MEMORIES ON CANVAS

As they sat on the rooftop of a small cafe, Mr. Smith nervously fidgeted with his hands while Elsa watched him with a warm smile on her face. They had been dating for a few months, and Mr. Smith was planning to ask Elsa to marry him. He wanted everything to be perfect, so he had taken her to this rooftop cafe, which had a beautiful view of the city skyline.

As they sipped their coffee, Mr. Smith nervously reached into his pocket and pulled out a sketchpad. "I have something to show you," he said, his voice trembling slightly.

Elsa's eyes widened in surprise as Mr. Smith opened the sketchpad and began to flip through the pages. Page after page was filled with intricate, detailed drawings of everyday scenes from their past days, when they met at different places.

"These are amazing," Elsa breathed, her eyes scanning the pages in awe.

"I've always loved to draw," Mr. Smith said, his voice growing more confident. "It's been my passion since I was a child."

Elsa looked up at him with a smile. "I love that about you," she said. I don't care about your career or success; all I care about is that you're happy doing what you love."

Mr. Smith felt a wave of relief and joy wash over him as he looked into Elsa's eyes. He knew in that moment that he had found someone who truly understood him and loved him for who he was, not just for his achievements.

He was not only an artist primarily but was a successful and popular NEET chemistry trainer in Kerala. As Smith went ahead with his plan to marry Elsa, he faced a number of challenges and issues. The biggest challenge was his own family's objection. They were not happy with his decision to marry Elsa, as she came from a poor family and was jobless. They believed that he should marry someone from a similar social and economic background, who could contribute to his successful career and provide him with financial stability. Despite their objections, Mr. Smith knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Elsa. He was deeply in love with her and believed that she was the perfect partner for him, regardless of her financial situation.

Despite all these challenges, Smith was determined to make things work. He was deeply in love with Elsa, and he knew that he could not live without her. Finally, on April 26, 2015, he married her in a small ceremony with just a few close friends and family members present.

From then on, his family was the centre of his world, and he loved them more than anything. His wife, Elsa, was a kind and gentle woman, with a heart of gold. She was always there for him, supporting him through every challenge, and standing by his side no matter what. Her smile could light up the room, and her laughter was infectious.

Soon they had a little angel, who added more colour to their life. They named her Diana, and she is in first grade now. She is the apple of her father's eye. With her big, bright eyes and her innocent smile, she is a constant source of joy and happiness for him. He loved spending time with her, reading her stories, and teaching her new things. Her boundless energy always kept him on his toes. Together, the family was a picture of love and happiness. They enjoyed spending time together, going on picnics, and exploring the world around them. Mr. Smith treasured every moment with them, knowing that they were the most important things in his life.

He transformed himself into a buffoon at home in front of his daughter but was an encyclopedic brain among students and teachers. He was respected and admired by his students and colleagues alike, not only for his brilliant mind but also for his views on humanity. In producing the top results, Mr. Smith was a brand name in the state. All the concepts and theories he taught just flowed from his mind like cascades of water, and there was no one who could not admire his remarkable memory and expertise.

"My memory is my achievement and my price," he used to repeat proudly to his colleagues and friends. But destiny had written a different story for him.

In the year 2023, in January, an incident happened while the classes were going, which made the whole class confused. In the middle of the class, he stood, confused by the theories he was teaching.

"Getting older," he commented on himself, smiling at every confused face. It was unexpected because, since the day he joined the institute in 2016, he was never found reading or teaching from a text book. He tried hard to recall the information from his memory, which affected the flow of the class miserably. It even caused him to deliver incorrect information, resulting in unpleasant responses and reactions from the students.

The next day, the class saw him for the first time using a text book to teach. "The academic director asked him to use a textbook while teaching," a boy sitting at the back bench commented.

The next problem was to identify the students' faces. There was a time when everyone's name in the whole institute was a lullaby for him, and it had taken him just a couple of days to learn all of their names. Such incidents repeated again in the coming days, which made him and every other person sad, irritated, and sometimes terribly infuriated.

As he was insisted upon by his colleagues, he consulted with a doctor, and finally he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. It was heartbreaking for him, even though he had some guesses about it. As the days passed, his memory started to fade away. The faces of his own wife and children started to seem like mere stories to him sometimes.

Despite the challenges he faced, Mr. Smith refused to give up and started to find ways to cope with his fading memory. He knew that he had to take control of his situation and not let the disease dictate his life. He started by creating a daily routine that included physical exercise, mental stimulation, and social interaction. He would go for walks in the park, read books, and engage in conversations with his friends and family. He also started to write in a journal to help him remember important events and thoughts.

