Annie and Granny

Martina Špinková

Martina Špinková Annie and Granny

Annie is born into a world where like most of us she meets her Granny. She plays with her, she learns from her, they talk together and they even have their secrets together. As Annie grows and comes to know the world, Granny slowly leaves it. Annie is there with Granny right to the end and even plays with her afterwards. Now how does she do that?

Annie and Granny About life at the beginning and at the end

ISBN 978-80-88126-33-1

9 788088 1 26331

Cesta domů

Annie and Granny

LABYRINTH SERIES

Martina Ĺ pinkovĂĄ

Annie and Â Granny

About life at the beginning and at the end

For grandmothers and grandfathers everywhere

The world is a strange place. The earth is big, and the sky above even bigger. Seedlings grow from the earth and soon wither, but so do ancient trees from which new leaves sprout every year. Birds fly in the air and both tiny creatures and huge animals inhabit the ground. The world has lots of mysteries, great and small. For instance, the stars are very far away, further than we can imagine, and yet they peek into our windows at night. People are one of the great mysteries of the world. People come into the world and then they leave again. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know where they come from and where they are going, but they can talk about it while they are here.

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Once, when a day called Thursday was just beginning, a baby girl called Anna was born. She was named after her Granny, but she was so tiny that people called her Annie. On the big bed, she looked like a doll. But she wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a doll. Although she couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t walk or talk, she completely changed the world around her. Every day her parents marvelled at how the world with Annie was totally different from how it used to be without her.

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Annie had a lot of work to do; after all, she had a world to discover. Mum took her for walks in the pram to the woods and to the park. Otherwise Annie wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have looked out into the world, she wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have seen its big trees, small birds and nimble squirrels. She would have known nothing about its high buildings and even higher cranes, phone booths and funny scooters. She liked the world a lot. She gave it her things. Mum and Dad had to pick them up again. Annie enjoyed watching them play the game she had invented.

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When she was a bit bigger, Annie used to visit her Granny. Granny Anna had a garden with a yellow house in the middle, a blue bench and an old green hay cart. Annie helped Granny pull it along. Sometimes Dad used to take her for rides on it, when he and Annie came to visit his mum, Annieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Granny.

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One spring Annie helped her Granny plant some vegetables in the garden. Some plants could grow so quickly. The fastest of all were radishes. Annie didn’t know how to grow that fast. Granny said: “That’s how it should be. Things that have to last a long time also need time to grow. Look at the old walnut, now there’s a wise tree – waiting until it’s time to stick out its new leaves. Its walnuts won’t ripen until before winter, but then they last a long time. A walnut tree is not like a radish.” Annie looked at the tree for a long time. Up and down travelled columns of ants. “This tree is older than I am,” Granny added, this time as if just to herself.

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Annie started going to school. Granny said: “Lucky old you, Annie, I’d love to go too!” That would be funny – Annie imagined Granny sitting at her desk, Granny with a pencil case, Granny at break time. But by then Granny wasn’t walking at all. She got a bed that could go up and down and could sit Granny up too. Sometimes Annie was allowed to move Granny up and down on her bed: she pressed one button and the two of them rode up to the top, then she pushed the other and they rode back down again. Annie enjoyed it very much. And Granny? Granny said, “That’s it, Sunshine…” Mum sat Granny up in bed and helped her with her food. “You’re feeding Granny like you used to feed me when I was a baby!” laughed Annie. “When Dad was a little boy, Granny took care of him. Now it’s our turn to help Granny, which is only fair, isn’t it?” answered Mum, stroking Granny’s hand. Granny closed her eyes and for a moment looked as if she were sad. But then Annie crawled to her under the covers and Granny gave a little smile. Annie held a glass with a straw for Granny, and Mum fed first one, and then the other. Annie and her Granny. 22

Annie went shopping with Dad a few days later and remembered her dream about Granny and the white telephone. “Wait a minute,” she said to Dad, as they walked past a phone booth. Annie had never noticed it until that day. She went in, picked up the receiver and listened for a moment, asking a question every now and then. Then she hung up and off they went again. After she’d gone in for maybe the third time, Dad asked her who she was calling like this without any coins. “I’m talking to Granny,” she said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “And how is she?” asked Dad in the same way. “She says she’s very well, she has lots of friends there,” Annie beamed. Dad smiled. Sometimes a person can make other people happy, even if she herself is a little bit sad.

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Autumn came, and with it came walks under trees full of colour. Annie still went into telephone booths to make her phone calls, but one day she came out looking a bit taken aback. “Is Granny not alright?” asked Dad. “She is,” said Annie. “But she doesn’t have time for me any more. She’s learning French with her friends. She says they’re having a great time,” said Annie thoughtfully, dawdling a bit behind Dad. And then she remembered. After all, Granny did once tell her how she’d love to go to school too. And at her funeral Great Aunt Martha talked about how Granny loved school and how she helped her with her homework. Colourful leaves rustled underfoot and Annie also remembered how the two of them had once made a kite out of autumn leaves. “It’s strange, don’t you think?” Granny had said. “The leaves on the trees are green all year, but when they die and fall, they get all dressed up as if they were going to a ball.”

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Annie and Granny Text & illustrations Martina Špinková Translation from Czech Timothy Young with input from Lorraine Traynor Published by Cesta domů (The Homecoming) in Prague, 2017 Managing editor Markéta Čábelová Graphic design and typesetting Filip Blažek, Studio Designiq Print H. R. G. spol. s r. o. © Cesta domů © Martina Špinková 1st edition www.cestadomu.cz/nakladatelstvi ISBN 978-80-88126-33-1

We would like to thank all those who have contributed to the publishing of this book.