Written by Delphine Gauthier-Georgakopoulos
I remember when I got tall enough to notice it. There it was, standing out on top of the dark
cabinet at my grandparents’ house. It appeared solemn among the vivid ceramic figurines, close
to the black-and-white TV set. It was an antique gun, placed on a wooden base and we, the
children, were not allowed to touch it.
I remember asking my grandfather where it came from while watching TV and eating sweets
together. The story was never quite the same, but always exotic; it was a Japanese gun.
I remember my cousin picking it up and pretending to shoot me. Panic overtook me as I ran
around the living room, screaming in fright. Then the flame appeared as if by magic. It wasn’t an
actual gun. It was a lighter.
I remember my grandmother scolding the teenage boys for playing with it. She took it back from
them as if it were her most precious treasure, dusting it lovingly, longingly, before placing it
back with a melancholic smile.
I remember claiming it was kitsch when I got taller than my grandmother and thought I knew it
all. Yet, I couldn’t help myself and stroked it every time I walked by.
I remember being disappointed when I pulled the trigger and no flame appeared. It wasn’t
working anymore, and mentally, I blamed my cousins for it rather than the fact that it was so old.
I remember when, on my last visit to the silent house, I couldn’t find it. It had been forgotten
inside a drawer. It was dusty, abandoned, unappreciated, and it upset me.
I remember you every time I gaze at the gun-lighter standing on the top shelf above the TV set in
my living room, every time I stroke it as I walk by. It is an antique gun, placed on a wooden base
and the children are not allowed to touch it.
.
Delphine Gauthier-Georgakopoulos is a Breton writer, teacher, mother, nature & music lover, foodie, dreamer. She loves butter, needs coffee, hates easy opening packaging, and likes to create stories in her head. Her words can be found in Roi Fainéant Press, The Hooghly Review, Spare Parts Lit, JAKE, The Amazine, Funny Pearls, and Every Day Fiction, among others. She is a contributor to Poverty House and the EIC of Raw Lit. Her debut historical novel Laundry Day was selected as a Runner-up at the Irish Novel Fair 2024. She lives in Athens, Greece. X/Facebook: @DelGeo14 or visit delphinegg.weebly.com