just_muse_me prompt 27.6.3 [give me ten prompt]
3. TEN things that remind you of a special person or place
Claire wouldn’t really strike people as being the sentimental type, at least not beyond the teddy bears she has kept over the years. Of course a lot of the little bears were packed away now, stuffed into different boxes and tucked away into the closet at her mother’s home, all except for the few bears Claire took to school with her. But underneath her bed at the dorm, there is another box. Just a small box that doesn’t look at all special but it is to her because it held all the little treasures of her world.
The first item is a small stuffed bear that could fit easily into the palm of one hand. Surprisingly enough, it isn’t a teddy that was given to her by her father but in fact it came from her brother. Lyle had won it for her the first time her parents had ever taken them to a fair that came to Odessa. He had been only six years old at the time and she suspected that it was their dad who helped him to win the fishing game but, in the end, his hard fought prize had been the dark pink bear which he gave to her with a shy smile. She knew it would embarrass him now if he knew she still had it but she just couldn’t bring herself to part with it.
The second item is a little doggy collar bearing the name “Bubba”. It used to belong to one of the puppies her mother had raised; the scrawny little runt that shouldn’t have made it through the night and he probably wouldn’t have if it wouldn’t have been for Claire’s plain old stubbornness as well as the fact that she sat through the night trying to keep him alive. They had kept him for a few months until she finally gave in and let him go to a new home but she had stolen the collar away to keep the memory of the first pet she had really loved.
The third item is just a picture but it’s one of her and her dad at a bowling alley where they had thrown her thirteenth birthday party. It had been one of the few parties he had made it to because he had somehow managed to take the time off of work. She knew now that meant he hadn’t been running off, bagging and tagging, but it just didn’t matter. It had been one of the best nights of her life, mainly because he had helped her to get three strikes and the picture had been snapped right in the middle of them celebrating the third.
The fourth item in the box is a ridiculously bad birthday card but what made it funny was that it was meant to be bad because the person who had drawn it wanted it to look that way. Zach had always had an interesting personality and an odd sense of humour but it was the last card she had gotten from him before things started to get weird. She still talked to him now and then, and once in awhile she’ll remind him about the card but he still doesn’t get just how much it meant to her.
The fifth item is a folded up piece of paper that probably reveals how shallow she can be at times but it also represented the day when it had been announced she was the Homecoming Queen. It was also the day that the entire school body applauded for her and only her. It doesn’t matter in the long run now because she never got to wear the crown but it’s still a moment that makes her mother proud, as long as they don’t think about the horror that happened that night.
The sixth item is the necklace she had gotten from Meredith on the day they had met. She doesn’t wear it anymore because she can’t bear to wear the jewellery of someone she had failed to protect but there are days when she takes it out to look at it and to remember the brief few hours when she had felt a connection to the woman who had given her life.
The seventh item is another folded up piece of paper and it’s an odd thing to keep but she couldn’t bring herself to part with it. It’s the page out of the phone book where she had found Peter’s address and phone number on the day she had escaped to New York to try seeing him. The bright pink ink she had used to circle his name was faded now but she could still see the crinkles in the paper from where she had clutched it nervously while heading to his apartment. Sometimes she wishes she had something better to remind her of Peter but for now it works because it had led her to finally meeting her birth family.
The eighth item is an odd little shell she had found on the day she went to the beach with West. To her, it represented the beginning of their relationship when everything had been nice, exciting and new. The shell had been under her hand the first time he kissed her and so she couldn’t help but take it home with her. It helped to trigger the memory whenever she wanted to remember something good in her life but she also took it out to look at because there were times it also helped her to hope that maybe one day she’ll have that feeling again.
The ninth item is a morbid thing to keep and so she kept it hidden in a small velvet bag that is tied tightly closed with a red ribbon. Inside the bag is a short lock of hair that’s tainted a dark brown shade from being caked with blood and drying that way. She doesn’t like to look at it most days because it reminded her of one the worse days of her life but sometimes, when she needed the strength or anger, she’ll take it out to remind herself that she did in fact manage to survive what no one else could have.
The tenth and final item is the thing that hurts the most to look now because it’s the only thing that she has that links her to the man she never really got to know. It’s just a little square of cardboard type material that bears the name of a little bar in Mexico. It’s stained with the ring of what was probably a beer bottle and she swears she can still smell the tequila on it but she can’t bring herself to throw it away. It’s a reminder of the last time she was with Nathan before the world and a monster tore them apart. But now whenever she stares at it in the silence of her dorm room, it’s also stained with her tears.
