a friend forgotten

There was a place we all used to visit. It was a home away from home. It had cozy little nooks where we would hide out and secret places to which we would climb or crawl. The sun always shown brightly through the windows and danced with us on the floor.

There was a child who lived there. A dear friend, a trusted companion. The child would play games with us, would undertake great expeditions with us, would laugh and would cry with us.

At last we cannot even recall the name of that child. As we forgot those special days and forgot that special place, the floorboards warped and cracked, the paint on the walls peeled away, the windows dirtied and darkened.

We left that child all alone in that dreary place. That child slowly wasted away. Eyes faded. Voice muted. Skin grayed.

That child disappeared. A soggy tear stain on a dusty carpet is all that remains.