Short Story Ideas -Completed-

22

You've always been convinced your grandmother hated you. Ever since you were a young child, you can remember being sent off to stay with her for weeks at a time, your parents were sure to remind you constantly, of how grudgingly she was taking you, and to be on your best behaviour. You simply accepted their word as truth, often left wondering what you did to make her hate you.

She was a stern woman, almost appearing cold at times, and lived in a rather grand villa, with lots of rooms, many of which were forbidden to you, some even holding very detailed locking devices, keeping them firmly shut. Your room there was beautiful, and you were always treated well, but still, there was that constant knowledge that she hated you, and viewed you as a hassle, that kept your relationship rather detached in a lot of ways.

Your grandmother insisted on you having intense teaching sessions whenever you stayed with her, most of the time taking over these lessons herself, further solidifying that somewhat cold image in your mind. She taught you basic things, but also many strange things. Outside of the usual things a child would learn at school, she also insisted on giving you intense lessons on calligraphy, art, mythology, various religions -including many things on the occult-, multiple languages -including a few dead ones-, chemistry, in-depth knowledge of plants and minerals, politics, law, horse riding, survival techniques, first aid, and even quite a few lessons on weapon use, and building various devices. Any time you questioned why you needed to know these things, you would be sternly guided away from the subject.

She had her moments when she showed a softer side. Those times that she would see your loneliness and let you tuck yourself into her side as she read various legends to you, a glass of warm milk and a plate of fresh cookies at hand. If you were lucky, sometimes she would tell you a story as she tucked you into bed. They were always bizarre and exciting, but somehow it always seemed like she was speaking of real experiences, no matter how crazy that sounded to you. Sometimes, you even thought you felt her press a kiss to your forehead as you fell asleep, tucking you in neatly. You could never find it in you to hate her, though as a teen you did try, and fail, to resent her controlling ways. Somehow, you never could.

The year that you moved out, was the year that she passed away. Having always believed she hated you, it was no wonder you didn't quite believe it at first, when you found out she had left everything to you, rather than your parents as you had assumed. Your parents wanted nothing to do with the funeral when they found out they wouldn't be getting anything, and so it was left to you to fulfil your grandmothers detailed request for her cremation, and dispersal.

The house had a coldness to it that you never felt there before when you arrived. Listlessly, you found yourself straying to that familiar office, where your grandmother could often be found of a late evening, wine glass in hand, and strange maps and diagrams laid out before her. Resting on top of her desk, you find a thick, old, leather bound book, with a single note on top. Inside the note, you find a date, time, location, and plane tickets, all intended for you.

To your shock, you find that the book is, in fact, some sort of grimoire, stock full of ancient looking diagrams, rituals, spells, and texts. Overwhelmed, you set it aside, opening up her desk draws to distract your spiralling mind. To further the revelations of the day, you find a drawer full of correspondence between your grandmother and your parents. She had never "Grudgingly" taken you, in fact, it seems she had begged to have you every single time, often ending up only managing to convince your parents, once she agreed to fulfil some financial desire of theirs. From the way she wrote, it seems she loved you very very much. Amongst the letters, you find one unopened, and unsent, looking as though extra care had been taken when making it. It's addressed to you.