Word Count: 332

Ideas Used: empty, envelope, goodbye, picture, mother, memories

Kyungsoo turned from the gloomy window to the happy atmosphere in the photo across the room. He focused on the two smiling people in the photo, one male and the other female. Her arms were wrapped around his waist, pulling him in for a kiss. He, on the other hand, was pulling away while making a disgusted face. But you could see the happiness he felt then from the playful glint in his eyes. The two had eye smiles that could light up the whole room, something that Kyungsoo wished for every night. However, he knew that it was impossible to bring back what they had together.  

He could remember the uplifting laugh that she had. The way she always greeted him when he visited always made him feel warm inside, but at the time he didn’t know how precious those visits were.

Kyungsoo looked down and opened his large hands to reveal a wrinkly yellowed envelope. The burnt edges were threatening to fall off. Wet stains dotted the thin paper from the days he wept in sorrow. It was something he treasured greatly, but it was also a heartbroken memory. He remembered the day when she suddenly left him, with no words of goodbye. The only thing that was left was the envelope on her desk. Opening the envelope, he felt a flood of memories come back but they quickly faded after he found nothing staring back at him. His face fell with disappointment. Kyungsoo was left with empty memories along with an empty envelope. Even though he knew that nothing was inside, he always came back to the action of opening it again and again. The painful goodbye left him depressed and isolated, with no one left around to comfort him. A tear slid down his cheek and into the open envelope before he closed it. He walked up to the picture across the room, opened the back of the picture, and placed the envelope behind it. Mom, merry Christmas.