The Depressing Goodbye

The brightening sun glistened into my eyes, my blanket covered in white cat paws was as cold as ice, from the air conditioner blasting to twenty-one degrees celsius last night, feeling like Antarctica. The photo beside my bed stood out from many others, shining with glory. That photo was not some old picture of me winning an academic award like all my other photos hanging all over my room. It was my beloved grandma, hugging me with love at the beach. I could still feel the warmth of the hug my grandmother had given me, the love was stuck with me, like a magnet, ever since that day. The beach was her favorite place to be because she would just watch me run from the waves, watch the sunset and just look onto the beach with a huge smile on her face, being the most heartwarming place for her. 

Sadly, she got diagnosed with lung cancer, after many years of chain-smoking. I had warned her so many times, but she never listened because it got to a point that it turned into an addiction and she couldn’t stop the terrible habit. It was painful watching her smoke each time I caught her. I knew one day, something bad would happen. Ever since my grandma called me one morning, as I was scrolling through Instagram, she told me the news of her lung cancer, I couldn’t breathe that morning. I didn’t want to lose my only beloved family member. 

The rest of my family treated me so badly. My mother and father favored my sister, Julia. The only person I could turn to was my grandma. I never was allowed to go out with friends or have any pocket money from my parents. They made me work for my own money to buy myself food to survive. Whilst my sister, Julia, was allowed seven hundred dollars from our parents each week and she didn't need to work or move a finger. My grandma would get extremely crossed with my parents for bringing me up so unfairly so she would openly give me two thousand dollars a week, just to outdo my parents and trump my sister. I told her I didn’t need that much because I wanted her to use her own hard-earned money and I could just work and get money for myself, but she insisted. My mother was furious and forbade my grandmother for giving me money. Mother wanted Julia to have more than me and be better than me in everything, so my grandma would secretly transfer two thousand dollars into my bank account just so that I can live a better life than the one my parents are giving me now.

As I was going for my afternoon jog, I received a phone call from one of the nurses at the hospital, who rang me and told me to come to visit my grandma, as she was deteriorating and didn't look like she had much time left. My heart sank to the deepest part of the ocean but I had so much faith in my grandma that she would make it. She was a strong woman. She couldn't leave me now. Without trying to burst into more tears than I already had, I ran to the hospital, which was five minutes away from where I was, with a heavy heart weighing me down and every step was reverberating at the same speed as my heartbeat. 

I opened the door to my grandma’s hospital ward, only to see endless cords wrapped around her. I tried to hold back my tears, but they just fell down uncontrollably like a waterfall after a heavy rainstorm. Running to her at full speed, I hugged her, trying to recreate the warm hugs she used to give me at the beach. I then saw my sister in the corner of my eye, writing in a notebook. My grandma said she was drawing a card for her. I knew Julia would never draw a card for her. She would never be that kind-hearted. Trying to stay calm, hoping my sister wasn't thinking of doing anything sinister, I told my grandma that I just needed to throw my tissue in the bin around the corner of the room. I had to lie, otherwise, Julia would hear and I didn’t want my grandma to know that Julia might be planning to do something bad. I tip-toed over silently so she did not suspect that I was going to sneak behind her to take a peek at what she was up to. My jaw suddenly dropped, she was writing a whole plan to ruin my grandma's last days of her life! I was furious! I grabbed her ear roughly and whispered to her that I demand that she did not do any of those horrifying things to our grandma. She screamed in pain and then angrily stomped away. Julia was annoyed because I knew of her horrible plan, but I was even more annoyed at her to think of anything so nasty to do to our grandma!

My grandma was confused but I told her that Julia was just going through “that time of the month”. We both giggled and then she lied down onto her pillow and told me to sit down beside her. My face dropped. I insisted on not saying anything but to talk positively! Grandma said that she knew that her life was going to end extremely soon and she wanted me to take everything she owned. My grandma is very wealthy. She told me that since I am eighteen and I do have my licence to drive, I could even take possession of all of her cars. That was too much for me. But she insisted and I didn’t want to decline because I'd rather accept her offer than have my uncaring family sell off all her stuff, just for money. She even showed me a piece of paper she signed that said all her belongings were to go to me. I promised my grandma that, every day, I would visit her and cherish our last moments.

