Magical Grandpa

The story is published in viewsshewrites(dot)wordpress(dot)com

Nate opened his eyes and his Grandpa sitting next to him. “Grandpa!”, he exclaimed and got up to hug him. Grandpa hugged him back with equal enthusiasm. “Have you come to tell me a bedtime story? Are you feeling alright now?” Grandpa smiled at him.

It used to be a daily routine for Grandpa to tell him a bedtime story. Sometimes he used to read out of books. But most of the times, Grandpa used to tell Nate stories and adventures from his life. Grandpa had a way of making everything appear larger than life and Nate used to revel in those stories more than the ones from the books. Grandpa’s stories were always much better.

 

But lately, Grandpa had not been keeping well. The bedtime routine was taken over by his parents. Although his mom and dad tried their best to keep the stories interesting with voice overs and enactments, they never matched up to how Grandpa did the routine. Nate had missed him terribly. Every night before going to bed, Nate used to go to Grandpa’s room and kiss his wrinkled cheek.

Now Grandpa was here, sitting next to Nate, and he was very happy. “No, Nate, unfortunately I cannot tell you a story now. I am here to say bye to you. But I shall make it interesting for you.”

“Why are you saying goodbye, Grandpa? Are you going somewhere? Will you never come back?”

“I am going somewhere, child, but I am not going very far. And of course I will come back. Whenever you want me to come by, all you have to do is call me and I will be right here.”

“Then I will call you everyday, Grandpa. I love you. I want you to be with me always.”

Grandpa laughed heartily. “You are not going to let me live in peace, my boy. But then, you are MY grandson. Resilience is in our blood. So be it. I shall come whenever you call me. But remember one thing. For me to come and visit you, it will take a lot of energy from me. And as you know, I am old. The frequent travels back and forth will take the poor Grandpa’s energy away. Would you like your Grandpa to be tired all the time?”

Nate was sad on hearing this. “No Grandpa, I don’t want you to be tired. But I want to see you all the time. I will miss you if you are not here with me.”

“I know, I know, my boy. I am not saying I will not come at all. It will just be that the visits shall be less frequent. But that does not mean I am not with you. Whenever you want to talk to me, I shall be in your head. To be in your head, I do not have to travel much and I will not be tired. So I shall always be in your head. Talk to me and I will reply. How does that sound?”

“That is wonderful, Grandpa. I will tell you everything about my school, my friends, my breakfast, everything. But tell me something. Where are you going? If you cannot travel, can I come and meet you?”

“I am going to my best friend’s house, Nate. When you go over to Jacob’s house to play, would you want mom or dad to come to check on you and interrupt your play time? Just like that, I would prefer that my play time with my best friend is not interrupted. When we take a break from playing, I will come by to you.”

Grandpa smiled sadly, “Now it is time for me to go, my boy. My best friend is waiting for me. Would you like to give your Grandpa a hug before going?”

Nate hugged his Grandpa tight. His eyes were swimming with tears. He would miss his Grandpa terribly. “Now, now, my child. Don’t cry. You know what? After I go out of the house, go to your window. You can say by to me and my best friend.”

When he went to his window, he was surprised to see his Grandpa getting on to a sled with Santa Claus. “Grandpa, your best friend is Santa Claus.” Nate’s tears were all forgotten as he jumped up and down and waved to his Grandpa as they flew away.

Next morning, Nate’s mom woke him up teary eyed and told him that Grandpa is no more. Nate smiled “I know mom, Grandpa has gone with Santa Claus to play. He will be happy there. Santa Claus is his best friend. But he promised me he will always be there with me in my head.”

This post is dedicated to my Grandpa who went with Santa Claus a few days back. Although he was not the story telling kind, he was the one who gave me the treasure of books. The abundance of books that he had given me in my childhood has developed my imagination, resulting in all these stories. Everything I am today is because of his subtle influence in my life. He shall always be remembered through my stories.