One Image One Minute- Nakita Shelley

Going through my family albums at a young age I stumbled upon pictures of a person I didn’t recognize with the caption “Steve Shelley and his girlfriend Chalet first Christmas”. The photo was taken at my grandmother’s house which meant they had to be family or presumed future family. I asked my parents who the picture was of but under hushed tones, they pushed it off and made an excuse. A couple of years passed and I found the photo album and questioned my mother again about the unknown person. She said he was my cousin Steve who had died from an apparent suicide. He's still never talked about today. Thinking about it now, it seems crazy that he was almost erased and turned into the family secret. It was also really strange because my Shelley family seems so close having annual parties for every holiday and camping trips in the summer. It also made me think that if we don’t become famous and if our family doesn’t speak of us then, what is our legacy.