16 years ago...
"Mother, can I go see Granny now?" I was two and thought that my parents wouldn't let me play with my grandmother because I was a naughty girl.
"No, just play outside with Matty, okay?" My brother, Matthew, was five years older than me and knew very well that our grandmother couldn't be with us for very much longer.
"But why?" I whined.
My mother sighed. "Granny is getting very old, so she gets tired easily and needs a lot of rest and quiet time, honey."
"Okay, I'll be quiet but when can I see her again?"
My mother didn't answer my question, nor look at me in the eye.
Just then, Daddy came out of the emergency room and signaled for my mother, Matty and I to come in.
"Granny!" I yelled happily, trying to jump on the hospital bed.
Granny had a weary look on her face and smiled weakly at me. "My beautiful little granddaughter, you and your brother really are the light of your parents' life. Make sure your daddy doesn't do anything stupid while I'm gone, okay?"
"Where are you going, Granny?" I asked, attentively, unaware that my lovely granny would be going up to the heavens soon.
"Your granny will be going off to a better place, my love, so don't you worry."
I started crying. "Are you going because I'm a naughty girl and you don't want to have to see me anymore?"
Matty came over to my side and hugged me, rubbing my back. "Nonsense, Sophie! You are a perfectly good girl!"
I looked at my old granny. "Is that true?"
"Of course, it's true. Now, don't cry my child."
"Okay," I nodded and hugged her tightly.
After a moment of silence - other than my mother's soft weeping in the background - I asked my granny, "Why do you have to go, Granny? Wouldn't you have any regrets, leaving us behind?"
"My dear, life's just too short to live with any regrets."
"I don't understand, Granny."
"You'll understand when you grow a little older, Sophie."
And with that, her heartbeat slowed to a stop with me in her arms.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Sophie, happy birthday to you!" my family sang in unison as I walked out of my bedroom to go brush my teeth in the bathroom.
My parents were both holding sparklers in their hands, while my brother, Matty, was carrying a humongous double-layered chocolate cake, with pink icing that spelled out "Happy 18th birthday, Sophie!"
"Oh my god! You guys are the best! Thank you so much!" I exclaimed, giving each and every one of them a big, sloppy kiss on their cheeks.
Matty pretended to pull a disgusted face. "Ugh, ew! I mean I love you, Soph, but you really didn't have to make my face so wet, especially when you haven't brush your teeth yet!"
"Aw, love you too, big bro!" I replied, giving him another sloppy kiss on his other cheek, before he could dodge.
As a matter of fact, I do have faster reflexes that my brother, who used to the quarterback of the football team back when he was in high school.
"Okay, kids, keep your hands to yourself, or in this case, I mean lips!" my mother shouted, and started laughing at her own lame joke, like she was on drugs. "Get it, get it?"
Matty and I just gave each other a look.
"Mother, I hate to say this, but try not to embarrass your children on my birthday, okay?"
Daddy gave us a quick wink and said, "This is exactly why I was the 'cool' one back in school."
My mother slapped my daddy's arm playfully and shot back, "Well, you married me so just shut up and deal with it."
"Okay, beloved family, break it up! You guys have work and Matty has to drive me to Yale in twenty minutes so chop, chop!" I interrupted.
My parents both grumbled a 'fine' and stalked away, as my brother put an arm around my shoulder and watched them walked away.
"Our family really is something special, isn't it?"
"Oh, special is a word, alright! But how about weird, annoying, funny, wild, oh, I could go on for hours!"
"You, my little sis, are so cheeky!" he laughed and squeezed my cheeks.
"Well, let's just say that I learnt from the best!" I winked.
"Yeah, now, enough chit-chat, you have less than twelve minutes to get ready!" he announced and pushed me into the bathroom.
"Hey, dude, you cannot rush a girl on her first day of school!"
"11 minutes!" he singsonged.
Yeah, I just love my family.
ČTEŠ
Loading
Teenfikce16 years ago... "Mother, can I go see Granny now?" I was two and thought that my parents wouldn't let me play with my grandmother because I was a naughty girl. "No, just play outside with Matty, okay?" My brother, Matthew, was five years older than...
