your pieces that just… ‘feels’ so… ‘real’ (if that makes any sense)! I wish my ‘memory box’ held a few more descriptive words (I feel like I’m one step away from grunting at this point)… but very, very nicely done, Amy… that’s my main point. 🙂

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  25. Hi amy,
    i must say, this was indeed a great piece. In fact, it reminded me of my childhood days! well, as any other child, i was very inquisitive about almost anything and everything. i carried an yellow doll always , no matter where i go.But then, as time went by, i misplaced it somewhere.Thanks to this memory box , my mind is all set for an exploration

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  26. This was great. I read it the other day and have been meaning to comment. You captured that conversation very well. I don’t feel comfortable writing dialogue and I’m envious of all those who can make it flow. 🙂

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Take it away.