Chapter 1: Desperate Hopes
page 3
Water is a precious resource in the city, you got it from Unicef. Each bottle was clearly labeled. When grandmother stirred restlessly awake she poured a cup of this precious liquid. Helping grandmother sit up she helped her drink from the little plastic cup they all shared.
Grandmother coughed and said slowly, I'm dying my dear, you should, the rent's paid out until the end of the month, then your going to have to go. Take your brother and go to the farm, they might take you in there. There's some cash... Her voice broke off coughing and hacking blood she spat on her handkerchief.
Money... hidden between the loose floorboards under the rug. Take it all with you, it's yours and take care of your brother. When I die, do that first before they come. When the coroner comes, he'll assess everything in the apartment for taxes, he knows about the money under the rug. You won't have anything left to you but personal possessions. Keep the money safe don't use it for a long while, it's all I have and use it as a shelter against hard times.
Grandmother's breathing rattled and gasped. It won't be long now dear, just hold my hand and be brave with me child. Grandmother took her time dying, we held her hand, sometimes I brought my brother over to help take care of her. But when she rattled a breath he got scared and left her room. The night grandmother died we both knew it I was scolding him for using a screwdriver to pull his plastic tractor-trailer apart. We didn't hear anything we just looked at each other for a long moment, and then I ran to grandmother's side. She wasn't breathing anymore, she was gone, her body still warm. I brought my brother over and we spent the day sobbing in her room. We'd miss her, she had been so important to us.
A day after her death, I woke up in her room. I looked at her things, things I'd never been allowed to touch before. I was careful, I didn't want to break anything of hers. In a way, this is what grandmother had left me, the peace, the serenity within her room.
But that sense of peace was starting to leave me, we had to do what Grandma said. I picked up the heavy rug in the living room and tugged on it, it was big and heavy, it took me hours to drag it away. But I kept trying because that's what Grandma had told me to do. I touched the floorboards, and brother helped me. He's the one that found the loose board. We both hauled it up, inside was a gun and a lot of cash, more 'n I had ever seen in my life. We pulled it all out. There was so much of it. There was no way we'd be able to hide it all.
Then I looked over at his open truck, I began stuffing the cash into the truck, and brother even though he could barely talk caught on and helped me do it. When I couldn't fit anymore in. I put the other piece on and he handed me the screws, together we tightened the money down. Hiding it away inside the plastic mouldings of his toy truck.
We still had more money to hide so I took out my doll clothes case, I tried stuffing the money in there, but it was so obvious, anyone who opened it would find out the deception. Then I noticed the lining of the case was a little loose, I carefully tucked the rest of it beneath the lining. With any luck it would pass a casual inspection, particularly if I had it stuffed with doll clothes. I picked up my doll's clothes carefully stuffing and pushing and mashing until I had the case overwhelmingly stuffed with them. But it wasn't enough. I put in some of my brother's clothes too, his spare socks and a t shirt. He wasn't that much bigger than the size of a doll.
I was so tired from all that hard work. I lay down and closed my eyes only for a second. BBBRRRRINNNNGGggg, BBBRRRRINNNNGGggg... the phone, grandmother should get that. I rolled over expecting to see grandmother answer it but she didn't. Then I remmembered grandmother was dead. She told me never to answer it even if she wasn't there. So I didn't, I let it ring and ring until it quieted.
I got up off the floor I had fallen asleep on. Brother had closed the floorboard, and the rug was nearly in place to cover it. He was asleep on the old heavy rug. I chose not to disturb him. I went to grandmother's room. It had begun to stink of death. I didn't know what I was looking for, but then I found her little jewelry box. I knew it contained a broken necklace of white pearls. I looked inside. The necklace was over half gone from what I'd remmembered when she'd showed it to me. She'd told me it was what kept the apartment over our heads. I figured it must be another kind of money, something that was paid back in another manner. If it was worth anything the coroner would try to take it. I picked it up. The pearls slipped off the string and fell back into the drawer with a clatter like rain.
Maybe this is what grandma had meant about not touching her things. I quickly searched and found most of them. I couldn't string them back on the string itself was too frayed to do it. I put three of the pearls back in the box, that should pay for anything necessary. They always did. I put the rest of the pearls in my pocket for now, then as I thought about it, I got my bag of marbles out. It was really a mix of glass beads, marbles, and other round objects such as buttons. It also contained dice that my parents had once owned. The only legacy they had left to me. I poured out the contents of the bag on one side of the bed, pouring the pearls in and then putting everything back on top. The angular glass dice, the marbles, glass beads, bits of string and lint.
I eagerly looked through grandmother's other things, being careful to memorize what everything looked like before and to put it back much the same way. Little glass creatures inhabited one small cabinet while a single white rose encased in solid plastic was at the bottom of a drawer filled with marvelous and beautiful scarves. Grandmother had never shown me these before, and I took out each unfolding and marveling at their brilliant colors. Bright reds, purples, golds, colors I didn't know to describe and an outfit with strange feathers decorating it. I decided in that moment that everything grandmother had was now mine to do with as I pleased. The outfit was made for a taller woman like grandmother, but I hadn't full grown yet myself.
I packed up the whole thing in one of the plastic bags grandmother kept in the kitchen, I then put it in my backpack, and then over top I put my regular clothes and my brother's. Squishing all that down, I then took the water bottle packed that into one side of the backpack and several jars of honey and topped it all with hand-made wax candles. The backpack was now full to almost straining. I then took my marbles and put them in a side pouch. I packed it all into the little red plastic wagon. My dolly case and my brother's toy truck. It all just barely fit and brother would have to walk. I towed the little wagon off to one side of the room.