Claire wouldn’t really strike people as being the sentimental type, at least not beyond the teddy bears she has kept over the years. Of course a lot of the little bears were packed away now, stuffed into different boxes and tucked away into the closet at her mother’s home, all except for the few bears Claire took to school with her. But underneath her bed at the dorm, there is another box. Just a small box that doesn’t look at all special but it is to her because it held all the little treasures of her world.
The first item is a small stuffed bear that could fit easily into the palm of one hand. Surprisingly enough, it isn’t a teddy that was given to her by her father but in fact it came from her brother. Lyle had won it for her the first time her parents had ever taken them to a fair that came to Odessa. He had been only six years old at the time and she suspected that it was their dad who helped him to win the fishing game but, in the end, his hard fought prize had been the dark pink bear which he gave to her with a shy smile. She knew it would embarrass him now if he knew she still had it but she just couldn’t bring herself to part with it.
The second item is a little doggy collar bearing the name “Bubba”. It used to belong to one of the puppies her mother had raised; the scrawny little runt that shouldn’t have made it through the night and he probably wouldn’t have if it wouldn’t have been for Claire’s plain old stubbornness as well as the fact that she sat through the night trying to keep him alive. They had kept him for a few months until she finally gave in and let him go to a new home but she had stolen the collar away to keep the memory of the first pet she had really loved.
The third item is just a picture but it’s one of her and her dad at a bowling alley where they had thrown her thirteenth birthday party. It had been one of the few parties he had made it to because he had somehow managed to take the time off of work. She knew now that meant he hadn’t been running off, bagging and tagging, but it just didn’t matter. It had been one of the best nights of her life, mainly because he had helped her to get three strikes and the picture had been snapped right in the middle of them celebrating the third.
The fourth item in the box is a ridiculously bad birthday card but what made it funny was that it was meant to be bad because the person who had drawn it wanted it to look that way. Zach had always had an interesting personality and an odd sense of humour but it was the last card she had gotten from him before things started to get weird. She still talked to him now and then, and once in awhile she’ll remind him about the card but he still doesn’t get just how much it meant to her.
The fifth item is a folded up piece of paper that probably reveals how shallow she can be at times but it also represented the day when it had been announced she was the Homecoming Queen. It was also the day that the entire school body applauded for her and only her. It doesn’t matter in the long run now because she never got to wear the crown but it’s still a moment that makes her mother proud, as long as they don’t think about the horror that happened that night.
The sixth item is the necklace she had gotten from Meredith on the day they had met. She doesn’t wear it anymore because she can’t bear to wear the jewellery of someone she had failed to protect but there are days when she takes it out to look at it and to remember the brief few hours when she had felt a connection to the woman who had given her life.
The seventh item is another folded up piece of paper and it’s an odd thing to keep but she couldn’t bring herself to part with it. It’s the page out of the phone book where she had found Peter’s address and phone number on the day she had escaped to New York to try seeing him. The bright pink ink she had used to circle his name was faded now but she could still see the crinkles in the paper from where she had clutched it nervously while heading to his apartment. Sometimes she wishes she had something better to remind her of Peter but for now it works because it had led her to finally meeting her birth family.
The eighth item is an odd little shell she had found on the day she went to the beach with West. To her, it represented the beginning of their relationship when everything had been nice, exciting and new. The shell had been under her hand the first time he kissed her and so she couldn’t help but take it home with her. It helped to trigger the memory whenever she wanted to remember something good in her life but she also took it out to look at because there were times it also helped her to hope that maybe one day she’ll have that feeling again.
The ninth item is a morbid thing to keep and so she kept it hidden in a small velvet bag that is tied tightly closed with a red ribbon. Inside the bag is a short lock of hair that’s tainted a dark brown shade from being caked with blood and drying that way. She doesn’t like to look at it most days because it reminded her of one the worse days of her life but sometimes, when she needed the strength or anger, she’ll take it out to remind herself that she did in fact manage to survive what no one else could have.
The tenth and final item is the thing that hurts the most to look now because it’s the only thing that she has that links her to the man she never really got to know. It’s just a little square of cardboard type material that bears the name of a little bar in Mexico. It’s stained with the ring of what was probably a beer bottle and she swears she can still smell the tequila on it but she can’t bring herself to throw it away. It’s a reminder of the last time she was with Nathan before the world and a monster tore them apart. But now whenever she stares at it in the silence of her dorm room, it’s also stained with her tears.