A Gift From Grandma

   Grandma has always talked about family heirlooms like they were handcrafted by god himself. I never really understood why. All of the old family jewelry is unseemly ugly. The old pots and pans are crumbling away. The old dresses are falling apart at the seams. None of her old things are anything to look at. They aren't anything special but still they amaze her.

She has been talking about how excited she is to give me one of those old necklaces for years. Every time i go to see her she says “ now just you wait Addison. You just wait until your 19th birthday and i'll give you this one” as she points to a half decaying green necklace. “Beautiful isn't it?” shed say, and before I could say a word she would start telling me how special it was. “You know Aphrodite herself wore it.” she would say with a half sad smile on her face.

Grandma has been completely crazy for the past ten years or so. She was diagnosed with severe dementia. The whole family just assumes that she makes up these stories because she can't remember the old one. After all that is why she calls me Addison. My real name is Adelaide but on a really bad day grandma forgot my name completely. That day she was trying to get my attention while I was doing the dishes. since she couldn’t remember my name she was just pointing at me and saying “hey… uh...uh...umm...uhh” until finally I heard my little sister say “grandma do you need Addie”. From there my grandma assumed that Addie was short for Addison and I never have had the heart to tell her that she is wrong. 

Today as I drive over to my family's home, all I can think to do is practice my reaction. Since today they are hosting an early birthday dinner for me I know I will be receiving that god awful green necklace. The gift giving portion of the evening will be awkward but at least I know that I will be able to see everyone tonight. 

When I arrive at my family's house I am greeted at the door by 3 dogs, 2 cats, and 5 people: My grandma, my mom, my dad and my two sisters. My mom ushers me inside and we all make a line next to the table and start grabbing our food. 

It's always a very Italian meal. Moms stuffed shells, and chicken Alfredo. Dad's famous spaghetti and meatballs with rolls. Grandma cooked up some garlic mashed potatoes and her famous cheesy hash browns. 

When we were all done eating grandma plops a small rectangular box into my lap. “Open it!” she exclaims. I take off the lift and there it is. That ugly green necklace. You could barely see the gold chain through all of the rust. The old green jewel in the center had been half ripped out. It looked as though it had been lost at sea for the last hundred years yet still I said “ thank you grandma, I love it” and her face lit up with ignorant bliss.

What else could I say? There was no other answer than"i love it". Of course I hated the necklace but I couldn't tell her that. it would break her heart.

"oh Addison! I knew you would like it! Put it on! Put it on!" grandma shouts. what else is there to do than swallow my pride and hang this hideous necklace from my neck.

The clasp is so brittle that fear opening it may cause it to break. So I very slowly open the claps and put the chain around my neck. "Beautiful" my grandma says "absolutely beautiful Aphrodite wore that you know.she gave it to my great great great great grandmother. My mother said that it was magic but I could never get it to work."

Just then I hear a voice in my left ear. “Adelaide” A soft feminine voice says. “Adelaide Elizabeth Rosario” The voice whispers “I’ve been waiting for you”. All I have the power to do is stare blankly at the wall in shock. “Addie look at me” the voice says in a sing-songy way. So I looked down at the stone in the necklace. It's glowing. A beautiful emerald green. The necklace is no longer old and ugly. In the seconds that I wasn’t looking at it the necklace has transformed itself into a beautiful pear shaped necklace. “Do you like me now?” the voice says “my last form was catered to your great grandmother's taste but this. This is all for you. Happy birthday Addie.”

Absolutely terrified, I looked at the rest of my family to see if they were seeing what I was seeing. They obviously were. My parents and sisters looked terrified but my grandma looked ecstatic. “Do you hear her?” asked grandma “the voice! Do you hear her!”

“Tell her nothing”

“What voice grandma? Who is talking to me” I ask.

“Aphrodite! Who else would it be?” me grandma replies.

“Tell Her Nothing!”

“ No grandma. No one is talking to me.”

I try to unhook the clasp but it is rusted shut. I can’t get out of this necklace. “Why are you lying to me?” my grandma yells! “I know you can hear her!”

From there on out, no action that I made was my own. The voice controlled everything I did and sayed. I have been trapped forever in my own body with a witch who pretends to be a god controlling my every move. I had to listen as she told my grandma that “I” never loved her. I had to watch my mother and father's hearts break as “I” ran out the door and never returned home. Maybe if I would have just told my grandma that i didn’t like the necklace I would still be in control. 

I am now the girl you once knew as Adelaide. She so graciously volunteered her body to me so that I can live out another hundred years. If she tells you otherwise remember, I didn't force her to put me on and I only suggested that she not tell anyone about me until after I had taken over.