613. A Visit
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Old Great-Grandma doesn’t have much of a presence—at least not in the eyes of Lin Nan, the young whippersnapper.
When she was little, Lin Nan used to tag along with her Mother to visit Great-Grandma, but those visits dwindled over the years. Great-Grandma seemed to be in decent health, despite being hunched over to the point where she probably only stood at about 5 feet tall, and her hearing and memory were a bit fuzzy. Still, in Lin Nan’s childhood days, she was spry enough to get up and do some chores.
However, when they met again for Great-Grandma’s 90th birthday a few years back, the poor lady was so frail she could barely stumble along.
To be honest, Lin Nan didn’t really feel much connection—after all, they didn’t live together and hardly saw each other. bl**d ties need some socializing; they aren’t purely about genetics, right?
Great-Grandma lived a good distance away, and it was Lin Nan’s Great-Uncle, who was also her mother’s brother, that took care of her. Her Grandparents would occasionally whip up something delicious to take over for a visit.
“Great-Uncle”—yeah, that sounds fancy. Lin Nan just calls him Uncle in her dialect, which is also a bit formal since she doesn’t know him too well.
When this serious topic came up, the atmosphere at the dinner table practically shifted gears.
“Is Great-Grandma in the hospital?” she whispered to her Grandfather.
He shook his head. “She won’t go. We hired a nurse instead.”
“Is she sick?”
Another shake of the head.
So… is she just teetering on the edge of the great beyond?
Honestly, even if she was sick, Lin Nan couldn’t work her magic on Great-Grandma. Her healing spells were the blunt-force trauma type and required a healthy body to handle them.
In fact, for someone as old as Great-Grandma, even the hospital would be at a loss.
Grandma’s fried rice noodles made a grand entrance to the table. She noticed a hint of alcohol wafting through the air and shot her Grandfather a side-eye, but chose not to comment.
Chen Yao was awkwardly sitting to the side; he wasn’t exactly prepared to meddle in Lin Nan’s family drama.
“Let’s go see her after lunch,” Grandfather said, plopping a piece of meat into Lin Nan’s bowl.
Grandfather wasn’t particularly sad, just a bit glum. For the locals, when an elder passes on, it’s not a funeral; it’s a celebration of life! A loud, festive affair where they even hand out money to guests.
After lunch, Lin Nan and Grandfather hopped into the little car Chen Yao drove, while Grandma conveniently took the excuse of washing dishes to skip out on the trip.
Under Grandfather’s directions, they cruised for about ten minutes before arriving at a row of bungalows lining the street.
This was where Grandfather had grown up.
“Let’s check on your Uncle first.” He jumped out and led Lin Nan and Chen Yao to the doorway of the central bungalow, peeking inside before swaggering in like he owned the place.
The living space was cramped, with a staircase in the center. As soon as the three of them stepped in, it felt a bit like a clown car—crowded!
Just then, a burly guy in his thirties strolled out from the back—Lin Nan’s Uncle’s kid, whom she referred to as Unky. They’d met at family gatherings before.
“Lin Nan, right?” He grinned at her like there was a candy store behind him. “Grandma’s upstairs.”
Grandfather didn’t say much, just kicked off his shoes and headed upstairs. Lin Nan had planned to chase after him but then heard Unky say, “Who’s this?”
She paused, casually responding with, “My boyfriend,” trying to sound all chill.
She didn’t know Unky that well, but he seemed nice enough—at least he was friendly on the surface.
“Cool, you go ahead. I’ll wait down here,” Chen Yao scratched his head, unsure of how to navigate family territory.
“Alright, hang tight.”
And with that, Lin Nan followed Unky up the stairs.
The second floor had two bedrooms: one for Lin Nan’s Uncle and his wife, and the other for Unky. The third floor was where the bedridden Great-Grandma was hanging out.
Trailing behind Unky, Lin Nan found herself in the cramped bedroom on the third floor.
Her Uncle and Aunt were fretting at the bedside while a hired nurse kept an eye on the old lady. With Grandfather, Unky, and Lin Nan crammed in there, it felt downright cozy—well, if cozy meant awkwardly packed.
As soon as Lin Nan stepped in, she was hit with that unique old-people scent—like a hints of mothballs and time.
She peered at Great-Grandma, who was lying on her side due to her severe hunch, then stood dazedly beside Grandfather, unsure of what to say.
Great-Grandma looked like a candle about to burn out, her half-open eyes and mumbling lips barely registering anything. After a minute, she noticed Grandfather and waved him over, as if he were a celebrity.
Grandfather, maintaining his stern look, softened just a tad when he saw her, his expression turning as gentle as a marshmallow.
Lin Nan stood to the side, struggling to catch whatever the old lady was saying.
“Do you still remember? Lin Nan, the child of Xiu Ying,” Grandfather boomed, like he was addressing a crowd.
Great-Grandma had terrible hearing, so shouting was a requirement.
As soon as she heard her name and her Mother’s name, Lin Nan leaned closer, beaming like she was in a toothpaste commercial.
But Great-Grandma squinted at her for a moment, her brain clearly short-circuiting because she couldn’t recall Lin Nan’s name. Her clouded vision didn’t match any familiar faces from her memory, and she ended up asking Grandfather, “How’s that Xiu Ying girl?”
“She’ll come see you this afternoon.”
“Good.”
Their conversation was in dialect, which wasn’t too complicated, and Lin Nan could easily follow along.
Even though Grandfather was in his sixties or seventies, his Mandarin was surprisingly decent, and he mostly spoke it with Lin Nan, while Great-Grandma had been a dialect-only gal her whole life.
About half an hour later, the visit wrapped up.
Great-Grandma was an old-timer; snooze time was calling.
Back downstairs in the living room, Lin Nan plopped next to Chen Yao.
Earlier, her focus had been on Great-Grandma, so she hadn’t noticed that her Uncle and Aunt seemed to treat her like a ghost. But Unky was still sweet and offered her two washed apples as if she were a royalty.
Being a ghost wasn’t so bad as long as the relatives didn’t outright despise her—she could manage that.
Turns out many of her relatives had worked abroad at some point, so they weren’t as stiff as she’d feared. Some of the women even sported tattoos, had a smoke habit, and nobody batted an eye at it. And she, now identifying as female, had faced no judgment whatsoever.
Relief washed over her as she handed one of the apples to Chen Yao before grabbing her own, munching away while scrolling through her phone like she owned the place.
