In another window of the apartment building, a soft yellow lamp glows in the corner of a quiet room. An old man sits alone at a small wooden table. In front of him is a framed photograph of a smiling woman, his wife.
She passed away three years ago. But every night, he still keeps her photograph exactly where it used to be when she was alive.
The Habit That Never Left
The old man slowly pours two cups of tea, one for himself and one for the empty chair across the table. He places the second cup beside her photograph, just like he did every evening for forty years.
Some habits refuse to leave the heart.
A Conversation With Silence
He adjusts his glasses and looks at the photograph.
“You know what happened today?”
His voice is soft, almost like he is afraid to disturb the silence.
“Our grand-daughter called on video today. She showed me a crayon drawing she made of both of us… wishing us a happy anniversary .”
He nods slightly, waiting a second, as if expecting her to respond the way she used to.
The Room Still Holds Her
His eyes wander around the room. The curtains she chose, the clock she insisted on buying from a street market, and the chair where she used to sit and knit sweaters for their children. Everything is still there,
exactly the way she left it.
One More Argument
He leans closer to the photograph.
“Do you remember how we used to fight about silly things?”
A faint smile appears on his face.
“You always won those arguments.”
The smile slowly fades.
I wish you were here to win one more.
The Unseen Loneliness
Outside, the apartment building looks peaceful. People passing by might think the old man is just sitting quietly in his room. But inside this window, a husband is still having conversations with the love of his life.
Because some love stories don’t end with death. They simply continue in silence.
Goodnight, My Love
The old man finishes his tea. He carefully picks up the photograph and wipes a small layer of dust from the frame. Before turning off the lamp, he whispers softly:
“Goodnight, My Love.”
And for a moment, the room almost feels less empty.
Outside the building, another window goes dark. But inside that room lives a love that even time could not erase.
About This Series
This story is from a series called “100 Windows”.
In one apartment, there are 100 windows. Behind each window, there is a different life, a different struggle, and a different story.
This was Window 2.
More stories are waiting behind the other windows.
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Highlight the lines that spoke to you, leave a clap 👏 or a comment. Your support encourages me to keep writing and sharing more stories like this.
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Thank you for reading.
With 💚,
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Babak Eshaghian On Unsplash
