Mrs. Singh knew it was no use dwelling in the past nevertheless, she spent many lonely afternoons reliving her memories and gaining momentarily happiness.  At the age of eighty, she knew that she had lived her most memorable moments and was often left with a heavy heart when the realization dawned on her that her precious memories were slowly fading with time. One evening Mrs. Singh was with her five-years-old granddaughter and saw her grandchild playfully spinning around in circles, just like Mrs. Singh used to do in her childhood. A small smile appeared on Mrs. Singh’s face.

Mrs. Singh had lost most of her early childhood memories and as a result remembered very little of her grandfather. She could recollect only snippets of their interactions. She remembered twirling rapidly and her grandfather watching over with worry. She was a little less than four-years-old and her grandfather was almost eighty. He swirled his finger in a circular motion and said, “You will get dizzy”.  Mrs. Singh remembered stopping to look at her grandfather.  She remembered seeing a gaunt old man with broad spectacles occupying most of his bony face. The carefree child laughed and replied, “Nothing will happen”.  She continued spinning ignoring the gentle worried rebukes from her feeble grandfather.

She was six- years-old when he passed away.  He was laid down on the floor covered by a white cloth. People surrounded him, waiting for his body to be taken for cremation. She remembered peering, observing the familiar lines on his face. He was still her grandfather but only this time he wasn’t watching over her, his eyes were shut. That was the last time she saw him.

Mrs. Singh heaved a heavy sigh.

She looked down at her own arms resting on her lap. She noticed the timeworn shriveled skin and the loose skin surrounding her forearm. She felt the bone protruding from her wrist with her fingers. Mrs. Singh gave out a wry laugh. She had become just like her grandfather. Mrs. Singh glanced at her carefree granddaughter who was still twirling around in circles.

“Stop,” said Mrs. Singh with a subtle smile,” you’ll get dizzy”.