**Chapter 70: Grandma’s Doing Just Fine**
“Sniff—”
My eyes were a bit watery, and I felt the urge to blow my nose.
I gently wrapped my arms around Grandma Claire, feeling her thin, fragile body. I carefully rested my head on her shoulder, not daring to press too hard, fearing I’d accidentally hurt her.
Grandma’s gotten even thinner…
Is she managing to eat something decent every day all by herself?
Grandma sensed my emotions, gently patting my back. “My darling’s back… Back is good… Now that you’re back, Grandma won’t nag you… I was just saying a few days ago that I missed you and even wrote you a letter. Did you get it…?”
“I got it, Grandma. I read the letter and then came back…”
“Good, good… I was worried I got the address wrong—so forgetful at my age… It’s like I turn around and can’t remember anything. My eyesight isn’t what it used to be, I can’t even read a few words. Sometimes I mix up Longdoll Street 3 with Rudal Street 13…”
Her rambling made me think of the late Principal Bersa, stirring up a bittersweet feeling in my heart. I couldn’t help but rub my face against her shoulder, my little nose twitching as I gave a sniff. It smelled of firewood ash and hay… with a hint of livestock scent—certainly not the best aroma, but not unpleasant either.
“What are you sniffing at…”
Grandma Claire seemed to find my antics amusing.
“I just wanted to smell Grandma’s scent…”
I playfully pressed my cheek against her, my eyes slitting like a cat’s, feeling on top of the world.
“Just like a little puppy.”
“Wuhaha~”
“Alright, alright, just a little longer then. Grandma will go get you something to eat.”
Grandma Claire brushed my hands off and turned to wobbly step toward the kitchen, her hand touching her face as she muttered, “Look at you, all grown up, yet still so clingy like a child… If you hug me any longer, the little rascals outside will laugh at you.”
Sure enough, the kids outside started giggling.
I shot them a glare, “You lot, get back inside!”
The children cheekily made faces at me before scattering like leaves in the wind.
I followed Grandma into the cramped kitchen, sweetly saying, “I missed you,” as I peeked around. On the stove, I spotted a bamboo basket with a few dry pieces of bread, looking as hard as wood and shiny black, alongside a half plate of leftover vegetable soup.
Did Grandma eat this?
I frowned, taking a couple of steps over to squeeze that bread—just as I suspected, as hard as a stick and gritty to the touch. Then I picked up the bowl with the soup and sniffed.
Ugh…
It’s a bit sour.
I turned my head, “Grandma…”
“Hmm? What are you doing? Don’t touch that, it’s not for you.”
Grandma Claire bent down, scooping flour from a corner basket with a wooden ladle and dumping it into a bowl in her hands. “I’m making you a bowl of porridge, nice and warm.”
She set the bowl on the stove and grabbed the kettle from a rack, lifting the lid to let out a puff of steam.
Pouring hot water into the bowl and mixing it with the flour, she said, “Perfect timing! I just boiled some water… Look at this flour, such a lovely color. This is what the church sends every month along with Barry’s salary, very fine stuff… You should go sit outside, don’t eat that black stuff.”
I still frowned and didn’t listen, dutifully standing there with half a bowl of soup, watching her bustle around, and glanced at the cluttered kitchen filled with junk. I finally couldn’t hold it back and said, “Grandma, just dump the soup, it’s not good anymore.”
“Why would I do that? No waste!”
“It’s sour…”
I looked around for a place to toss the leftover, but before I could find one, Grandma snatched the bowl from me.
“Where’s the sourness? You’re just making things up…” She didn’t even smell it and set it aside on the stove, “This soup is still good. I’ll keep it for tonight, and I’ll eat it myself. You just eat.”
“But it’s soured…”
My heart felt a bit heavy.
“Grandma, let’s eat the porridge together…”
“I’m not eating. I’ve already eaten, I’m not hungry.”
