She ran to you and nuzzled her nose in between your knees, shutting the world out.
You caressed the fluffy tuft of hair on her head. She looked up and gave you that smile.
The smile that’s reserved only for you.
You smiled back and shut out the world that existed beyond the both of you.
I wanted to lock this moment in my head and throw the keys away.
So far away, into the depths of the ocean,
Where no one could touch this memory, nothing could change this moment.
Not age, not distance, not the cruel talons of time.
I’ve looked deep into those small twinkling starry eyes many times.
When they open, they search for you till they can find that old familiar figure extending an unwavering hand that is always searching for hers.
When they become heavy with sleep, they push and fight to just drink in one last smile , one last picture of you.
When they dream, it’s always a sunny day where a head full of silver and a tiny black one, Bob up and down along the beach, holding hands and exchanging fantastical tales and silly jokes with equal fervour.
The dreams have travelled a lifetime now, from my eyes to hers.
But the common and the constant is you.
I will never know your secret games, your endless conversations, your special communication even when no words are spoken.
But there is one corner of my heart which will forever be lit up with the memories that I have locked away.
Of an old man and a little girl and their little world.