Water is a precious resource in the city, you got it from Unicef. Each bottle was clearly labeled. When grandmother stirred restlessly awake she poured a cup of this precious liquid. Helping grandmother sit up she helped her drink from the little plastic cup they all shared.
Grandmother coughed and said slowly, I'm dying my dear, you should, the rent's paid out until the end of the month, then your going to have to go. Take your brother and go to the farm, they might take you in there. There's some cash... Her voice broke off coughing and hacking blood she spat on her handkerchief.
Money... hidden between the loose floorboards under the rug. Take it all with you, it's yours and take care of your brother. When I die, do that first before they come. When the coroner comes, he'll assess everything in the apartment for taxes, he knows about the money under the rug. You won't have anything left to you but personal possessions. Keep the money safe don't use it for a long while, it's all I have and use it as a shelter against hard times.
Grandmother's breathing rattled and gasped. It won't be long now dear, just hold my hand and be brave with me child. Grandmother took her time dying, we held her hand, sometimes I brought my brother over to help take care of her. But when she rattled a breath he got scared and left her room. The night grandmother died we both knew it I was scolding him for using a screwdriver to pull his plastic tractor-trailer apart. We didn't hear anything we just looked at each other for a long moment, and then I ran to grandmother's side. She wasn't breathing anymore, she was gone, her body still warm. I brought my brother over and we spent the day sobbing in her room. We'd miss her, she had been so important to us.
A day after her death, I woke up in her room. I looked at her things, things I'd never been allowed to touch before. I was careful, I didn't want to break anything of hers. In a way, this is what grandmother had left me, the peace, the serenity within her room.
But that sense of peace was starting to leave me, we had to do what Grandma said. I picked up the heavy rug in the living room and tugged on it, it was big and heavy, it took me hours to drag it away. But I kept trying because that's what Grandma had told me to do. I touched the floorboards, and brother helped me. He's the one that found the loose board. We both hauled it up, inside was a gun and a lot of cash, more 'n I had ever seen in my life. We pulled it all out. There was so much of it. There was no way we'd be able to hide it all.
Then I looked over at his open truck, I began stuffing the cash into the truck, and brother even though he could barely talk caught on and helped me do it. When I couldn't fit anymore in. I put the other piece on and he handed me the screws, together we tightened the money down. Hiding it away inside the plastic mouldings of his toy truck.
We still had more money to hide so I took out my doll clothes case, I tried stuffing the money in there, but it was so obvious, anyone who opened it would find out the deception. Then I noticed the lining of the case was a little loose, I carefully tucked the rest of it beneath the lining. With any luck it would pass a casual inspection, particularly if I had it stuffed with doll clothes. I picked up my doll's clothes carefully stuffing and pushing and mashing until I had the case overwhelmingly stuffed with them. But it wasn't enough. I put in some of my brother's clothes too, his spare socks and a t shirt. He wasn't that much bigger than the size of a doll.
I was so tired from all that hard work. I lay down and closed my eyes only for a second. BBBRRRRINNNNGGggg, BBBRRRRINNNNGGggg... the phone, grandmother should get that. I rolled over expecting to see grandmother answer it but she didn't. Then I remmembered grandmother was dead. She told me never to answer it even if she wasn't there. So I didn't, I let it ring and ring until it quieted.
I got up off the floor I had fallen asleep on. Brother had closed the floorboard, and the rug was nearly in place to cover it. He was asleep on the old heavy rug. I chose not to disturb him. I went to grandmother's room. It had begun to stink of death. I didn't know what I was looking for, but then I found her little jewelry box. I knew it contained a broken necklace of white pearls. I looked inside. The necklace was over half gone from what I'd remmembered when she'd showed it to me. She'd told me it was what kept the apartment over our heads. I figured it must be another kind of money, something that was paid back in another manner. If it was worth anything the coroner would try to take it. I picked it up. The pearls slipped off the string and fell back into the drawer with a clatter like rain.
Maybe this is what grandma had meant about not touching her things. I quickly searched and found most of them. I couldn't string them back on the string itself was too frayed to do it. I put three of the pearls back in the box, that should pay for anything necessary. They always did. I put the rest of the pearls in my pocket for now, then as I thought about it, I got my bag of marbles out. It was really a mix of glass beads, marbles, and other round objects such as buttons. It also contained dice that my parents had once owned. The only legacy they had left to me. I poured out the contents of the bag on one side of the bed, pouring the pearls in and then putting everything back on top. The angular glass dice, the marbles, glass beads, bits of string and lint.
I eagerly looked through grandmother's other things, being careful to memorize what everything looked like before and to put it back much the same way. Little glass creatures inhabited one small cabinet while a single white rose encased in solid plastic was at the bottom of a drawer filled with marvelous and beautiful scarves. Grandmother had never shown me these before, and I took out each unfolding and marveling at their brilliant colors. Bright reds, purples, golds, colors I didn't know to describe and an outfit with strange feathers decorating it. I decided in that moment that everything grandmother had was now mine to do with as I pleased. The outfit was made for a taller woman like grandmother, but I hadn't full grown yet myself.
I packed up the whole thing in one of the plastic bags grandmother kept in the kitchen, I then put it in my backpack, and then over top I put my regular clothes and my brother's. Squishing all that down, I then took the water bottle packed that into one side of the backpack and several jars of honey and topped it all with hand-made wax candles. The backpack was now full to almost straining. I then took my marbles and put them in a side pouch. I packed it all into the little red plastic wagon. My dolly case and my brother's toy truck. It all just barely fit and brother would have to walk. I towed the little wagon off to one side of the room.
posted by Skaldi at 5:29 AM
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