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Grandma.
By Ian Hawley
Emily didn’t know how long she’d been
crying for before she ran out of tears, the empty feeling of loss made her feel
sick, and she couldn’t put her thoughts into words to explain them. She
understood what death was, she’d seen dead pets before, even buried a few of
her own, but this was different, more, well, more final. When she thought of
her Grandma, and the fact that she would never see her again, the idea that she
wasn’t there to listen to her problems, to offer her advice was just, well, too
hard for her young head to take in.
She climbed of her bed, still holding her
damp, tear stained pillow to her chest as she walked over to the window and
looked outside. The wind whipped at the trees outside as and she sniffed as she
watched the leaves as they danced before her eyes. Her Grandma had always loved
a storm, and Emily smiled at the memories she had of sitting on her knees as
the thunder rolled outside.
`Don’t you let the daft old weatherman
scare you, Emily` she used to say, `The way to beat him is to make him scared
of you, Like this.` and then her Grandma would shout at the thunder, and Emily
joined in before they both fell about in fits of laughter and she smiled at the
memory.
The balloon she’d given her at her Birthday
a few weeks ago floated gently by the window, moving slightly in the breeze
that managed to filter through somehow into her room, and she stopped to stroke
it.
`I miss you, Grandma, ` she whispered. `I
miss you so much. ` She ran her hand over the shiny red heart as she spoke,
feeling the material crinkle under her little fingers. `I want to give you this
heart back, so you know how much I love you. ` She whispered, as fresh tears
ran from her eyes. `That way, there will always be a little of me to keep you
company. `
Taking the string in hand, she walked
slowly from her room and down the stairs; no one looked as she walked passed. Everyone
seemed to be in a world of their own memories, so she quietly opened the front
door and stepped outside.
The wind made the balloon pull her hand,
but she held on. Holding it tightly in her fingers and she realised that she didn’t
really want to let it go, that this balloon was important to her to and she
started to sob. `Mum told me when my fish died that you sometimes have to let
those you love go, so as not to hold them back. But I want you to be here, I don’t
want you to go. Why did you go Grandma, Why...`
Suddenly a sudden strong gust pulled the
string free from her hand and the balloon shot upwards out of her grasp, and
Emily screamed as she realised what had happened, causing her mother to appear
quickly behind her.
`Emily, are you okay? ` Her mother shouted,
running over to hug her, and hold her close.
`Grandma’s balloon.` Emily sobbed, `It’s
gone and I want it back, I want her back.` She buried her head into her mother’s
shoulder. `It’s not fair. `Her mother didn’t answer her, actually, her
mother didn’t move at all, and Emily realised that something about that wasn’t quite
right and she slowly pushed herself free. Her mother continued to stare behind
Emily and as she slowly turned round, she saw the balloon, holding itself in
the air a few feet from them.
`Grandma` Emily shouted happily, `Grandma,
is that you? ` She pushed herself free from her mother’s arms and ran to the
balloon and the wind whipped her hair from her face as she reached up to grab
the string, but she stopped herself before she did.
`You know what, Grandma` she smiled, wiping the tears from her face. `You
keep it, look after it for me and shout at the storms for me. Just as long as
you come back to see me sometime, I’ll be okay. The next time it thunders, you
listen for me shouting, Raaaaaaaa.` she roared.
The heart floated before her for a moment
before bobbing down slowly to her height and bopped her on her once on her forehead
before shooting up into the sky.
`Bye Grandma, I love you` Emily called as
it rose peacefully away. `Bye...`
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