Gram
As I finished, Meg and Miles came down the loft stairs. Both had somber
looks on their faces.
“Now, there will be none of that.” I put the letter back into the journal.
“We're going to celebrate Gram's life, so come, eat the pancakes that Cole has made for you and try not to spill on your clothes.”
“You sound like her, Mara,” Meg said sadly as a tear dropped from her eyes.
Hugging them both, I said, “She's still here with us. Gram is in our hearts –
always. So, let's be strong and honor her memory.”
Breakfast lifted our spirits, and we were ready for the celebration. The town had
banded together and planned a festival to commemorate Gram’s life. We would
not mourn her passing, but rather, rejoice in the life she gave us.
When we arrived on Main Street, I was shocked to see the crowd. I knew my
grandmother had been well-liked, but I’d never seen an event like this before for
anyone. Everything had been decorated as if it was the Summer Moon Festival,
and hundreds of people had come to celebrate. My father had even set up Gram's
stand, and Mrs. Everstone was behind it. She handed out cookies and slices of bread with jam my grandmother had made.
“Mae once told me that life was our gift from the Goddess and what we did
with it was our gift back to her,” said the voice of Mrs. Ward from the stage. “In my sixty-two years, I’ve never met anyone as giving and kind as Mae Silver Veracor. My wish for everyone here is to remember the love she gave us. I pray
we will carry it on.”
As people went up on the stage to speak about their memories of my
grandmother, they each told a story of how she influenced their lives. When I saw the next person in line, my heart stopped. Wearing a dark red dress and matching red lipstick, there was no mistaking the silver-haired woman about to
speak was Blanche Drygen.
Miles and Meg both grabbed my hands and moved closer towards me when
they recognized her. As I tried to reassure them, I searched the crowd around us,
looking to see if there was any other danger around. It appeared we were
surrounded only by the friendly faces of friends and family. There was no sign of
Cedric or anyone else unfamiliar to me.
As Blanche tried to accept the microphone, to take her turn, my father
stepped in line and took her place. Smiling at her, he said, “Excuse my
interruption. Everyone, Mae would appreciate all of your kind words.
Nevertheless, we all know she wouldn’t want us to spend the day talking about
her. Instead, let's eat, be merry, and spend the rest of our time together celebrating the woman we all loved. That really is the only way to tell her we got
the message she taught us – so let the party begin."
The band began to play, and the crowd cheered. Soon, the dance floor was
flooded with people moving to upbeat music. Blanche, however, stormed off the
stage and smacked right into Cole.
The cold look in his eyes surprised me. It made me feel more relieved that my father had interceded, preventing her from speaking.
Cole clutched her arm and whispered something in her ear. I watched as she
went white with fear and broke away from him. By the time he returned to me,
the anger from his eyes had faded.
