It had taken her by surprise, how instantly a ball (of tears) had formed in her throat at the sight of a simple piece of furniture. And yet, here she stood in front of a plain white bookshelf, staring at its name tag, and remembering with piercing clarity an innocent conversation shared only some months prior.
“I buy more books than I can read,” he had confessed, “you know the Billy bookcase from Ikea? We must have a dozen of them …”
The bookshelf in front of her, bare of books, nevertheless bore the ability not only to remind her of someone (and even of a particular detail about them), but to make her realise she was not completely aware of how much she truly missed him.
Words & Feelings 