Looking around the empty room, Cara and Helen were lost in nostalgia. The room still held the smell of lavender, their mother’s favourite polish. Clearing their childhood home had been heartbreaking, and now there was only the attic to clear. They climbed the stairs, their heavy steps echoing through the space. Neither had set foot there for many years.
The door creaked loudly, startling them. They saw a room with boxes packed neatly, cobwebs hanging from the rafters, and a chill air caused them to shiver. Both peered about looking for any sign of rodents. There were no sounds and their breathing relaxed. They checked the first box full of childhood toys, which looked forlorn and slightly grubby. They touched them, smiling, memories of happier times stirred.
Working through the rest brought lots of bittersweet memories. The large box at the back was pulled forward. When they opened it they gasped. It held an old cine camera and projector, and several reels, their labels of a time past. At the bottom was an old bible. They gently lifted it out; a musty smell of old paper. They opened it and found a family tree going back generations, their names at the bottom of the paper.
They carefully carried everything down, setting it on the living room floor. One of the boxes contained old bedding. Pulling a sheet out, Helen hooked it to the wall, using the nails left from the photos. Cara set up the projector and one of the reels. Plugging it in, she held her breath afraid it no longer worked. She should have known better. Her father had always been good with electrics, had always been tinkering about .
A flick of a switch and it burst into life. Leaping out at them were pictures of grandparents, relatives long gone. Inside each reel was a list of who these people were. Reel after reel brought more memories of holidays and special occasions, each documented. Laughing and crying, they hugged each other. Their parents would always be with them the best inheritance ever.
