Memories are borne in the spur of a moment. you might not realise it at that point but trivial things you do with your loved ones will one end up becoming a loving memory that you will come to cherish. My childhood doesn’t contain many fruitful memories, the only ones that I do remember just happen to be the ones where I lived with my grandparents for a while. I remember the six months I spent with them very vividly. Since they live in a different state altogether I had barely met them since the time of my birth, I didn’t even remember their faces when it was decided that I’ll spend a few months at my grandparents place due to rising tensions in my family. When I arrived at their house I was cautious of everything and everyone there, I didn’t want to come off as a burden and nor did I want to be the reason for their anger. My grandfather came off as a strict man who prioritised discipline over everything else yet his love for my grandmother seeped through his cold demeanor. My time there began and I became closer to my grandmother as days passed by. She was just like every grandmother out there, she cared and loved for me as a mother would for her child. Even though I was just a small kid back then, the emotions I felt with them still reside inside my heart and the warmth makes me miss them more. I misunderstood my grandfather at first, he had a resting face which made him scary to me. He didn’t smile often either which led me to think he doesn’t like my presence as much. I started to hide from him, avoided hum as much as I could because I was scared my presence would make him angry and he would throw me out of the house. All of this was just in my head of course, my childhood was difficult in many ways and the hardships made me think I’m unlovable. I thought my grandfather hated me the same way others did but I was so wrong. Since my grandmother loved gardening, my grandfather had built their house surrounded by a lot of trees and that allowed me to climb trees all the time. One of those days as I was climbing a mango tree to pluck mangoes for the friends I had made there, one of my legs slipped and I was hanging by the branch in the blink of an eye. Those “friends” started running away shouting and panicking in fear of being reprimanded for putting me in a dangerous situation. As much as I would like to lie about how brave I was, in the end I was a little kid back then and the fear got the best of me. I started shouting very loudly calling my grandmother’s name in hopes of being saved since the height was enough to break my bones with just one fall.
Unfortunately my grandmother had gone out and no one else could hear me since the tree was in the backside of the house, to my surprise my grandfather came running looking frantically for me. As soon as I saw him I tried stopping my tears but to no avail, I started hiccupping instead and my nose was full of snot. I was in a very embarrassing and scary situation according to the kid version of me. When he saw the situation I was in he started laughing and I could only stare back at him in shock. I was offended in my mind because no matter how much he hated me, how could he laugh at someone’s face who is in danger? Turns out the height wasn’t that much after all, he asked me to let go of the branch and though I was hesitant at first, the fear of being scolded made me do as he said and he caught me in his hands safely. When he had caught me he started patting my head as a sign of telling me I was safe in his hands. I had never felt that sense of safety before which led to me crying again but this time I was being consoled by him. The exhaustion of such a tiring day made me fall asleep in his arms after I had cried my eyes out. When I woke up my grandmother was sitting next to me, and as soon as I woke up she pulled me into a hug and told me how worried she was. She called out to my grandfather right away and everything that had happened in the afternoon rushed back into my head. I was still offended regarding his behaviour and when he entered the room I kept glaring at him. He only smiled in return and scooped me in his hands. He started laughing again when he saw my expressions of being shocked. I gathered some courage somehow and asked him, “Don’t you hate me, why are you laughing and smiling at me then, are you making fun of my situation dadu?” As soon as those words left my mouth, his smile faded and his face drooped. He sat on the bed and made me sit next to him so he was facing me and then said, “I never hated you, how can I hate my own grandson? I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable and that’s why I kept my distance. I’m sorry if I made you think otherwise.” Those words are still engraved on my heart, he taught me not to judge people based on how they looked and that lesson has stayed with me for years. He might have been a strict man but his love for me shaped me into a better person in those six months. This might seem like a trivial memory but it made me realise how much loved I really am and I’m really grateful for them.