Grandma Claire was stirring the porridge, her hand shaking as she held the spoon. She made a huge bowl for me, “Oh dear… You came back all of a sudden, and I wasn’t prepared at all… I even said in the letter that I’d save some marinated venison for you when you returned… Just finish your porridge, and I’ll go cut some from Alan’s dad’s place. I heard he got a deer yesterday…”
Grandma pushed me out of the kitchen to a humble wooden table in the living room. She plopped down a bowl of porridge that was bigger than my face and handed me a spoon, her eyes filled with warmth. “Eat, eat, while it’s hot… Oh, I almost forgot, I have some currants…”
With that, she turned back, pulled down a small bunch of currants from the wall, and slowly made her way back to the table. She sat down and picked up a wooden plate, “Let me blow on these…” popping a few into the porridge and others onto the plate.
“Uncle Dole picked these a couple of days ago, they’re still fresh.” She took one, blew on it, and popped it into my mouth, “Try it, is it sweet?”
I slowly chewed and swallowed, realizing it was quite sour…
“I’ll go squeeze some milk,” she said, getting up, bracing her back, and heading for the door, “Did you see those two cows outside? They’ve been brought back with the coins you sent, from the farm in the neighboring town. It was quite a hassle…”
“Grandma…”
I wanted to reach out and stop her.
But as I raised my hand, it faltered, and I let it fall.
I watched Grandma’s frail, hunched figure leave the room, and the taste in my mouth turned more sour, but I couldn’t tell if it was the currants or the feelings in my heart.
Tears were just about to spill…
I hurriedly looked down and gulped down several mouthfuls of porridge.
The porridge wasn’t good at all.
But it was the best food in this house.
It was the food Grandma didn’t allow herself to eat often.
Soon, Grandma Claire returned with a cup of milk. I gulped it down, and finished the porridge quickly while she sat beside me, her cloudy eyes squinting with a gentle warmth.
Once I finished, she took the bowl and plate away, ready to go get me some venison. Finally, I stopped her, holding her rough hand and pulling her to sit down, telling her I wanted to talk to her properly.
“Grandma, why… don’t you eat porridge?”
“I’ve eaten already.”
“But what you ate was that black bread… and that vegetable soup is sour… It definitely wasn’t from breakfast…”
“I made a pot yesterday… I can’t eat much by myself, and I don’t want to cook every meal, so I just eat the leftovers. It’s easier that way.”
“Why don’t you eat some meat or snacks… It’s not like you can’t buy any…”
“I do eat! Of course, I do!”
“You’re lying… There’s no meat at home… Nothing at all… You wouldn’t even treat yourself to good flour…” I sniffed, choking back emotions. “Grandma, you’ve got to take better care of yourself… We’re not lacking… We have coins… Your clothes are all torn… You need to eat better…”
“Oh, I’m just an old woman—what’s it matter? Good or bad, whatever I eat fills me up, isn’t that enough? For me, just filling the belly is good, anything more is a waste… I want to save up that money for you, for your dowry… Barry isn’t married yet… As long as you two can live a good life, Grandma will be satisfied…”
“But… Grandma, you have to take care of yourself first…”
Grandma chuckled.
“This girl… still a big hero, and look at you crying, making sure no one laughs at you…”
“Let them laugh if they want…”
“Good child, don’t cry… It’s alright, Grandma is fine…”
“Fine, my foot… You’re alone… farming, taking care of cows… so many chores… You’re getting older, who will help you…?”
“Who said no one helps me! The village folks are really warm-hearted, especially Uncle Doug, Alan’s dad, and Aunt Mel… Ever since Barry left, they’ve all been helping me…”
“What if you get sick… what then?”
“They will help me out…”
“How could Barry be so thoughtless…”
“Nonsense! How can you say that? Barry’s all grown up now, a man, out at the coast fighting those demons. He’s already a knight, and Grandma is proud of him… Little Shay, you don’t know, now all the village girls are eager to marry him!”
“Grandma is doing just fine here. You came back with those knights, right? Don’t worry too much, focus on your own matters… There’s nothing to worry about here, everything’s good. Just being able to see you back, Grandma is already so satisfied…”
“Grandma just hopes you two can be safe. I pray for you every day… Oh yes, the clothes! I was just sewing… Look, it’s almost done. This dress is for you, I’ve sewn quite a few this year… I even got the seamstress to make pretty buttons. Those noble gents care about those details…”
“Don’t forget to take it with you when you leave…”
…………
In the little house, at the wooden table, I held Grandma Claire’s hand, sharing a myriad of conversations.
