His Old Friend
/The shirt is an old friend. It is made from a soft cotton ticking cloth with wide blue and white stripes. It is well worn, oversized, and comfy, like a blanket is warm and inviting on a chilled night.
The shirt is his favorite. It is a cherished garment that has been lovingly tended and preserved for years. It is the first shirt he wears after doing wash. It is the only shirt he enjoys wearing no matter the season or the setting.
Now his old friend is laying in his lap. It is freshly unwrapped from the package that arrived in the mail. Flat and pressed, the shirt is lifeless and somehow less than what it once was. He looks at it with tears in his eyes.
It has been awhile since he has seen his shirt and old friend. The reunion is unexpected and comes as a shock. Emptiness fills him. Loss and sadness flood through him. Waves of emotion begin to consume him, claiming him and stealing his soul.
He knows only despair and isolation in this moment. No longer in control, the tears that welled up in his eyes begin to fall. They run down his face and land on the shirt in his lap. He sits quietly and trembles as his tears pool on his old friend.
The shirt should not be here. His old friend should not be tear stained and laying in his lap. He gifted it to his love, the woman that is his everything and his forever. He gave her the shirt as he gave her himself.
He remembers her joy and excitement when he handed her the shirt. He remembers the love in her eyes and the smile on her face as she wore it for the first time. His old friend was now her new friend. It was a symbol of their bond and life together.
As she slowly ran her hands over it, the shirt immediately enveloped her in his love and devotion. It carried his scent and, now, blended with hers. His old friend embraced her and became her warm blanket on a chilled night. It became her shirt for all seasons.
He last saw his old friend on his love. She wore it for him lose and open. She treasured being in it and near him. She cherished being embraced by both, loved and protected in their touch.
The shirt is now laying lifeless in his lap, tear stained and wet. His old friend returned to him without warning or word. The love of his life, his everything and forever, silent and lost to him.