Lily was the sweetest and most mischievous kid, according to Grandma.
She stole cookies from the highest shelf. Grandma never figured out how.
Once, she hid chocolates in Grandma’s wardrobe. They melted in the heat and ruined everything.
When treats weren’t involved, she helped Grandma however she could. She even helped Grandma get the chocolate off her favorite cardigan.
One day, the whiff of peanut butter cookies found her. And if you know her, you know she will find them.
She followed the aroma to the first-floor bedroom. Lily was confused, but maybe Grandma found a new hiding spot.
Just as she stepped forward, she heard Grandma’s voice from the garden outside.
“I know it is time to put her down, but I just can’t seem to do it,” she said.
Put her down? What did that mean?
“Look. We can’t delay it any further,” said a male voice she had never heard.
“Give me a week. I will bring myself to do it,” Grandma replied firmly.
Panic rose in her chest. Were they planning to kill her? Her Grandma?
She didn’t wait to hear more. She bolted to the kitchen.
What now? Run away? Confront Grandma?
Right when she was analyzing her options, the door opened slowly, and Grandma walked in.
But Lily froze. Where was the man? Was he preparing the tools to kill her?
Seeing something was off, Grandma frowned.
“Sweetie, is everything okay? What happened?” With a frown, Grandma added, “Did you break another bottle looking for cookies?”
Lily snapped out of her thoughts to softly croak, “No, Grandma. I was just playing around.” She was trying to look at anything other than Grandma.
A smile came back to Grandma’s face, and she said, “Okay, dear. Go out and play. Dinner will be ready in half an hour.”
Lily needn’t be told twice. Without looking at anything, she just ran out to the yard.
Usually, she played with ants and the bugs in the mud. But that day, she was in no mood for such trivial activities. She wanted to find out what Grandma and the strange man were up to. She only had one week.
She walked around the house looking for clues. She found nothing unusual and no sign of the man. Who was he, and where did he go?
Before she could make any guesses about the man’s identity, Lily’s attention was drawn by something. Something she saw every day but never gave a second glance. But today, it had her total attention.
The plant tags.
Emmeline. Gerard. Fiona.
She’d always assumed they were plant names. But they sounded more like people’s names.
Were they the previous victims?
Lily couldn’t catch her breath. How can Grandma be a killer? And even plan to kill her?
Maybe she should go and apologize for stealing the cookies. For breaking countless bottles. For spoiling her clothes.
But what if Grandma catches up to her and charges at her with a knife?
Or will the dinner be laced with poison?
She crouched behind the back porch and cried in silence. She had never been so scared in her life, not even when she broke Grandma’s favorite mug.
That is when she heard Grandma talking in the kitchen.
“Enough time has passed. She needs to go where she belongs.”
Lily shut her mouth so as not to make any noise. She waited for five minutes, but she didn’t hear Grandma or anyone else talk. She willed herself to calm down.
Sniffling, she started thinking. She knew she had to get out. She would skip dinner and go to bed. After Grandma goes to sleep, she would pack a bag and run away in the middle of the night. She did not know where she would go, but right now, she just wanted to be somewhere far away.
She wiped her tears and snot on her sleeves, straightened up, and walked back inside.
The smell of coconut cookies and Swedish meatballs invited her in. But her appetite was long gone.
“I made your favorites!” Grandma called sweetly. “Wash up and come eat!”
Lily’s stomach churned. She focused her attention on the flowers on the table. It was from the Fiona plant.
“I’m not hungry, Grandma. I’m going to sleep,” she blurted out and ran upstairs.
She ignored Grandma’s calls and bolted her room shut. Looking around her room, she felt a flicker of courage. She had to wait for a couple of hours, pack her bag, and leave. That’s all she had to do.
She heard Grandma’s footsteps coming up the staircase. She acted fast. She flicked off the light and dove under the sheets.
Her heartbeat drowned out the footsteps. She bit the blanket to muffle any sound.
Grandma came to a halt in front of the door. After about ten seconds, she turned and walked back to the kitchen. Maybe she saw the light was off and decided to let Lily sleep.
But Lily was far from sleepy. She stayed awake listening to Grandma move around. Once she settles in, Lily will act.
One second, she was listening to Grandma wash the dishes. And the next, the sun was bright in her face.
She had fallen asleep! How could she fall asleep? Lily started crying when she realized she had to stay in the house for another day.
Trembling and tear-stricken, she got out of bed. She didn’t have a choice. She had to wait till night.
Lily was very scared, but she knew that she couldn’t stay in the room for the whole day. After taking more than enough time to freshen up, she crept downstairs.
Grandma was sitting on the living room couch, a book in her hand.
She looked up, visibly surprised to see Lily walking towards her.
“Wow, how come you’re awake without me banging on your door for half an hour?” she jokingly said and started laughing.
Seeing how Lily didn’t even smile, her laughter subsided.
“It looks like my baby is hungry. Let me warm up your milk.”
Somehow, that broke her. Maybe it was the hunger. Or the warm food. Or the warmth in Grandma’s voice.
Collapsing on the ground, Lily started wailing loudly. Fear gave way to grief. How could Grandma kill her? After all the fun they had around the house, how could she?
Grandma was startled. Without hesitation, she briskly walked to Lily. She lifted her and made her sit on the table.
She lovingly hugged her without saying a word. If a person looked closely, one would see tears in her eyes too.
Once Lily’s sobs subsided, Grandma cupped her face and asked, “What happened, dear? Tell Grandma.”
And the tear dam opened again. Amid the tears, she said, “I overheard… you talking to… someone… You want… to… kill me…”
Grandma’s face wrinkled up a bit before she started laughing out loud.
Lily was puzzled. Why was she laughing so hard?
“Sweetie, that wasn’t what we were talking about.”
Lily was happy that Grandma was willing to talk about it.
“Then who was that man?”
Grandma’s smile faded away. She sighed loudly, pulled a chair, and sat next to Lily.
She held Lily’s hands in her own and said, “Sweetie, listen to me patiently. That man was Mr. Charon. He is responsible for transporting souls.”
Souls? Why was a man who was responsible for souls in some way talking with Grandma?
With a forced smile, Grandma added, “You’re in the limbo, sweetie. You died two years ago… in a car accident. You weren’t ready to move on. So I took care of you. Now I’m not ready to let you go. But it is time for you to move on. Mr. Charon was here to remind me of that.”
A hundred emotions ran through Lily.
But one overpowered them all.
Relief.
Grandma was not an evil person.
Maybe she was dead. Maybe all she had was a week.
But Grandma was a good person.
And that was all she needed.
Lily smiled widely and lunged forward to give Grandma the tightest hug ever.
That night, as she drifted off to sleep, Lily tried to remember her parents, but couldn’t.
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