A Tale of Blood
As I stepped into my grandfather's cozy living room, I was greeted by the sight of many potted flowers and plants creating a tranquil atmosphere. It was a place where my grandfather and I often spent time together, sharing our life stories - mostly him telling his life stories and giving his advice on ours - and reminiscing about our family's past. Little did I know that this room would soon become the backdrop for an intergenerational conflict.
Suddenly the phone rang and we all felt a sense of urgency. One of our relatives had been in a car accident. Our relative, the son of my grandfather's aunt, urgently needed a blood transfusion. Our aunt informed us that they needed type 0 - negative blood, a rare and very important type of blood. A group that can only receive blood from its own blood type.
Determined to help, my grandfather immediately started making phone calls, reaching out to friends and relatives in a desperate search for blood donors.
Meanwhile, I was sitting on the couch, engrossed in my phone. I was actively trying to communicate with people, but my grandfather, accustomed to a different era, could not fully grasp the nature of my interactions. He started yelling at me. He started telling me that I didn't care enough, that maybe a relative of ours was going to die, but I wasn't calling anyone.
Image by Freepik
"You don't know what you're doing, grandpa, and you're shouting at the neighbors, you're embarrassing us to the neighbors, I respect you enough because you're older, but I can never be silent against injustice!" I blurted out, realizing the misunderstanding that had arisen between us. "I don't just hang out on social media like an idiot. I reach out to people, I spread the word on social media."
He looked at me, confusion, fear and worry on his face. It might have been the first time in his life that I had responded to him in such an aggressive way. Because I've always managed to remain calm and respectful before. The gap between our generations seemed to widen in that moment with anger and frustration. But underneath it all was a shared concern to save our relative's life.
I immediately explained that I shared the urgent request for blood in many places: WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook-everywhere I could. I even asked a friend of mine who is a tiktok phenom to share it on his page. I was shocked when he didn't. His response was "Dude, a lot of people need blood, am I the Kızılay (Turkish disaster organisation) to find blood for everyone?''
As you can imagine, I don't talk to him anymore.
Meanwhile, other members of the family intervened and as the tension between my grandfather and I dissipated, we both realized the importance of mutual understanding and cooperation. Scanning the responses we received, we joined forces. Time was of the essence and we hurried to the hospital.
Image by prostooleh on Freepik
Together, we witnessed the miracle unfolding in front of us. My first school friend, whom I hadn't seen on real life for so long, but liking our posts on the social media for a long time, texted me just as we were about to arrive at the hospital and told me that she have this 0- blood.
She came to us and our relative received the life-saving blood. My grandfather was a little embarrassed but you know the older generation never apologizes. And he didn't. Anyway. He looked at me a few times in silence. He thanked the girl for coming. But he never thanked me once for finding her. Still, I knew and could see that there was regret in him.
As we left the hospital, our spirits uplifted for saving our relative, I was proud of myself and a little angry with my grandfather. He came up to me and touched my shoulder. As if to congratulate me. Not a single word came out of his mouth... Is it so hard to say "Congratulations, grandson, I wronged you and you were right"
In the end, our joint effort (?) had not only saved a life, but also led to a different understanding between us. We knew each other better, he respected me more. I tried to reciprocate that respect more.
This blog is inspired by and written for The Inkwell Creative Nonfiction Prompt #34 Connection. Thank you so much for the opportunity!