A gift
Happy birthday, Grandma.
She would be 83 today.
My grandma died on August 6th, 2015. It was a dark Thursday night, to be late was my biggest fright. She was in the ICU, I was the last person she talked to. “Goodnight,” she said. I’m glad she waited.
“Why do you keep taking my pictures? What do you see? ... I’m ugly and old.”
I never know why. She might be old, but never ugly. Never.
We were both messy eaters. Crumbs would fall off the table, then my mom will clean up the mess, ..., and of course, babble.
She was very good at crossword. I don’t even know some words she wrote. And she said I was the smart one. Pfft.
Sometimes, she walked to the front door. Five, ten minutes she would stand. When I ask, “what are you looking for?�, she only smiled and held my hand.
Clarissa Pranata, December 2015.