By the time the sun was overhead, I took off my cloak, tied my hair up, and cleaned the little house inside and out. Swept, dusted, tidied up junk, moved cabinets, and flipped the bed. Every corner was cleared, and I even flushed out a mouse nest, with big mice and little mice squeaking and scurrying, nearly making me jump, as Grandma and I chased them with brooms and sticks, killing a few and letting others escape.
Later, I helped Grandma wash the dirty clothes by the river and cleaned the soiled bedding, hanging everything out to dry on the wooden rack in the courtyard. I also chopped some hay to feed the cows and watered the small vegetable garden…
These were the things I used to do every day when I was here.
Compared to back then, the house now looked like it hadn’t been lived in.
Grandma had accumulated all sorts of useless junk—broken wooden bowls, cracked jars, dirty rags, faded hairpins, and a doll missing an eye… Most of these strange items were things she’d picked up from outside, and they were scattered everywhere in the living room and courtyard, looking terribly messy.
I asked her why she kept them, and she laughed, saying it would be a waste to throw them away since they might still come in handy.
I wanted to toss it all, but she wouldn’t let me.
I felt so sad.
I thought of how it used to be here over a year ago. Barry, Aili, and I were all here, laughing and playing around Grandma.
Back then…
She wasn’t like this…
Grandma has aged.
There are many things she can’t do anymore, and she doesn’t always wish to trouble others, so life just drags on.
Before I knew, the sunset’s afterglow had turned the clouds drifting in the sky crimson.
I supported Grandma, walking along the overgrown path, greeting the neighbors as we slowly made our way to the countryside, where the victims of last year’s disaster were buried.
We stopped at one of the stone tablets, and I kneeled down, reaching out to touch the crooked letters etched on it.
“My name is Aili, a kind and brave girl.”
After a year of wind and sun, the words were no longer as clear as before; the edges of the etching had worn away a bit, but it was still clean. I could tell someone often came here to clean—the tablet hardly had any dust, and I guessed it was Grandma Claire.
“A year has passed, huh…”
“Aili, Little Shay’s come back to see you…”
There was a bunch of withered flowers in front of the stone.
I didn’t throw them away but instead placed the fresh flowers I had picked beside it. Together with Grandma Claire, I clasped my hands and closed my eyes, praying at the grave.
Aili…
I’m back.
I’m sorry…
After you left, we let Grandma end up like this.
Both Barry and I…
We seem to have been a bit irresponsible…
Only thinking about ourselves, it seems we… just left an old woman here to live alone.
Do you know, when I was in the Royal City, I naively thought… Sending so many coins to Grandma would surely be enough for her to live well… I imagined she’d be eating well, sleeping well, dressed warmer and prettier than anyone in the village, like a wealthy old lady… I thought it could be like that.
But today, seeing…
Seeing it made me suddenly understand.
An elderly woman, frail and with trouble walking…
All alone…
No matter how much money she had, what could possibly be good for her…?
A year passed, and I never thought of this… I thought that with enough coins, Grandma could live well… Was I being…
So ridiculous…?
I’m sorry… Aili…
If you were still here, you certainly wouldn’t allow her to be like this…
Do you know, without you, Grandma still smiles just like before… but deep down, there’s something missing… it left with you, disappearing forever from this world…
She’ll never get it back…
Aili…
How can I help her…
Please tell me…
The dim light of dusk gradually sank from the horizon on the other side of the sky.
I slowly opened my eyes.
At least…
I can’t let Grandma lose Barry again.
Barry is currently at Morris Coast joining the battle, and the situation there isn’t good… Grandma seems still unaware of it… She’s still expecting Barry to return as the village hero…
Aili…
I promise you here…
I will bring him back safely.
I’ll do my utmost…
To let Grandma live a peaceful, comfortable old age.
You up there…
Just keep an eye on me.
