Grandma’s Memories Gathered by the Entire Family

We all gathered as a family to help Grandma pack.
No one tried to hide their feelings; they told her quite directly how tired they were of her, and that, thankfully, spring had arrived and she would soon leave for the countryside until late autumn. The grandchildren were quite cold towards her, my sister-in-law barely tolerated her, and Dad was constantly away for work. When he did return, he wasnt any kinder to Grandma than the rest of us.
She was a burden to the family. She understood everything and endured it as best she could, waiting for spring each year as the hope for something better something true, something lasting.
This year, spring came early. Grandma often sat outside the block of flats, admiring the gentle English sky, warming herself in the sun. She always looked frail, like a scruffy sparrow, thin and dressed in old, battered clothes, wearing worn-out boots covered with faded rubber overshoes.
Though her own family didnt love her, the neighbours treated her kindly. They always greeted her, checked in on her health, helped her up the stairs to the fifth floor whenever she struggled. The local boys sometimes carried her shopping bag when they found her returning from the shop as they came back from school.
Despite her age, Grandma always kept busy around the flat cooking, washing, cleaning. Those were her chores. My sister-in-law rarely helped with any of it.
Youre at home all day, so you might as well do everything, she would say dismissively as she came in from work, kicking her shoes off in the hallway.
Grandchildren never spoke to Grandma. When their friends came round, she would keep to her room, because once, one of them told her that she embarrassed them with her appearance.
Grandma never talked back. She mostly stayed silent, and at night, when everyone was asleep, she would quietly weep in her tiny bedroom, mourning how things had turned out.
We sent her to the station by taxi, so she wouldnt have to struggle with buses. Her luggage was minimal a tattered old bag and a small bundle of clothes.
Leaning on her walking stick, she hobbled across the platform. She paused at a bench and sat. Soon, the train arrived and she stepped aboard. She watched the world through the window with gentle, hopeful eyes. As the train pulled away, she took out a crumpled photograph from her bag: Dad, my sister-in-law, and the grandchildren smiled back at her. Lately, those smiles existed only in this photo. Grandma kissed the picture, carefully slipping it back into her bag.
Arriving at the station, she slowly made her way towards the village. Someone gave her a lift almost to her doorstep. She opened the gate and walked the muddy path towards the cottage. Everything here was familiar, hers. And here she was needed even if only by the sagging fence, the old walls, and the crooked porch. Here, she was awaited.
The village meant everything to Grandma. She was born here, children were born here, and her husband had died here. She had spent almost half her life in this place, and survived her eldest son. That was just how it was.
She opened the shutters, lit the fire, and sat on the bench by the window. She recalled how her children once sat here, ate at this table, slept in those beds, ran across these floorboards, and gazed out these same windows. She could almost hear their childhood voices, when she was their mother the one they needed most, the closest, the dearest.
The sun streamed in just like before, another spring, full of promise and happy memories. She smiled at the gentle countryside spring.
***
In the morning, she didnt wake. She stayed forever on her land. On the table lay many old photographs, and one newer, though crumpled the very one with her family smiling, as they had yesterday.
While were alive, there is still time to ask forgiveness, to say thank you, to share our feelings. While were alive, we mustnt put these things off for tomorrow. For when someone leaves, they never return, and in our hearts stones will remain, heavy with regret.
We must live with hope and honesty, do good sincerely, love and wait, cherish the feelings of others, and remember those who gave us life and helped us stand tall.