Aesthete

Chapter 16.

I was wearing a pink, cotton dress that reached my knees. I had white buckled sandals on as I squealed with delight, running through the sand of Galveston beach. My grandfather was talking to us behind the video camera that was perched on his shoulder. He was always so insistent on wanting to record our best memories, he would make discs and give them to my mother so we had something to smile back on when we grew older.

He was always considerate, always selfless for his grandchildren. My mother loves him very much for that and saw him as her father, even after my parents got divorced.

"Florence! Smile for the camera, what's something you want to tell yourself in ten years?"

I giggled, sticking out my tongue before settling for a grin that had one of my teeth missing since I was a five year old who played around too much in the rocks.

"You need to eat more cookies and go to the beach with Grandpa again!" Satisfied with my answer, I hauled my small body to my older sister, who was perfecting a sand castle.

At ten, my grandfather, sisters, and I sat in a restaurant eating a simple burger and fries. I was content with spending time with him as I told him how I got better at dividing fractions and how I was beginning to memorize the different bones of the body. He listened with adoration and interest, talking about how he couldn't wait to see us graduate when we got older. How excited he was to see us grow into adults that carried themselves with kindness, that was his dream for us. I remembered how even after everything I experienced only a year ago, I didn't hesitate to jump into his arms as he reassured me that I would be okay, he would remain by our side no matter what.

It was a week before I was leaving for Japan, I kept a straight face even though my heart leapt for joy at my grandfather's small frame. He walked to me, hugging me and saying how he could live in peace knowing that one of his grandchildren is going to become a hero. "You'll save lives, my strong little flower." He cried, tears escaping down his slightly wrinkled cheeks as he bared a warm smile. He kissed my forehead, apologizing for the way he couldn't protect me. That angered me, he was never the one at fault for what happened in my past. "Grandpa, don't say sorry. You're the only man I love, you could never hurt me." I allowed myself to bask in the way I cared for him, I was always grateful to the universe for providing me the opportunity to have one good man in my corner, cheering me on as I tried to reassemble the broken pieces of my spirit.

I kissed his cheek, bidding him farewell as he stepped on the bus. He gave me a small heart-shaped locket, telling me to tap the center of the heart whenever I missed him or my family. When I arrived in Japan, I would tap it frequently when it was hidden underneath my school uniform or hero costume.

He gave me one last look as the bus took him away, I couldn't explain the way my lungs compressed, the way my brain flinched, as if it was preparing for something I was unaware of. My hand separated from my side, reaching out, I couldn't stop feeling like if I needed to tug him towards me one last time, say "I love you" one last time.

I was worried for nothing, though. He still called me the way he always did once or twice a week, depending on the busyness of his schedule working in a hospital. I would tell him of my friends, of Shota, and of my training while he laughed and spoke of his work and how he hoped his son would eventually reach out to him.

I was sitting upon the same black carpet I had been before the USJ attack, the same feminine voice spoke to me.

"My poor child, the worst is yet to come." A pressure stroked the tear that slid down my cheek.

"What do you mean?" I asked quietly, too consumed with reliving the memories of my time spent with my grandfather and family before living here.