The next day I went to visit my grandma in the hospital, and to my surprise, Julia was there, not to visit our grandma but to throw water balloons at her! Julia was throwing so many water balloons at grandma that I had to sprint over and push her to the ground. I ran to comfort my grandma and asked if she was okay. She was drenched, from head to toe with water, even tears were appearing in her sorrowful eyes. Looking up, she said she was fine and not to worry about her. Knowing that she was pretending that it was okay, I knew she wasn’t. I went to my sister and whacked her as hard as I could. I told my grandma on my sister’s behalf that she was sincerely sorry and that would never happen again. Julia wouldn’t apologize so I had to on her behalf. I spent all afternoon with my grandma, enjoying our last moments.

Awaking to a new day, I truly hoped my sister would stop and take it seriously. I drove to the hospital where my grandma stayed and walked to her ward. I couldn’t believe it. This time, my grandma was covered with glue all over her. Screaming at the top of my lungs I ran to my sister and pulled her hair, trying to rip it off her head. I kicked my sister out of the ward and ran towards my grandma. I told her how sorry I am about my annoying sister, who was trying to ruin everything. She pretended it was nothing and it’s all just fun. I knew she was lying because no one would like people throwing things at them, getting glue stuck all over them, and ruining the last days of their lives. Again, I spent the rest of my afternoon with her. I told her that I truly wished I could take her to the beach for one last time but she wasn’t allowed to get out of the hospital as she was too sick. I was deeply saddened to see how depressed my grandma was. We talked for ages until it was dark so I had to leave. I kissed her goodbye and went back home. 

All of a sudden, at three o'clock in the early hours of the morning, the dreaded phone call came. The nurses from my grandma's hospital had rung to inform me that my grandma has passed away. I couldn’t believe it. She was my everything. We were just talking a few hours ago, enjoying our moment. I drove to the hospital to see her. I opened the door to her ward and they were about to put a blanket over her to cover her lifeless body up. I ran towards her and hugged her with all my love. My tears accidentally fell all over my grandma. My heart was broken. I didn’t want to let go. I loved her too much, but I had to let her go. At least she is having a better time up there in heaven now. I watched the nurses slowly put a blanket over her body. I cried the whole entire way home, wishing my grandma was still here.

I decided to go to my sister's room, at 5a.m. to wake her up to tell her the sad news. As I told her grandma had passed, she was laughing her head off and jumping with happiness, celebrating that her plan had worked. I didn’t have any energy to hit her at the time to express my anger. My heart turned cold, I was furious. I slammed her door and walked away in tears, still questioning myself how I will ever survive the rest of my life without my grandma.

A week had passed already and I was still devastated. I got dressed in black for my grandmother’s funeral. Watching them put my grandma’s coffin into the ground was heart-breaking. Someone whispered in my ear to go to a place where everyone couldn’t see me. I turned around, only to see no one but I was curious and desperate, so I went to a secretive spot. I then saw a ghost. It was my grandma! I was as happy as a butterfly! I was so elated to see her again! My grandma said she would always be by my side every day. I was relieved. In happiness, I jumped up and down until I realized there was a small box on the ground. 

I opened it up and it had a white glistening airpod in it. My grandma said I could talk with her whenever I wanted or needed to since she was the only family member in my life that actually loved me. She said I could just put it in my ear and she will automatically start to talk to me. I was even more elated. Now I can still be close to my grandma. She told me to go back to the funeral just in case anybody thought I was being suspicious. 

From the day my grandma gave me the airpod, I have kept it in the special small box. It is kept in my room, right next to the photo of us on the beach. I will now forever be close to her.