Rainy Day Memory
When I was in middle school, I inherited my late grandpa's favorite pen. He used to tell me that it was gifted to him by his students. My father gave it to me with a reminder to take care of it, because he saw me eyeing the thing and no one else in the family would appreciate such a mundane tool. Being a) interested in stationery and b) utterly restless and c) awfully careless, I managed to disassemble the pen in one day, losing a small component in the process. The gear (or whatever it was, I never got a clear sight on it) rolled out of the pen body after I twisted the nose cone open, and as pens were apt to do, immediately entered the void the moment it touched the floor. I think it was a multipen with a spring and slightly finicky construction, so I never managed to put the pen back together.
I thought I would get better luck trying again some other day, so I set it on the counter and proceeded to look for the small component again. The next day, I managed to accidentally knock against the counter and the poor pen rolled down to meet its demise. The barrel cracked, ensuring that I would have no way to fit the whole thing properly without glue. Or a duct tape. Either way, the handsome pen was irreversibly ruined. Scared to face my father, I shoved it into the depths of my drawer, never to see the light of the day again. I'm quite sure my mother found the remnants eventually. My father never mentioned the pen again or asked why he never saw me using it, so I think they both knew.
I didn't take it with me when I moved out for college. Almost two decades passed since then, but every now and then I'm reminded of that pretty little pen, wondering if I would one day hold it again (where is it now?), if my grandpa would take the story with a smile or a frown (maybe I should ask in the next Hungry Ghost Festival?). I get better at taking care of my things now, especially since I'm in charge of arranging my own space as an adult (every piece of furniture is flush against the wall).
I still disassemble things, though I also put them back together.