Genevieve S.

Getting Through

Nothing

I stood there as frozen as a rock. I stared at my dead Great-Grandfather. He had just died from a heart attack in bed. Mimi had already called the ambulance to  come. It was like life flashed before my eyes. Soon it came. The doctors came out of the ambulance with a big wide stretcher. I saw them put him onto the ambulance. Tears came rushing down my face. My mom came over and whispered to me,”It is going to be alright,” she always makes me feel better.

Now we were all squashed in my moms car, Auntie, Mimi, Neni, Daddy, Lizzy, Uncle Charlie and Mommy. We followed close behind the ambulance. It was 5:30 in the morning. I got woken up right after he died. I was tucked closely into my Aunt's arms. She kissed me on the head and held on tight to me. “Lucky me,” I thought “to have an aunt so great.”

The Funeral home was just around the corner. We parked and got out. I was too surprised to go back to sleep. They carried my Great-Grandpa on a stretcher and laid him on a bed. One of the doctors pulled Neni out into the hall. I overheard the words, “Yep, He’s dead,” those words stuck to me like glue. They were the saddest words I heard in my whole life.

“He was 94,” I said sobbing. “If only he could come back.” I whispered. My mom was standing next to me. So was my aunt. By this time it was 7:00. My Jiddoo brought breakfast from Duchas. “How’s it going,” he said softly. No One talked at breakfast. It was completely silent. I had lost my appetite just after I found out the news. Today was nothing.

School (Different in a way)

When I got to school that morning everything seemed to change. I went up to  my teacher and looked sadly at him. He looked back at me the same. “I got the email from your mom and it is going to be okay,” he said sadly. I sat down and let out a big sigh. Than he hugged me tight. My mind flashed back to the moment I found out. I soon had lunch with him and I showed him a picture of him online in the obituaries section of the CT post. His funeral was tomorrow and I wondered what it would be like.

That afternoon I came home on the bus and when I got off I talked to my mom

about the situation. My Neni came over she was crying a little. She was pretty sad too. During dinner I thought about my favorite time with my Great-Grandfather. He was very important in my life. “School is important,” I said to myself but “Grandpa is most important.”

Funeral Day

We parked the car at the Funeral  Home. Mom went to check it out. He was lying on his bed with cards,flowers and people all around it. I started to cry than mom put Lizzy and I back in the car. A couple minutes later my Auntie and Mommy came out with their faces bright red and tears coming down there face. I knew why they were sad. I didn’t blame them I was sad too and next came mass.

As we drove to the church, I was thinking what will it be like. We parked on the street where my cousins were, Lilly and Andrew gave me the same depressed look. Eron who is 2, didn’t understand the situation. “Kenzie,” I heard from the other side of the street. It was Lilly calling me. She waved her hand.

Lilly and I are both 9, and Lizzy and Andrew are 12. People called me Kenzie because it is short for McKenzie. Anyway, we walked in the church with barely no people there except Neni, Mimi, Jiddoo and some of my Great-Grandfathers friends. The church filled up after a couple minutes. I took my Auntie by the hand and held it tight. My Uncle Charlie smiled at me. Andrew said “Hi,” I felt lonely but I really wasn’t I knew I wasn’t.

At the end of mass we gathered around the front door while we said a prayer.

The altar was right in the middle. The altar is the bed the bury him in. Some people were smiling some people were crying some people were sad and not crying. All different emotions were going around. I buried my head into Mommy’s stomach. Andrew and Lilly were crying too. They spayed incense on him and everyone started crying. But I knew it is okay.

Lunch at Ralph and Richards

When we arrived at Ralph and Richards we took our seats. The kids table was in the back. Lilly and I started drawing. I was drawing a flower and Lilly was drawing pearls. Andrew and Lizzy were socializing.

“McKenzie and Lilly what do you want for lunch?” my mom asked. “Penne a la Vodka,” we both said. The waiter came around and we ordered. When it came I said “MMMM,” “It smells so good,” We ate it up quickly. “How was it?” the waiter asked as she came around the second time. “Great, Delicious,” we said at the same time.

After dinner all the kids made a card for Neni that said, “You planned a wonderful party,” we all gave it to her. “From Lilly, McKenzie, Elizabeth (Lizzy,) and Andrew.” She gave us a group hug and said, “Thank You.”

I ordered tiramisu it is a sponge cake with chocolate sauce vanilla ice-cream it was soooooo good. I wanted more when I finished eating it. I asked dad for some more and he gave it to me. Everybody helped me get through it but it was very hard and now I know my Great-Grandfather is safe and with god.

Burial

We all stood around him at the cemetery. It was a chilly day. Everyone was holding flowers. Neni gave me flowers that said Great-Granddaughter. When It was my turn I put the flowers on the altar and then I quickly said a little prayer. Than Auntie put hers down. The priest stood beside the altar and asked us to say, “We love you!” When that was over Neni stood at the altar and said her goodbyes than she joined the rest of us in leaving. I could see worker guys burying him and I blew a kiss when they covered the hole.

Prayers

“I love you and I miss you,” I prayed to the night sky. I felt like he was with me but he wasn’t. “Hi honey hows it going?” my mom asked. “Good, I guess,” I said back. She kneeled down next to me and kissed me on the head. “Do you want some ice cream?” she asked. “Mint Chocolate Chip,” I said, “Sure!”

I walked into the kitchen and Mimi, Neni, and Jiddoo were sitting at the table eating ice cream. I sat next to Mimi. Mommy served me some Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. Mimi’s face was bright red she was also crying. We took each others hands and said, “WE MISS YOU!” up to the night sky. The prayers we said was to help and make sure my Great-Grandfather wasn’t suffering.

That night everyone tucked Lizzy, and I into bed. Andrew and Lilly were having a sleepover and so was Mimi, Jiddoo, Auntie, and Neni. Uncle Charlie took  Eron home because he got too tired. We next sang one of Great-Grandfather favorite songs. It was called “A Cowboy Needs A Hat,” I loved that song too. We all sang together and it made me feel better.

Late at night when everyone was asleep I started talking to god. I said “Dear God I hope that Grandpa isn’t suffering anymore. I also wish that Grandpa was with me down on earth with us but I know I can’t make that happen. I love you Grandpa I really do and you were the BEST person in my life I miss you!

I’d like to thank Jason Ward for helping me write this story,

I’d also like to tell you that my Great-Grandmother would love this story because she loves a good story to read at night.

About the Author

My name is Genevieve. I am nine years old and I am in fourth grade

in Mr. Jason Ward’s class. This is the Best story I’ve written so far. I have a beautiful mother and a wonderful father. I also have I baby brother who is one year old, and I have an identical twin sister named Emily. I have a dog named Buster and a very AMAZING Family.