| Fan Fiction |
by miss_tiff15/teechung
Grandma turned around and smiled at me, "Good morning Lai Lai."
I walked to the freezer and pulled out a piece of bread, "Poh Poh, do you want toast?"
Grandma smiled and walked towards me. She took the bread out of my hand and placed it back in the freezer, "I'm making eggs this morning." I looked at grandma shocked. We never had eggs for breakfast. Grandma and I were definitely not a well-off family. I worked three part-time jobs just to get food on the table. Against my refusal, grandma went out and picked cardboard boxes and cans. Never did we go out of our way to make something special. Grandma smiled, "Lai Lai, you forgot what today was?" I stared at her. Grandma patted my cheeks, "It's your 25th birthday."
My mind jumped to the date. Grandma was right, it was January 21st today. I didn't even realize. I smiled and kissed grandma on the cheek, "Thank you poh poh." Grandma just turned back to the pan as she made our eggs. "Do you need any help?"
Grandma shook her head, "It's your special day today. You just sit back and relax."
I laughed and walked out of the kitchen. I didn't even realize. I was 25 now. I was getting old. I looked around the house. The small room held the couch, which was my bed. It faced a small coffee table that we picked up on the streets. This table was our dinner table. Within two steps, there was a small room. The size of an average person's bathroom. That was grandma's room. All that fit inside was a single bed. You were either on the bed, or outside the room. There was no floor to place your feet. We had a bathroom, but everything was rusty and dirty. The kitchen was no better, everything was peeling away. There were no cupboards, all we had was a cardboard box holding our utensils. I stared at the peeling yellow walls. I will find a way to give grandma the perfect life. I was going to one day get enough money to buy us a big house. A sudden large crash broke me out of my reverie. I ran to the kitchen to find grandma on the floor unconscious. "Poh Poh!"
~
I sat on the green chairs in the emergency room. My fingers were wrapped tightly around the bracelet sitting on my wrist. It was a gift from poh poh. My name, Lai Lai, was written across the heart pendant on my bracelet. I stared down at my hands. They were covered in blood. When grandma fell, she hit her head on the floor. I took deep breaths. I could feel my breath quickening. I pulled out my pills and took one. I waited for the pills to take effect on my body.
"Excuse me sir, could you please calm down!" A nurse was yelling towards a young man. I turned and looked at the commotion.
"LET ME IN!" The man was trying to push through.
"The doctors are trying to save her right now. Sir, calm down."
The man kept pushing, "Let me see her right now!"
I stared at the man. He was around my age, possibly older, but definitely still in his twenties. He had good features, a nice mouth and nose. His eyes were dark brown, almost like chocolate. He kept screaming and yelling. There was a lot of pushing. I looked at him. He was making a huge commotion. I glared at the man. He was in a hospital, he shouldn't be making this much noise. I stared at the man as people pulled him out of the hospital. I swallowed and turned back to the curtains closed around my grandmother. My pulse automatically quickened. A nurse and doctor suddenly came out. I stared at them eagerly.
The doctor looked at me, "I'm sorry. We did our best." The words hit me. I stared at them awestruck. My mind was incapable of taking the words in. The doctor looked at me, "Miss, are you okay?"
I stared at the nurse and doctor's worried face. They did their best. That meant... grandma was gone. My pulse quickened. There was a tightening inside my chest. My hand flew to it trying to compress the pain. My other hand was fumbling for more medication. Something to make the pain away. The tightening constricted my breath. I started coughing to get air through. And then everything went black.
When I woke up, I was on a hospital bed. Beside me were other women. I looked around, confused, and then everything settled in place. Grandma was gone. She left. I looked around for a doctor. A nurse walked in and smiled at me, "Miss, you're awake."
I stared at her, "Where's my grandma?"
She looked back at me, "Your grandma?" She grabbed the clipboard at the end of my bed and scanned it. "Let me go ask the doctor, okay?" I nodded. She left and within minutes the doctor at the emergency room walked in. He grabbed the clipboard and then looked at me, unable to speak.
I stared at him and repeated my question, "Where's my grandma?"
The doctor looked down at me. He was in his forties. His hair started greying around the edge. His face was open and friendly, but he seemed to be unable to say whatever he needed to say. He cleared his throat, "Miss, you need to calm down when I tell you this." I nodded. "You have a heart failure, so I need you to stay calm the whole time."
"I know I have a heart disease. I have medication." I reached for my pocket, but noticed I was in hospital clothes. "where are my clothes?"
"They've been put away for safekeeping. Don't worry." I nodded. The doctor took a breath, "Your grandma passed away when we were trying to save her." I stared at him. "She had a stroke. We weren't able to save her."
I stared at him, not believing his words, "Can I see her?"
The doctor stared at me, "I'm going to have to ask the doctor here."
I nodded, "Okay."
"I'll be right back then." He walked out.
I stared at his back. Everybody here was lying to me. I climbed out of the bed and looked for my grandma myself. The halls were quiet. There were a few nurses that pushed carts around. I saw a few people wandering around, but overall, it was very empty. I made my way into an area of the hospital where I saw everyone in tears. My fingers flew to the bracelet as I made my way through the crowd. I suddenly stopped walking. Something told me to walk into the room beside me. I pushed the door open into a cold room. I made my way to the body covered by a white blanket. My fingers trembled as it reached the face. Grandma's still face stared back at me. I ran my fingers down her cold cheeks and kissed her. "Poh poh, I love you." I put the blanket back over her face and closed the door behind me. I sat on the chair facing the door and looked down. Grandma was gone. It finally sunked in. I was completely alone in this world. A small tear feel down my cheek. I wiped it away. A tissue appeared in front of my face. I looked up. It was the man. The man who made the horrible commotion. I snatched the tissue away, "Thank you."
He sat down beside me, "Can I stay with you for awhile?"
I sniffed.
He placed his elbows on his knees and held his head. I looked at him, "You can cry if you want to."
He looked up at me, "Men don't cry."
"It takes a man to cry."
He smiled at me sadly, "I guess so." We sat in silence. I fingered the bracelet, running my fingers across my name. He looked at me, "Nice bracelet."
I smiled, "Thanks, it was a present from my grandma."
"Do you miss her?"
I nodded, "I miss her a lot." My eyes watered. I let the tears fall this time. "She's my only relative. The only one who loves me in this world." The man looked down trying to find a way to comfort me. I shook my head, "Crying is good."
He looked down at his own hands, "Can I borrow your shoulder?" I nodded, his head fell onto my shoulders. He silently cried. At first trying to stop them, but eventually just cried it out. I put my arms around his shoulder, patting his back. He talked between tears, "I miss her."
The man sat back up. I stared at him, his tears already dried up. "Where do you think they went?" The question fell out between my lips.
He looked at me and gave the smallest of a smile, "A better place."