The old man’s eyes lit up as the young man entered the living room.
“Lovely to see you again,” the old man said. “Weren’t you here just the other day?”
“Yes,” the young man lied. His chest tightened.
The old man’s head of white hair was combed and flattened, not a wisp out of place. The sofa did not cushion him; he sat bolt upright, a throwback to his army days. Within arm’s reach lay an old Polaroid camera, and on his lap a photo album. He would photograph his guests and label the pictures: name, occupation and record of acquaintance.
The old man gestured. “Sit down, make yourself comfortable. It’ll come to me in a minute.”
The young man opened his mouth.
“Don’t tell me,” the old man said, “it’s on the tip of my tongue.”
The young man pursed his lips.
The old man scoured the album. Finally, his index finger came to rest on a photo, and he bent closer to read his notes. A pained expression crossed his face. He rose and spread out his arms.
“Good to see you, Son.”
“Good to see you, Dad,” the young man whispered.
Nadia Jacobson is a fiction writer from London, England who currently resides in Jerusalem, Israel. She recently completed an MA in English Literature and Creative Writing at Bar-Ilan University and serves on the editorial board of their forthcoming fiction and poetry journal entitled Ilanot.
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53 Responses to “PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY • by Nadia Jacobson”
Comments
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May 14th, 2009 at 12:12 am
Lovely story, beautiful and sad.
May 14th, 2009 at 1:07 am
I agree. This was delicate and touching.
May 14th, 2009 at 1:25 am
Oh very well done, Nadia! Exactly the right length as it pre-empted the reader guessing the twist too long before it came. Very delicately written also, with the man’s military voice captured well, unsentimental, an attempt to impose order on his orderless memory. Excellent read. Five stars from me.
May 14th, 2009 at 1:47 am
Nadia, What a wonderful, caring and emotional story. Loved it !!!!
May 14th, 2009 at 2:17 am
A lovely idea, Nadia, and the punch at the end hit home exactly as it should. I did have a nagging feeling that something was missing, and then I realised that what I missed was a more direct connection with the old man. Repetition of ‘old man’ and ‘young man’ was slightly clinical. Do you not think the emotional connection would be even greater if the old man had a name? Only a minor niggle. Still a great story.
Best
May 14th, 2009 at 2:19 am
Oh, and the word ‘man’ is missing I think in the line where he purses his lips.
Cheers
May 14th, 2009 at 2:31 am
really got my imagination working and surprised me
May 14th, 2009 at 3:40 am
Good idea for a story and well executed. It makes me think of something from an Oliver Sacks book. He tells true stories of people with neurological damage.
May 14th, 2009 at 4:39 am
Predictable from line 2, inevitable from line 3.
May 14th, 2009 at 5:10 am
Well written little scene of a reunion of a father and son, the father with some kind of thinking disorder, but both people warm and tender.
May 14th, 2009 at 5:40 am
I feel like such a schmuck for having tears well up. Damn fine short. It tells us just enough.
May 14th, 2009 at 5:44 am
The edited last line: When the old man turned away, the young man randomly rearranged the photographs
May 14th, 2009 at 5:50 am
I enjoyed this touching scene between father and son.
May 14th, 2009 at 6:08 am
Powerful and real, a poignant moment captured beautifully.
May 14th, 2009 at 6:15 am
Really liked the way you didn’t waste a single word, touching story but I have to say it’s been done before (Memento. 4 stars from me.
May 14th, 2009 at 6:31 am
A lovely, sad story. So real. It happens. Has happened.
May 14th, 2009 at 6:37 am
That’s really poignant and the legth is just right.
May 14th, 2009 at 8:16 am
This speaks volumes so briefly. Very painful look into a common real-life occurrence. Definitely a five-star piece.
May 14th, 2009 at 9:14 am
I guessed the twist was something like that, but still a wonderful, heartwaeming story.
May 14th, 2009 at 9:20 am
Beautiful story Nadia!
May 14th, 2009 at 9:55 am
This is one of the saddest stories, short or otherwise, that I have ever read. We have close friends that have alzheimers, and at our age it’s more than just a nagging worry.
Excellent job.
May 14th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Beautiful story, never guessed the ending. Enjoyed it very much.
fehmida
May 14th, 2009 at 11:22 am
A fantastic story, short and poignant.
May 14th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Touching and evocative in so few words.
May 14th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
I really liked this story. It was so sad, and yet there was an element of hope in it that, with the aid of the album, the old man could hold on to a little of his memory and his old life.
Really well written — especially since you told the story in so few words!
May 14th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
A sad tale well told. Congratulations Nadia on a job well done.
May 14th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Wow, that was so poignant and for some reason I found the old man’s behaviour quite unsettling.
May 14th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Really captures the emotions of those affected by dementia. My gran has a form of it, and no longer recognises any of us (not even with photographic prompting). This story is very sad, and very true. I disagree with Killian – this is nothing like Memento.
May 14th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
A very poignant story!
May 15th, 2009 at 2:19 am
Well done for being published Nads! It sort of agree with comment 5. It’s a powerful tale but I felt a little emotionally uninvolved…
May 15th, 2009 at 6:06 am
Lovely.
May 17th, 2009 at 5:49 am
I don’t know dear if this is REAL fictionor just a sad future if we don’t bring back family values. Great story
May 17th, 2009 at 5:51 am
I don’t know how much fiction is here. If we don’t bring back “family values” it may be the sad future for many of us. Great story
May 17th, 2009 at 11:03 am
I have a mother almost like this – nicely written.
May 17th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
I loved this story – thanks for the read.
May 18th, 2009 at 5:39 am
Very well done.
May 18th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Visceral reality. Very strong.
May 21st, 2009 at 2:07 am
Despite the sadness, the father shows his strengths, past and present, and his photography technique provides an element of hope.
May 21st, 2009 at 7:57 am
Lovely Nadia – it is beautifully written.
May 23rd, 2009 at 4:00 am
good.
May 23rd, 2009 at 4:01 am
good
May 25th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Nicely written…you caught my curiousity from the outset (not easy to do). Good job!
May 30th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Very Beautiful Story. Very well written and a sad but touching ending.
August 25th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Nice enough, but let’s not get carried away. In style and format it’s just an ordinary joke. Do we need to make any emotional connexion with the old man, or even know his name (see above, Oscar W-S, reponse 5)? Would you ask to know more about the Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman in the anecdotal pub?
September 21st, 2009 at 1:46 am
Laying the praise on a little thick, aren’t we? There isn’t enough substance here for the extreme reactions I’m seeing. This’d make an interesting premise for an actual story, however.
September 29th, 2009 at 9:16 am
good.nice twist.touching.
October 2nd, 2009 at 6:18 pm
I felt my chest tighten, too. Thank you.
November 1st, 2009 at 6:20 pm
It was wonderful…thanks reminds me of my aunt who recently passed away. Thank you.
November 3rd, 2009 at 6:39 am
That’s beautiful! Very well written.
November 4th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
I just Stumbled on this page and it brought tears to my eyes. This is a perfect story.
November 9th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
wait what ?
is it just me or what cos i didn’t really understand the story.
December 28th, 2009 at 8:13 am
This could have been a sentimental story but the author wrote it in an unsentimental way. It is very short but complete; and I actually admire the old man’s determination to impose order on the confusion of his mind. In real life this would take courage. He still has his pride. He still has the can-do attitude of his military background.
December 30th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
great novel, nadia! it broke my heart (in a good way!) and touched me deeply.