Mafia Wine

Chapter 2: Hello Russia

Awoken from my sleep, I looked out the window to see that we were growing closer to the ground. Knowing we would be landing soon, I walked over to my parents to find them in one of the bedrooms. I watched Mama and my father turn their heads in my direction when they heard my footsteps closer to the room.

"What do you want, Hera?" she asked. I could hear her slight Russian accent returning. "I was just letting you know that we are going to be landing soon; I checked..."

"Pilot speaking, can you please stay seated and still for five minutes? We will be landing at your desired destination. Thank you," the speakers through the jet interrupted.

"I was also going to ask before the pilot interrupted me if we were going to see Grandma anytime soon." I watched Mama's face change as if she were thinking very carefully about how to respond to my simple question.

"Damara sweetie, I was going to wait until after the flight to tell you, but might as well just tell you now. Grandma... my mom, she is sick and has been for a little while now; she was just admitted into a hospital for coronary heart disease two nights ago."I could feel her eyes on me, waiting to see any emotion from me, but honestly, I just felt so sick that I had to just deny everything I just heard.

"Why am I just hearing all this now? This has to be some kind of sick joke." I laughed with no humour left in me. I watched my mother's face turn a pale green colour.

"Look, I know she means the world to you. Your father and I know we will never have the same bond that you had with her."

"Mama, look me in the eyes and tell me why I am only hearing this now. You said that she has been sick for a while." I could tell that she was trying to keep herself from tearing up but failing. This was probably the first time I had seen my mama cry; she wasn't a very emotional person.

"Your grandmother told me not to tell you; she wanted you to not worry about her and work on yourself because she knew you were struggling with a lot."

"YOU SHOULD OF TOLD ME ANYWAY." I could feel my throat closing up and my tears streaming down my face.

"Is she going to die?" My voice croaked quietly after. My tears were not planning on stopping anytime soon and were going to stain my cheeks with my mascara.

"The doctors told me she was probably not going to make it through this year; this is why I also wanted us to move back to our old hometown again."

I just nodded while feeling the jet make two big thuds, indicating that we had landed. My emotions were all over the place; I felt numb but also broken. I can't deal with any more bad news. 

I barely remember the cab ride taking us to our new house. As soon as I walked into my new room, I plopped my bags down and fished out thoughts through memory lane. Sliding down the door, I slipped my knees to my chest and hooked my arms around my legs. crying my eyes out more than ever, I closed my eyes, hoping tomorrow would be better than today.

The next morning, I woke up with puffy eyes and a pounding headache. Sunlight streamed through the unfamiliar windows, illuminating boxes scattered around my new room. For a moment, I forgot where I was and why I felt so awful. Then the memories of yesterday came flooding back.

Grandma. Sick. Dying.

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing it all to be a bad dream. But when I opened them again, nothing had changed. I was still in this strange new house, and my beloved grandmother was still in the hospital, fighting for her life.

Reluctantly, I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. The face staring back at me in the mirror looked pale and haunted. I splashed some cold water on my cheeks, trying to wash away the tear stains and the lingering ache in my chest.

As I made my way downstairs, I could hear hushed voices coming from the kitchen. My parents fell silent as I entered, exchanging a worried glance.

"Good morning, Hera," my father said gently. "How are you feeling?"

I shrugged, not trusting my voice. Mama pushed a steaming mug of tea across the counter towards me.

"We thought we might visit Grandma at the hospital today," she said cautiously. "Would you like to come?"

My heart clenched at the thought of seeing my vibrant, loving grandmother confined to a hospital bed. Part of me wanted to refuse, to hide away in my room and pretend none of this was happening. But I knew I would regret it if I didn't go.

"Okay," I whispered.