"MIKE, YOU REMEMBER MY GRANDMA FROM MY MOTHER'S SIDE???"
"YES, I REMEMBER HER"
"WELL. SHE COULDN'T WALK AT THE END, AND HER SUBCONSCIOUS MIND GOT FREE, LIKE SHE WAS LIVING IN HER SURREAL WORLD. BUT ALL SHE SAID WAS METAPHORS. I COULD UNDERSTAND AS I KNOW ABOUT ART AND LITERATURE, BUT EVERYONE WAS SAYING SHE TALKED NONSENSE THINGS, WHILE SHE WAS JUST SAYING THE TRUTH, BUT IN ANOTHER WAY"
"HUM... I WONDER WHERE THIS CONVERSATION'S GOING..."
"LOOK. SHE STAYED AT MY HOME FOR LIKE TWO YEARS. WE PREFFERED TO TAKE HER AND STAY CLOSE TO HER. WE RECEIBED A LOT OF VISITS FROM MY GIRLS COUSINS FROM MY MOTHER SIDE, WE ALL JUST LOVED HER. SHE WAS LIKE LILLY VAN DER WOODSEN. A HIGH PRIESTESS, SO SWEET AND NICE, AND SHE CARED A LOT ABOUT ALL OF US. ONE OF THIS COUSINS TAKED CARE OF HER, SHE DEVELOPPED A LOT OF ATTACHEMENT TO HER, SHE KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT BUDDHISM"
"WHAT?"
"LOOK. SHE WAS IN MY HOME. AND I KNOW SHE WOULD DIE AT SOME POINT. I JUST KNEW. I DON'T SEE DEATH AS A TERRIBLE THING, BUT IT WAS SAD FOR ME TO SEE HER IN THE BED. SO I KNEW I LOVED HER, BUT COULD NOT DEVELOP TOO MUCH ATTACHEMENT, AS SHE WOULD DIE INEVITABILY. IT WAS DIFFICULT TO TALK TO HER BUT I DID A LOT OF TIMES, AND SOMETIMES I JUST AVOIDED THE ROOM, IT MADE ME SAD. BUT YOU KNOW? I HAVE AN AUNT THAT IS IN A SIMILAR SITUATION, AND SHE CANNOT HANDLE IT, AND AS SHE'S WORKAHOLIC AND CANNOT FACE THE IDEA OF DEATH SHE IS JUST TROUBLED. ONCE I WENT SEE HER AND HER FAMILY WAS THERE, THEY WERE SO BITTER. LIKE THE ONES WHO WERE DYING WERE THEM. AND AS I LIKE TO JOKE AND STAY IN A GOOD MOOD, I GOT SHOCKED BY THEIR ATTITUDE, LIKE THEY WERE SAYING "SOMEONE IS DYING HERE!!! THERE'S NO PLACE HERE TO JOKE OR FEEL GOOD!!!" SO I SHUT UP"
"???"
"YOU KNOW THIS STRANGE THING I HAVE, THAT SCIENCE CALL ESP? I INHERITED THAT FROM MY GRANDMA. SHE HAD THAT TOO. FROM MY MOTHER SIDE WE ALL HAVE THAT. A SISTER OF MY MOM HAS IT WELL DEVELOPPED AND SHE TOUGHT ALL HER KIDS, MY COUSINS, HOW TO USE IT AND HOW TO HANDLE IT, CAUSE IT IS CONFUSING, AND HE TOLD THEM NOT TO TALK ABOUT IT AS OTHER PEOPLE COULD FREAK OUT"
"MY GRANDMA KNEW ABOUT US, SHE TALKED ABOUT IT SOMETIMES, THANK GOD SHE WAS USING METAPHORS, I AVOIDED A LOT OF TROUBLE THANKS TO THAT. AND AS SHE WAS SAD IN HER BED I BURNED HER THE SONGS FOR CHRISTMAS BY SUFJAN STEVENS, THAT REALLY MADE HER HAPPY, SHE LISTENED TO THEM AND FELT CALMED AND EASY. SHE JUST DIDN'T LIKE TO BE IN BED ALL DAY."
"AT SOME POINT, WE REALIZED SHE WAS ABOUT TO DIE. SHE CRYED SOMETIMES, AND SHE DID NOT WANT TO STAY HERE, WITH US, CAUSE IT WAS SO PAINFUL FOR HER NOT BEING ABLE TO WALK, AND SHE DID NOT WANT TO END WITH A BAG OF SOME MEDICINE HANGING, AND UNABLE TO TALK. SHE PASTED AWAY LIKE TWO MONTHS LATER. IN HER LAST WEEKS, SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT MY BROTHER, AND SHE SAID A LOT OF TIMES WE HAD TO FORGIVE HIM FOR ALL. OVERALL ME."
