On The Inside Of An Empty Perfume Bottle

The Bottle My Mother Kept Since 1967 

My father bought my mother a bottle of perfume on his trip to Paris, maybe because he was there with his mistress. When he came home my mother told him she wanted a divorce. Nevertheless, she accepted the perfume and when the bottle was empty she kept it for the rest of her life as a trophy. Sometimes, when she had another argument with my stepfather about his lethargy, she held the empty bottle in front of her tearing eyes and gazed through it, seeing something only she could see. I can still picture my mother, gazing through that bottle, her eyes searching for all that had vanished.