"At least, she made it on time."
"Where is Chuna?" and she continued. I just took a deep breath
"I hope she's not going to bring up taking Chuna again."
"She's back at our neighbor's house…"
"You left her there, is she safe there?" I furrowed my brows again with the nonsense she was saying. I really can't help it. Feels like I'm talking to a stranger.
"She's safer there than anywhere else and I won't bring her here. As if we could just drop her off to you" I can't help the sarcasm. Grandma held my hand and I just bowed my head and didn't care about my mom's reaction.
"I understand…" That's the last thing I heard from her that night.
The green light sign in the operating room turned off, and a doctor came out a minute later. We stood and walked near him while I held on to Grandma.
He was still in scrubs, he wiped his face covered in sweat before he put on a new face mask. Then he looked at us, each of us, one at a time. Then…
"I hate to be the bearing of bad news… He didn't make it… we did our best to… Time of death 11:45 PM…" I couldn't understand what the whole thing was. The doctor said a lot.
Grandma started crying so loudly that she was shuddering. I'm holding both side by side of her shoulders and I can feel her getting heavier and that if I removed my hands even for a second, she would fall. I could feel that my surroundings were very noisy, and then someone took Grandma from me and sat her in a wheelchair.
My vision started getting blurry, I couldn't hear sense around me. I just saw a nurse attending to Grandma. Mom said she'd take care of her and somebody guided me out of the hospital. It was Mom's attendant, and he was dressed in a suit. We just stayed in the car, but we're not moving. He just turned on the engine and air conditioner.
A lot of things came rushing to my mind and I didn't even realize how long I had been sitting there. I just couldn't think to move. Then, a few moments later, I heard a phone ringing. I couldn't understand the person on the other side, but the guy in the driver's seat turned around to talk to me.
"Sir, your mom said to take you back, they'll stay longer. Your grandma was confined due to stress and fatigue. They will need to look closely after her", I talked back.
"No, I'll stay." But he got insistent
"Sir, I was ordered to take you back and tell you that you don't have to worry more because your grandma is safe, she's just tired and will return later. I was told to tell you that you need to sleep too, the sun will shine soon". Then I saw the time on the dashboard. It was 4:04 AM.
I was going to talk back more, but I had no more energy and the man in front just started driving. The next thing I knew, we were in front of our grandparents' house. I said
"Please stop for a minute at our neighbor, I need to take Chuna." He didn't talk back immediately, but he started turning the wheel and just blurted
"Understood sir"
Then a minute later, we were outside of Aunt Jane's house. I got out of the car and walked straight to the front door and pressed the doorbell. I heard footsteps and Aunt Jane quickly opened the door. I can see she just woke up and tied her robe tightly and hugged me.
"How are you Jun? Are you all, right? Where's grandma and grandpa? How's your grandpa?" I was bombarded with questions and I just cried in her embrace. I felt her warmth and she guided me to her house and took me to her sofa.
She saw the driver outside, and she left the door open. She went to the kitchen and heard glasses clinking, then she came back to me holding a glass of water. I took it and started talking.
"Grandpa is gone…" I started crying again, and I saw Aunt Jane's eyes turning red and wet. She hugged me again.
"Don't worry child, we're here. You can count on us; we'll help you with everything. Do you want to stay here? I can fix you a bed" she caringly said that but I refused.
"No, you don't have to, Aunt Jane. You have done more than enough. Thank you for everything for helping Grandma yesterday. Please say my thanks to my uncle too. I'll take Chuna back with me. I apologize for the trouble she might have caused", Aunt Jane, put her hand on my shoulder.
"Jun, Chuna is a very smart girl. She's not a bother to us in any way. When my husband left earlier for work, she just stayed in front of the TV, she's almost not moving, not asking for any of you. She's just being obedient, even at a meal, she just quietly ate the meal I gave her. Are you sure you don't want to stay with me? Maybe just until later?"
"No, thank you, Aunt Jane. I have to take care of the house from now on", Aunt Jane wiped another tear that fell down my face.
"All right, but call me immediately if you need anything. I'll help you. Be brave, Jun, and take care of your grandma. I know Grandpa is proud of you", I nodded. She took off and got Chuna. Chuna is still sleeping while she's carrying her. I took her from her before we could get out of the house.
"Wait, Jun… almost forgot". Aunt Jenna remembered something and handed me a box in a gift wrap and a letter on it.
"The gift is from us, and the letter is from Chuna. Happy birthday to both of you. Please take care of each other"
We left after that. I walked back to the car and the ride had been so short. I got out and thanked the driver, and when we got inside the house, he took off. Chuna is still in my arms; I just want to embrace her. I stopped crying, we just sat there on the sofa and just waited. I was staring at nothingness when I slowly watched the room lit by the morning sun. Then, I saw the gift on the table in front of me. I put it there a while ago when we got in.
I reached for the letter and I saw a drawing where Chuna and I were holding hands and Grandma and Grandpa were holding a cake. It was a messy drawing but I understand. I hugged Chuna tighter that time and we just stayed like that together until she woke up.
"Brother, brother…" Chuna is waking me on the sofa. It took me a while to realize that everything is real. Then, I saw Chuna in front of me. I didn't realize it, I fell asleep.
"Brother, where are grandpa and grandma?" I reached for her and carried her back to me and let her sit to my lap.
"Chuna, Grandpa is gone…" I told her, but I don't know if she could understand already. She didn't talk back much; she could see my sad face and just touched it with both of her hands.