Vivek picked the photo frame from his bedside table and glanced at it with tender love.
Garima.......his love was smiling her beautiful smile with her eyes crinkled. The soft sunlight  on her face cast an ethereal effect. It was his favourite picture of Garima.

He recollected the day it was clicked. They had decided to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in Italy. The day of their anniversary had dawned bright.  " I have a suprise planned for you" Vivek told her. He had then taken her to one of the most beautiful and famous winery. She was floored by the beauty of the winery and had eagerly participated in the wine tasting event.  Garima had worn a red, summery, floral dress  with a belt which accentuated her slim waist.    Her hair was left loose framing her oval face. She stood in the vineyard, soaking in the beauty of the winery, her face slightly upturned and smiling. Vivek had expertly captured  her sun kissed face through his camera lens.

After they returned home from their trip, Vivek has framed the picture in ornate silver frame and presented it to her much to her delight. 
" It is beautiful,  I love you" she had exclaimed as she hugged him throwing her arms around his neck.

***
Two years later, one  wintery morning Garima had woken up feeling uneasy and sweating profusely. Vivek panicked and called for the ambulance and rushed her to the hospital. 
'Massive heart attack' the doctors told and did their best to revive her but failed. Vivek felt the whole world around him was collapsing.  Friends and family  rallied around him and he managed to complete the funeral rites.

It was only later that an overpowering feeling of grief hit him. A part of him had died along with Garima. Things would never be the same for him. Now there was a deep void in his heart created by her absence. Not having children of their own now seemed to be a curse.  Life seemed to have moved on for everyone but Vivek was struggling to exist.  His brother did his best to help  and took him away to his home, but it was a small consolation for Vivek whose heart ached constantly for Garima.  In the long nights when he couldn’t sleep all the memories played in his head. Death of Garima had changed the entire landscape of his life.

A dear cousin  who could empathize with him reached out to him and helped him a lot  in accepting the loss. Three months after her death, Vivek had walked into his own house and the first thing he had reached for was this picture of Garima.  He held the photo frame close to his heart and all the love trapped in his heart squeezed  out in the form of hot tears.
Vivek recalled reading somewhere " You never realise the value of a moment until it becomes a memory ".