The Record Player

Short story: The Record Player

       My grandpa has always had a passion for music. Ever since I was a little girl he would sing to me. He had a record player and he played songs from musicians like Queen, The Beatles, Prince, and Frank Sinatra. Me and him would dance around the room listening to this music. I had grown up with this music. It was a part of me, and I hoped that I would never lose it. When I was twelve years old, my grandpa gave me his record player for my birthday. He had said, "I want you to have this. As you know, it holds a special place in my heart. It brings me happiness and life, and I want you to be able to experience that as well." Receiving that gift was one of the happiest moments in my childhood life, and I could never thank my grandpa enough. Every single day I would play my most favorite songs on that record player, and I would try to figure out the notes and melodies, and sing them myself. Music was my way of escaping life, and bringing me joy. When I was twenty seven, my grandpa was not doing well. This was one of the most depressing times of my life. I never thought as a child that you can be so happy one day, but then the next day is completely different. I prayed for my grandpa to get better every day until I lost all hope. I was drained of happiness. As I was sitting next to my grandpa in his death bed, I noticed a record player sitting over on a side table. It was the record player he had given to me. I thought to myself, How did this get here? I didn't bring it here. I asked my grandpa if he knows how this got here or if he somehow brought it here. He said that my grandma had brought here. I then got up, walked over to the record player, and I put on one me and my grandpa's most favorite song. I sat there beside my grandpa, looking into his joyful eyes, and singing along with him to the music. It had brought light into the darkness and had made me realize that life is beautiful, and that I he will always be with me throughout my journey in life. As we were sing along down to the last lyric of the song, he whispered, "I love you." I said, "I love you too." By then my grandpa had already fallen into his deep slumber. I will always remember him, and I will always cherish that record player.