"CAN YOU FORGIVE HIM"
"EASIER SAID THAN DONE"
"WHEN SHE DIED, MY SISTER WAS THERE, AND ME, AND MY COUSIN WHO TOOK CARE OF HER. AND MY GRANDMA FROM MY FATHER'S SIDE, MY MOM TOO. MY COUSIN CRYED A LOT. I CRIED TOO, BUT NOT THAT MUCH, BECAUSE OF THE ATTACHEMENT THING..."
"WHY YOU'RE TELLING ME THIS?"
"MY GRANDMA IS NOT DEAD. MI COUSINS BY MY MOTHER SIDE DREAM WITH HER AS THEY HAVE ESP TOO, INHERITED FROM HER. THEY DREAM WITH HER A LOT. THEY SAY SHE LOOKS BEAUTIFUL WHEREVER SHE IS. AND THEY CAN FEEL HER HELP IN ALL WHAT THEY DO. THEY CAN FEEL HER TAKING CARE OF THEM"
"BUT YOU HAVE A STRONGER WILL THAN HER. AND YOU ARE BETTER IN A LOT OF WAYS. THE MAGIC INSIDE YOU IS SO STRONG. LIKE YOU'RE AT A HIGHER LEVEL, THAT'S WHY SHE CANNOT HELP YOU AND YOU NEED TERESA. YOUR GRANDMA CAN BE THE HIGH PRIESTESS, BUT YOU ARE THE MAGICIAN. SO WHY YOU'RE TELLING ME THIS?"
"YEAH, WHAT YOU SAID IS TRUE. BUT SHE WAS MY GODMOTHER, AND I WAS HER FAVORITE GRANDSON. I CANNOT DO SOMETHING AGAINST HER WILL, PLUS SHE HAS AUTHORITY OVER ME"
"OH NO! YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT DEATH LIST FIVE AND... YOUR BROTHER"
"YES. AND THAT'S NOT ALL. WHEN MY BROTHER HAD A SON, MY GRANDMA BY MY FATHER'S SIDE WAS DYING. NOT SICK, BUT I COULD SMELL DEATH IN HER APPARTMENT. SHE FELT LIKE THAT, CAUSE HER BROTHERS WHERE GETTIN TERMINAL DISEASES OR ALZHEIMER, SO SHE WAS VERY SAD ABOUT IT. BUT MY NEPHEW SAVED HER LIFE. SHE TOOK CARE OF THE KID FOR YEARS, AND WHEN SHE WAS TOLD SHE WAS OBSESSED WITH THE GRANDSON, SHE WAS LIKE "YEAH!!! OF COURSE!!! I'M TOTALLY OBSESSED WITH THE KID!!! WHY NOT??? I CAN DO WHAT I WANT, ANY PROBLEM???". IF MY BROTHER IS NOT IN THE LIST, SO IS NOT MY NEPHEW, AND MY GRANDMA WILL HATE ME FOR THAT AND WILL FEEL VERY HURT. PLUS, THERE'S A COUNCIL BETWEEN MY DAD AND HIS BROTHERS, THEY WON'T LIKE THAT"
"A COUNCIL"
"THEY CALL IT THAT WAY... LOOK, THEY TALKED ABOUT US, I JUST KNOW IT. AT THE COUNCIL. AS I JUST KNOW THEY HAVE READ THIS BLOG. AND THEY VOTED AT MY FAVOR, OUR FAVOR. AND AS WE DON'T KNOW IF MY FAMILY IS GONNA LIKE YOU, THE BEST WE CAN DO TO MAKE THEM ALL HATE YOU IS NOT INCLUDE MY BROTHER IN THE LIST. I AM SO SORRY MIKE, BUT WE HAVE NO CHOICE"
"WHAT WE ARE GONNA DO? YOUR BROTHER IS UNPREDICTIBLE, AND HE MOVES IN THE SHADOWS."
"WE'LL HAVE TO TAKE THE RISK. AND TRY TO SEE HOW WE MAKE SURE HE'LL BEHAVE"
"IT'S A VERY BIG RISK"
"SINCE WHEN YOU DON'T LIKE DANGER, COTTON CANDY???"
"ALRIGHT. WE'LL FIGURE SOMETHING OUT"
"THANK YOU"
