It is always summer when I visit grandpa in his cottage near the beach. Summers at grandpa's place are something I always look forward to each year because the feeling of staying in his cozy cottage excites me. The scent of the seawater, the salty breeze, and the humid wind that is blowing towards my grandpa's cottage are things I really yearn for each year. Also, what also soothes my senses is the sound of the waves meeting the sandy shore, because it's really the opposite of the busy noise in the place where I came from. The waves—the lazy waves—give me peace that I can't feel in the place I live.
Before I knew it, I'd already been in front of my grandpa's door. I knock on the door three times consecutively, then follow the consecutive knocks with a couple of slow knocks. I know grandpa would recognize this knock because it's our special knock. I waited for, like, almost a minute, and when there was still no grandpa that opened the door, I just decided to open the door by myself. I thought it was locked, but when I turned its knob, the door opened.
I somehow got alarmed because I knew grandpa really locks the door whenever he's out of his cottage. I immediately searched for him, but after several minutes of searching every corner and room of his house, I still couldn't find him. I somehow began to panic because I knew my grandpa was really old. Despite the fact that he's much stronger than most grandpas in their village, I was still worried because I know that my grandpa is really forgetful these days. I was about to call 911 when the door abruptly opened. Shocked, I immediately rushed to it and saw that it was grandpa, completely drenched from head to foot.
"Damn grandpa, you scared me," I exclaimed while I still unblinkingly gazed at his drenched figure. "What happened? Why do you like a wet chick drenched in a heavy rain?", I continued while gesturing for him to come to me.
He smiled sheepishly. "I somehow slept in the cove," he said while scratching his chin.
"What?!", I ask incredulously. "You slept the whole night, not caring about the possible rise of the tide?"
"Calm down, boy; I just forgot about the time and I overslept there," he said while smiling radiantly.
For someone who overslept, he seemed happy about it. I don't know, but somehow I felt there's a much deeper reason why he overslept. Or did he really?
I just laughed out my suspicion. "Ok, fine, grandpa, you really scared me when I didn't find you here. Anyway, don't do it again, huh," I said while pulling him closer for a bear hug.
"Of course, boy, I'll always come back here because it's my promise to her," he said while smiling genuinely.
I laughed when I heard what he said. He sure never changed.
"It feels like yesterday that we were flying... Can't go back to her, but I'll keep trying~," I sang as I listened to the music while sketching my outline for my new painting.
I suddenly felt thirsty, so I got up and walked out of my room. I was about to go down the stairs when I saw grandpa's bedroom open. I sneak peeked, hoping to see Grandpa doing some of his new art projects, but he wasn't in his room.
"He's out again," I said while sighing. I scanned his room and saw something new. It's a framed photograph of a young couple who stood side by side. It's apparent that the man was really in love with the woman by his side. I smiled when I noticed the man's resemblance to my grandpa. I squinted my eyes to confirm if it was really my grandpa.
I grinned. It is my grandpa, but when I saw clearly who was beside my grandpa, my smile slowly turned into a confused frown. The woman beside my grandpa wasn't my grandma.
I just sat there, completely confused about who's the woman in grandpa's photograph. The heavy footsteps made me snap out.
I look over my shoulder—it is my grandpa.
"So you already found her...", he said gently.
I looked at him confusedly while he trudged his way towards me. He took the framed photograph out of my grasp.
He looks lovingly at the woman in the photograph. Then he looked at me with melancholy.
"It's about time that you get to know my Emily ".
Sweet memories, oh, they're calling my name..Bring me back to sleep, wanna dream all day—, 'Cause, summer's the place where I met you... The reason I cannot forget, you~
He wanted to die that night. He just discovered that all his life has been a lie. His parents being fine. Him being accepted into his dream art school. His talent. His dream.
All of them were lies.
He howled loudly in the cold night air. He hated his existence. He hated that he had been too dumb not to realize that everything was fake—a lie.
He slowly walked towards the stark ocean waters. He let the coldness seep into his skin. He doesn't know how to swim, so he's certain he'll drown when he continues walking towards the deeper part. He continued walking until he noticed something floating. He was about to just ignore it, but it seems that the waves are pushing the floating thing towards him. He closed his eyes for awhile, and when he opened them, he screamed.
It was a woman!
And it seemed dead! He immediately waded his way out of the waters because he didn't want to be blamed for murder, but a harsh wave knocked him down. He stumbled down and fell toward the cold waters. He attempted to remember the teachings of his father about swimming, but none came because he never bothered to learn how to swim.
He was slowly losing his breath when a soft hand pulled him toward the surface. He desperately clung to the hand that pulled him because he realized that he didn't want to die yet. He passed out for some minutes, and when he woke up, he was already lying on the sandy shore. It was dark, but he saw a looming figure looking at him. He panicked for a while, but when the harsh wind blew, the moon lit the whole beach, and it revealed who the looming figure was.
It's the dead woman! But she is alive—and beautiful.
He immediately blushed out of embarrassment because the realizations of what he did suddenly came to his mind.
"Do you wanna die?", the woman said crossly.
"I—I don't want to," he stuttered, almost afraid of her obviously angry mood. "Well, not yet," he continued weakly.
He was expecting her angry outburst, but what shocked him was that she laughed loudly after she heard him.
'You're weird... By the way, I'm Emily—and you are?", she asked while extending her right hand for a handshake.
He was still in a daze, and when he realized that she was asking for his name, he immediately accepted her hands.
"I'm weir-aahmm-Nathan," he said, smiling awkwardly.
She looked at him with mirth in her eyes. "You're funny, weir-aahmm-Nathan," she said jokingly.
He looked at her, appalled. "It's not weir-aahmm-Nathan; it's just Nath—"
She laughed loudly again. "I know, I know Nathan; I'm just teasing you because you're too tense!", she said while laughing unstoppably.
He smiled sheepishly at himself.
"And that's how I met her," my grandpa said while scratching his chin.
I was just sitting there, not knowing how to react.
"That was really embarrassing, grandpa," I said when he finally found words.
Her grandpa just smiled.
"So what happened to her?", I asked when I recovered from the second-hand embarrassment.
His smile failed him, and I somehow regretted what I asked because I knew its answer wasn't good.
He inhaled some air, then exhaled it afterwards. He smiled again.
"She's now free," he sadly smiled.
"Free? What do you mean free?", I said, really confused about what he was talking about.
"She's free of the pain—she died after battling cancer for almost four years," he said while shedding a single tear from his cheek. "I—I stayed with her until her last moment, and I was reluctant to let her go, but I have to because I know she's really suffering," he continued in a cracked voice.
I immediately pulled grandpa into a warm hug. I know that he loved my grandma, but I know it's not the same way as he loved Emily.
Her time with him was after all the good old days that he's been mentioning for all those years I've been with him.
She may not stay with him forever, but certainly the memories that they've built together do.
Give me the big blue waves and the tennis days...'Til the good old days are gone~Let them remind you—That summer's a place for everyone....
NOTE:
The lyrics that were mentioned in this short story was from the song Baby Blue Bathing Suit by Stephen Sanchez. No copyright infringement intended.
It feels like yesterday that we were flying
Can't go back to her, but I'll keep trying
Sweet memories, oh, they're calling my name
Bring me back to sleep, wanna dream all day
'Cause, summer's the place where I met you
The reason I cannot forget, you
Give me the big blue waves and the tennis days
'Til the good old days are gone
Let them remind you
That summer's a place for everyone
