Ellie’s initial handkerchief
I was sitting on the bus when I saw her. She had grey hair and was wearing a blue cardigan. She had a bag in her hand that was most likely filled with her weeks shopping as today would have been pension day.
She sat quietly looking out the window and I wondered what her thoughts might be. As she stared out the window she pulled from her sleeve a handkerchief. It reminded me of the initial handkerchiefthat my grandmother would always have in her sleeve. She gently folded the the handkerchief up and put it back in her sleeve after she had used it just as my grandmother used to do. I suppose in their generational that would be the polite thing to do.
Watching the lady with the initial handkerchiefbrought me back to a time when I was a child. That was one of those little things, those small memories that you take for granted until they are all too soon gone. I never realised that seeing an initial handkerchiefwould bring a tear to my eye.
Her initial handkerchiefwas used to dry many a tear from a scrape or bump. They wiped our runny noses and mopped a brow or two. I never realised how useful the handkerchiefs were until I was older.
I looked over again at the lady on the bus and saw from the corner of her sleeve a beautifully embroidered letter E. The lacy frill showed on the crisp white edge of the cloth that was exposed. The lady saw me looking her way and I could tell she was a bit uncomfortable so I extended my hand and introduced myself. I explained my interest in the handkerchief and why I was looking. She smiled and told me her name was Ellie.
We began to talk and she told me the story of how she had been given the initial handkerchief by her husband on their last anniversary. He had bought her a box of three that were all beautifully hand woven and embroidered with the E in a soft pink. She then went on to say that today was there anniversary and she was heading home with a bag full of his favourite foods to prepare a special meal.
The time passed quickly and before I knew it, it was my stop. As I got up to leave and shake Ellie’s hand she held out a box. She asked me to take it and thanked me for taking the time to talk to her. At first I declined but she was very insistent so I took the box. When I arrived home I opened it up to find a beautiful initial handkerchief.
I often remember that day on the bus with a smile as I think of Ellie and our interesting conversation. The gift she had given me I now treasure and keep in my sleeve just as she and my grandmother had done. The initial handkerchief is a treasured gift.
