Wonderful Wrinkle
Margareta is a grandmother. She is 84. When she was new in the area, 52 years ago, she went shopping in the mall every other day. Since she has not stopped until this day, her closets are unclosable, which is why she happily gives both shoes, bags and dresses away.
Sometimes, to be honest, her granddaughters find some of it ugly: Way too wide, too weird or too much pattern. When that´s the case, she nods, hangs it back and says:
- Alright dear, you know where it is. I do not like throwing things away.
The granddaughter shakes her head, smiles and says:
- No, no I know, keep it. But I can tell you, I will never wear that thing before my dying day.
The granddaughter tastes another buscuit, reads a bunch of magazines, kisses the cat, then says goodbye and travels the world for a while. You know, meets new men, goes shopping in flea markets but drinks champagne, forgets to read, and cries every now and then. But most of the time she laughs. No, actually something in between.
When summer comes the grandmother is enthusiastic, because she has forgotten that she has ever shown that dress, and perhaps the granddaughter has as well. Perspectives changed as the trees lost leaves and suddenly, instant love is generated by a dark grey creation with tomato red shoes.
"I could get married in this! Look, it is exactly what I ve been searching for!"
The grandmother takes it down with a satisfied smile, knowing that the goldish hanger will be filled with something new.
When trying it on, the granddaughter sees those photos on the shelf and knows that her milennium version is so less fancy than the blond, naive but yet original one in 1965.
- I wore that one when I was new in this city dear, I did not eat for a month and struggled with the rent, but God I dansed quand même.
She still goes to the same mall every now and then. Most of the time she feels a bit dizzy and people pass her by so fast, she is afraid of falling. Something fundamental seems to have changed:
-It is all just the same rubbish everywhere these days.
A few weeks ago she went to buy butter and meat (and 2 pastries "for grandpa you know I never eat those kinds of things").Suddenly, a woman stopped her to take her picture for a contest where they looked for a new profile to advertise the mall´s anniversairy. It recently turned out that Margareta had won first prize.
Apart from the money that covers a pea of all dress expenses over the last 50 years, her photograph was made into a drawing. Soon the drawing will become posters that will decorate the mall. And, the grandmother will even be in seen in daily newspapers.
50 years of shopping, represented in a lady that isn't taller than 1.52.
I thought that was kind of moving in a way.
Sometimes, to be honest, her granddaughters find some of it ugly: Way too wide, too weird or too much pattern. When that´s the case, she nods, hangs it back and says:
- Alright dear, you know where it is. I do not like throwing things away.
The granddaughter shakes her head, smiles and says:
- No, no I know, keep it. But I can tell you, I will never wear that thing before my dying day.
The granddaughter tastes another buscuit, reads a bunch of magazines, kisses the cat, then says goodbye and travels the world for a while. You know, meets new men, goes shopping in flea markets but drinks champagne, forgets to read, and cries every now and then. But most of the time she laughs. No, actually something in between.
When summer comes the grandmother is enthusiastic, because she has forgotten that she has ever shown that dress, and perhaps the granddaughter has as well. Perspectives changed as the trees lost leaves and suddenly, instant love is generated by a dark grey creation with tomato red shoes.
"I could get married in this! Look, it is exactly what I ve been searching for!"
The grandmother takes it down with a satisfied smile, knowing that the goldish hanger will be filled with something new.
When trying it on, the granddaughter sees those photos on the shelf and knows that her milennium version is so less fancy than the blond, naive but yet original one in 1965.
- I wore that one when I was new in this city dear, I did not eat for a month and struggled with the rent, but God I dansed quand même.
She still goes to the same mall every now and then. Most of the time she feels a bit dizzy and people pass her by so fast, she is afraid of falling. Something fundamental seems to have changed:
-It is all just the same rubbish everywhere these days.
A few weeks ago she went to buy butter and meat (and 2 pastries "for grandpa you know I never eat those kinds of things").Suddenly, a woman stopped her to take her picture for a contest where they looked for a new profile to advertise the mall´s anniversairy. It recently turned out that Margareta had won first prize.
Apart from the money that covers a pea of all dress expenses over the last 50 years, her photograph was made into a drawing. Soon the drawing will become posters that will decorate the mall. And, the grandmother will even be in seen in daily newspapers.
50 years of shopping, represented in a lady that isn't taller than 1.52.
I thought that was kind of moving in a way.
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