When we speak are our voices lost?

Untitled Part 1

When we speak, are our voices lost?

The senior citizens who live in my village tell me that my Grandma is a seasoned educator. According to Na-Na, my Grandma was,

"A brilliant child, believe that Diego," she told me.

Na-Na says, "She win every one a di big prize dem down a Mount Garrizona Primary school when she in a likkle, likkle pickney like yuh."

Na-Na smiled but her teeth from the bottom and top rows were noticeably missing. My fearful stare on Na-Na's face probably caused her to close her mouth suddenly, shaked her head several times and mumbled something to herself which I did not understand. Na- Na regained her composure after a short while and began speaking again.

"By time she eighteen or there about, she win big, big scholarship and lef likkle- likkle mi all alone right yasso an gone weh a teaching college all the way in the big, big city."

As I listened to Na-Na I realized that she had a connection with my Grandma. My Grandma never told me that she knew Na-Na. It seemed that my Grandma and Na-Na went to the same Primary School and knew each other well. Na-Na is our neighbour but my Grandma made it clear to me that I should never be seen in Na-Na's Yard.

"Nuh look deh, no go deh, nutten nuh deh whe a fi yuh Son,"

my Grandma would tell me if I asked her to allow me to go over Na-Na's yard and play with her children. I felt confused.

"Funny, really, really, really funny,"

I would always say quietly to myself. When Na-Na, my Grandma and I walked to church each Sunday morning or when Na-Na pressed the electric buzzer at the front gate and called out my Grandma to socialize they seemed to be really, really good friends. When I watched Na-Na and my Grandma talking in a friendly way, touching each other on their shoulders and moving really close into each other's personal space as they whispered in each other's ears and laughed loudly a number of questions would come rushing to my mind:

"How well did Na-Na know my Grandma?"

"Did Grandma and Na-Na attend the same school?"

"Is my Grandma the same age as Na-Na?"

"Are Na-Na and my Grandma related?"

"Am I related to N a-Na?"

I wished that there was a place that I could go just to heart their voices.

My Grandma looked young. She took good care of herself. My Grandma ensured that only healthy foods were eaten in our house at all times. She took care of her skin. Her skin was spotless and smooth. My Grandma could be in her thirties. If Na-Na and my Grandma are the same age,

"Why is Na-Na looking so different from my Grandma? I asked myself.

My Grandma has white teeth. She visits the dentist regularly. My Grandma has all of her teeth at the top and bottom rows.

"What had happened to Na-Na's teeth?"

I know that I would never get  answer for my  concern. These questions were ones that I thought about regularly but they were secondary to the main question that I had asked my Grandma. My question had caused my Grandma to explode like the eruption of the volcano of Soufriere. My class had watched this electronic lesson in Miss Nevers class at school in the large Computer Lab on the big Electronic Whiteboard Screen during one of our Social Studies lesson.

"How can my Grandma be a seasoned educator?"

I asked myself,

"When she exploded because I had asked her one simple question that I desperately needed an answer for."