The Ring

Here I sit alone on a dusty dresser, my owner gone from sight. She wears me faithfully to show the world her loyalty and love for her husband and the dedication for her children. I do not know where she would have gone. It seems like an eternity since she has held me. 

We are inseparable.

Sometimes she takes me off when I get in the way. When she calls it a night, she lies me down carefully, linked in her watch, until it is time for us to begin our day again. I am always close by, never too far from sight.

The places I have been with her! 

Memories of the road trips we have shared. 

Visiting her children in different states. 

Our final move to this house. 

The day we were first introduced.  

The feelings of love, immeasurable. So many stories and so many good times. 

As the years wore on, she was a bit more low key and did not travel as much. We mostly went to church or shopping with the man she loved. 

My favorite times with her are when we were alone and she sits to reflect on her life when it is good and when it is not so good.

Everyday I watch her from where she places me as she works in her garden. These are one of the few times she leaves me alone. I am envious of the soil as it kisses her fingers while she works. She takes such care of her garden, pulling out any weeds that threatens to destroy her creation, watering the plants so that they can get nourishment.  Her hands do not look the same without me though. I know I am her greatest treasure for I am the one that anchors her to a home. She does not forget me and I am never too jealous of her plants and her flowers. She hurries to find me and at last we are together once more.

When she is relaxing, she picks up the phone. Sometimes I eavesdrop on her phone calls. She makes so many, especially on Sundays when she goes down the list of family members to call. If the person is not available, on to the next one. Sitting together on her rocking chair in the kitchen, I help her hold up the phone, smiling to myself as I hear their secrets. The conversation goes on for what seems like forever, her laughter penetrating the quiet room as stories are told to her from the other side of the phone. We just rock in our chair, talk and fondly reminisce.

The last time I was with her was this past Mother's Day. The sun was shining as it always does here, hugging the home inside and out with its warmth. She was cooking a feast which is what she loved to do most. She never took a break from it and it was one of the many things I loved about her. You know, I was her constant cooking companion too. Seasoning the meats, washing the dishes then sitting to enjoy a good meal with her husband as he worked on his computer and she chatted about her day. What a wonderful Mother's Day! The calls of her loved ones would soon pour in and she waited faithfully. I had to be ready!

That night, she took me off as is customary. But the days have multiplied and she has not put me back on.  I feel nothing and I see just gloom. Tears of a stranger fall down on me and my skin burns with its sorrow. Who is this that has taken over where I lay at night? She is not known to me. 

"I do not want you," I say. 

"Give her back to me!" I shout. 

Nothing. Just stillness. And more tears.

I do not know what has happened to my beloved companion. She is gone and I have not felt her warmth since the beautiful day we spent together. It has been 6 sad months without her and I do not know if she is ever coming back for me.