A Neatly Pinned Photo

The delicious aroma of the freshly baked croissants wafted through the near-empty café, as he sat waiting for the rest of them to join him.

He slipped into his memories of his engineering days, sitting in this very café and smiled as he opened his eyes and pictured everyone sitting in their usual seats.

His best friend would be sitting in front of the tiny TV mounted in a corner, remote in hand, watching the latest cricket match. The friend who worked as a waiter would be refilling his coffee.

His “bro” would sit with his body half turned towards the window, randomly waving at people he knew since he lived in the area.

His “sis” would be sitting across from his “bro”, diligently doing her homework or writing another article for her magazine. They rejected every article but she’d never stopped trying.

His “sis’ ” best friend, a shy young girl would be trying to decode the recipes by tasting the treats the café had to offer.

And he’d be sitting right where he was, in front of the huge green wall which had untidily scrawled testimonials and neatly pinned pictures. In front of a picture of all of them.

Four years ago they had decided to meet here after their engineering.
Three years ago they had all gone on a trip to some island.
Two days before the trip, he had gotten the measles.
One day before their return, the island’s “passive” volcano erupted.
Half a day later, he’d been told there were no survivors

He sighed and took another look at all their smiling faces before his Alzheimer’s kicked in again.

“Well, I guess they forgot again”, was all he said, before walking out of the door like he did every year.