My late grandfather was an eccentric, peculiar type of person who most of the time spends his waking hours locked in his room reading thick volumes of encyclopedia or watching the television. When he was alive, I found him reserve and seldom engage in small talks. When he died, his room was eventually locked and I have no idea what are stored therein.
I asked my mother, who gave in one day after constant begging, if I can take a visit to this long forgotten place. To my amazement, the room looked like someone has been using it for quite a while. The bed sheets and curtains were still crisp and the smell was reminiscent to that of a cleaning detergent. The place was full of nostalgia.
What caught my attention is the floor to ceiling panel full of old DVDs and CDs. I never knew my grandpa was a collector of movies. The cases looked new and were meticulously arranged by category like what you see in a movie rental store. There were documentaries and memoirs, fiction, art films and history. I couldn’t identify which one were his personal favorites but I was pretty certain he was able to watch all of them. On my mental calculation, he must have watched two to three movies a day.
When I went back from college break on my third year, I was totally disappointment to see an empty room. My parents told me they are converting the space to a cocktail bar where they can entertain guests. I never saw those movie collections because they decided to sell them off online. Some of it they traded for the new ones. They were at least happy to have maximized the place and earn something from selling the old stuff. They said that it is time for the old CDs and DVDs to go and give hew happiness to their new owners.