Hope

18 days. 435 hours. 26100 minutes. 156600. And counting… 

Watching Pietro and Bucky play in the playground, I feel overwhelmed with a surge of emotion whenever I remember the Potts family. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to forget them. I had lived with them for as long as I could remember. I had never imagined that they would throw me out, after all, I had done for them! I would always catch the eye of every visitor who visited them, and they would be mesmerised by my beauty. I was loved by all! But the most important thing was that I was loved by family. They were everything to me… But as soon as I had gotten this minute scar, so minuscule that the sharpest of eyes would never have spotted it, they threw me out, like I was yesterday’s trash. “You’re an eyesore now darling!” Mrs. Potts told me. “We wouldn’t want that in our house, would we?”

How…How could they just do that? Didn’t they have feelings? Didn’t they have any memories with me? How could they just forget 7 years of happiness, love, and laughter? Was I that irreplaceable? Sometimes I watch them driving their car on the street or with that new dog of theirs. I try to meet their eyes, but they don’t notice me; nor does anybody else. 

My trail of thoughts was interrupted as a ball fell towards my side. Pietro and Bucky ran to get the ball and then they suddenly stopped, staring at me. One of these days, that ball is going to fall right on me… And I will become more undesirable. I doubt they have noticed me before. They are so indulged in playing, they hardly notice whether its day or night.

They both whispered to each other, smiled and ran away. After some time, they came dragging a woman talking excitedly. “Can we take it home, ma?” Pietro asked. “We’ll take care of it, we promise!” Bucky added, his face glinting with hope. 

“Take what home?” The woman asked. They pointed towards me. The woman met my gaze and gasped. “Why, yes!”

With those two simple words, I was filled with unending pure joy. “My! What a beautiful vase!”