Descendant

Chapter 2: Today's going to be a good day

Gabrielle:
I was stirring, the warm morning sun beaming through my bedroom window. "Ugh" I breathed, rolling over and pulling my pillow over my face to block out the sun. At any other time of my life, the sun breaking through my window like an intruder would've been welcomed, but not even the sun or boiling hot summer days could make me get out of bed. It had been two days since my grandad had passed away and I hadn't got out of bed in that time. My mum explained the situation to my school and I was told to 'take as much time as I needed.' I became a bit bitter inside, not towards to myself or my parents, but towards life and how unfair it could be at times.

My grandad was a great man, an amazing friend and a truly magnificent dad figure, but what's to say that any of that really matters in the long run. No matter how many good deeds you do or however you decide to live your life, at some point you are going to die and be a memory, nothing more and nothing less than a memory.

"How are you feeling today baby?" My mother asked, head peeping around the door, "no better than yesterday, but a little better than the day before that." I stayed buried underneath my pillow and answered in a muffled tone. "Okay" my mother dragged out the end of the world a little too long to stay buried under my pillow and ignore her "what?" I asked, maybe a little more harsh toned that I should've "how do you do it? How do you walk around and feel fine?" "Oh baby we were expecting it for a very long time and your father and I have been feeling the way you are feeling now for years. Now your grandad is gone it's easier as we know he isn't suffering and he's gone to a better place." "I know he's in a better place, I know he isn't suffering, in a way my suffering now isn't even about him, it's about me. I'm never going to see my grandad again, I can't call him, visit him or hug him. I need him, even if he was ready to move on to whatever comes after, but I wasn't ready to let go. Not yet" "Gabi, I know this is going to sound harsh, but life is going to take a lot away from you that aren't ready for, unfortunately whether you are ready for things or not life will throw them in front of you and you just have to deal with them. But in those situations always think, how strong and experienced your going to be at the end, and the incredible journey you will have gone on along the way."

About a month or two before Robert passed my boyfriend and I had broken up, I was only fifteen now but we had been together since year seven, and although I knew I was going to see him everyday and we agreed to be friends, I mourned for the feelings that he had lost for me and for the ones I still had for him, things would never be the same for us, and just like how I feel now about my grandad, I wasn't ready to give up on those feelings and time we shared together, but I got over those feelings, so I knew I was going to make it through my current suffering too.

"Things will get better baby I promise, you just have to face everyday one day at a time and before you know it you'll be looking back on this day feeling so proud of yourself for how far you'll have come." "Thanks mum, I really needed that."
"I love you Gabi," "I love you too mum, you too dad. I can hear the floorboards creaking underneath your feet!"
My dad entered the room and sat on my bed right next to my mum. They both wrestled me to the bed throwing their arms around me, "we love you more," they said in unison. My parents were so soppy, they never believed that love could be over expressed and that love was never too cringey or in your face. Although their love for me right now was boarding on in your face, I would never had changed anything about it, or them for that matter. I had the best parents ever, them both coming into my room and tackling me to the bed to cuddle my grief away, who could ask for more than that?

"You know what, you're so right, grandad wouldn't want me to waste away in my room crying, he would want me to live on, and to the maximum that I could. So, I'm going to go to the library, I'm going to borrow a book, sit and read the first chapter in my usual window seat like I always do and act normal, for that's what grandad would've wanted." I added as an after thought "and I want to make him proud, I know he's watching over me up there." I looked up the ceiling and smiled, I could just imagine him up there, sat on a cloud with a newspaper and pen in hand doing the crossword. He'll be looking down right now feeling so great that I'm happy and not wallowing.

While I was growing up my grandad always taught me to write, he loved English, literature and books and he passed that passion onto me. "I might even start writing a book, do something that grandad always wanted, as a way to keep his memory alive." "You do whatever you want baby girl but he would be proud of anything and everything you accomplish, no matter how big or small." "Thanks mum." I hugged her tightly, "will you drop me off at the library in twenty minutes?" "Yeah, I'll drop you on the way out. Your father and I have your grandads things to sort and his will to go over." "Okay thank you. I'm gonna try and make today a good day, I'm still sad, but I know that's okay. Accepting I'm sad is the first step to moving on though, right?" "Right! Well done baby, you get out there and make today a good day and tomorrow will be a little easier again."

The next thing I knew I was walking up the library steps. A massive white building that looked like it belonged in the Ancient Greek era. It had an old structure with modern windows and a modern inside. All tiled floors and marble steps with glass metal railings. New and old together in one building. My favourite building in this entire city, I can only imagine how much history this place has. I'm pretty sure this building was actually built in the Greek era, but I could be wrong. I turned around to wave at my parents as they pulled off and when I turned back to the library I caught a glimpse of a boy looking at me. He was beautiful, no; that didn't cover it. He was gorgeous, heavenly even, his skin was golden maybe Italian and his eyes emerald green, piercing through me even from this distance. He was perfect, I took a small pause, thinking about how I was stood still starting at this boy, and he was looking right back at me. Before this starring competition became awkward I went inside the library, straight to the top floor to find a great fantasy novel to get lost in.