He took his painting brushes back to work and slowly started to recall the faces of his loved ones through his paintings. He would spend hours painting their portraits, striving to capture every detail and memory associated with them.

One day, as he was looking at one of his paintings, he suddenly remembered his wife's smile and the sound of his children's laughter. Overwhelmed with joy, he hugged the painting and cried tears of happiness. From that moment on, he continued to paint every day, and slowly but surely, his memories started to return. Eventually, Mr. Smith was able to recall all the faces of his loved ones and the memories associated with them.

His wife Elsa was always amazed by his talent, often admiring his works in progress and praising the beauty and depth of his paintings. She knew that his art was not only a way for him to hold on to his memories but also a way for him to connect with the world around him and share his love with others. Even his little daughter, Diana, in first grade, was awed by her father's paintings. She loved to watch him paint and would often ask him to draw her favorite cartoon characters or paint her in different colors. Mr. Smith loved to paint her portraits, capturing her innocence, wonder, and joy in every stroke of the brush.

One day, as his little daughter came to his room after her class, she was heartbroken to see her father struggle to remember her, and tears streamed down her face as she tried to remind him of their memories together. She noticed the paint brushes and canvas on the table and decided to give them to her father, hoping that the act of painting might help him remember their time together. At first, he was hesitant and unsure, but his daughter gently encouraged him to try. She handed him the paintbrush and guided his hand towards the canvas. Slowly, he began to paint, and as he did, memories of his daughter flooded back into his mind. He remembered the time they went on a picnic and how he had taught her how to catch butterflies. He remembered the way she had laughed and smiled as they ran around in the sun, and he captured that moment on the canvas.

As Mr. Smith's Alzheimer's progressed, his memories began to fade once again, despite his efforts to hold onto them through painting. He had trouble remembering where he was or what he was doing, and he often became lost and disoriented. But even in the midst of his struggles, he never gave up hope. Through his art and the support of his loved ones, Mr. Smith persevered, never losing sight of the memories and the people that meant the most to him.

One day, he was rushed to the hospital due to a sudden decline in his health. His family was by his side, holding his hands and praying for his recovery. As he lay there, his mind drifted back to memories from his past. He saw his wife's smiling face, his children playing in the park, and his students eagerly listening to his lectures. But as the moments passed, those memories began to blur and fade away, until there was nothing left.

Mr. Smith's family could see the confusion and fear in his eyes as he struggled to hold onto his memories. His daughter, who had watched her father fight to regain his memories through painting, was heartbroken to see him lose them once again. In a desperate attempt to bring back his memories, she grabbed a paintbrush and a canvas and handed them to her father. "Paint what you remember, Dad," she said, tears streaming down her face.

Mr. Smith took the brush in his shaking hand and began to paint. As he worked, his family could see the determination in his eyes, the spark of memory that had not yet been lost. Slowly but surely, his strokes began to form images on the canvas—his wife's smile, his children's laughter, the faces of his students. But just as he was about to finish his painting, Mr. Smith's hand went limp, and the brush fell to the ground. His family rushed to his side, but it was too late—he had passed away, taking his memories with him.

The family was devastated by the loss of their beloved father and husband, but they took comfort in knowing that he had fought until the very end to hold onto the memories that meant the most to him. His daughter held on to the painting, cherishing it as a symbol of her father's unwavering spirit and love.

Years passed, and she now studies at the same college where her dad was a superhero. Diana sat in the dimly lit art gallery of the college, her eyes fixed on a painting of her dad, which the college still honours as a precious memory. As she gazed at the artwork, tears welled up in her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks. It wasn't just the beauty of the painting that moved her; it was the memories that it held. Memories of her father, a talented artist. But now, as she looked at his paintings, it was bittersweet. They were a reminder of the times they had shared, but also a painful reminder that he was no longer there. Diana missed her father terribly, and it seemed like the pain would never go away.

Her father was her inspiration and her teacher. She continued to work hard and pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. Her dedication and passion for the field of medicine led her to achieve a top rank in the NEET exam, making her college proud.

As she stood on stage to receive her award, tears streamed down her face, thinking about how her father would have been so proud of her. She addressed the students and spoke about how her father's battle with Alzheimer's disease had inspired her to take up medicine, specializing in neurology, and dedicate her life to researching and treating diseases of the brain and nervous system.

As she left the stage to thunderous applause, Diana felt a sense of pride and fulfillment. She knew that her father's legacy would live on through her work and the countless lives she would touch in her career as a neurologist. With renewed determination and a sense of purpose, Diana set out to make a difference in the world, inspired by her father's unwavering spirit and love for life.

                                                                       *****