You And I? #wattys2015

Chapter 21

BEFORE YOU START, I'd like to say I'm sorry if this Chapter's long. It's coming to an end, people. Thank you for keeping up with me <3 <3  Enjoy!

xxx

CHAPTER 21

The waitress actually came to me and asked me if I were okay but I told her I wasn't.

"I'm not okay, but I will, eventually."

She smiled and told me to cheer up although she hadn't a clue what the problem was. After lunch, I decided to visit Grandpa, and I hoped so badly that he was still there.

I had to walk quite a long way (since I did not have a motorcycle like how Dylan used to). After ten minutes, with my hair all messed up and worried about my curls (since I straightened my hair this morning), I saw the little wooden house just before the forest. I knocked on the door a couple of times and prayed in my heart that someone would answer the door and have answers to my unanswered questions.

Finally after probably the tenth knock, a man with few strands of white hair and rippled skin opened the door. If I didn't know better, I wouldn't know that it was Grandpa. He changed so much in five years. It was may be caused by the worrying of Dylan and the hope that was lost of Dylan to come back.

"Grandpa?" I said, apologetically, knowing he may not forgive me.

"Natasha? Is that you?" He tried to open his eyes. He was wearing glasses now!

"Yes, Grandpa...it's me, Natasha Rowland."

I really really wanted to hug him but I hesitated because I didn't want to feel rejected if he did hate me.

"Oh, where have you been?" he started to cry softly while he opened his arms to hug me. I never knew he could be so forgiving to me after what I had done to his one and only grandchild that was left.

"I'm really sorry, Grandpa... I shouldn't have done that," and now I started crying. We were just at the entrance of that wooden house sobbing like we were little kids.

"Let's get inside and talk okay, little one?" he said, wiping his tears away.

I remember that nickname he gave me on the last day here. Oh everything terrified me.

We sat down on the couch in front of the 60's TV and I sat in silence as I waited for Grandpa. He offered me tea but even though I refused, he insisted that he would still make me tea. I stared around this place. It all felt so familiar already. I missed this for five years and not notice how much I felt like I belong. Or even if there was no one here, I felt like at least that someone would fill up all the places that could be filled in my heart. But now, that someone was not here with me and all the familiarity and the feeling that I belong was fading away.

Grandpa came back with two cups of tea and he sat in silence too. We appreciated the silence but I decided to break it.

"What happened?"

He took a deep breath and his smile slowly fell.

"Well," he looked at me, "On the day you left, he actually tried to meet you at the airport but he didn't know what time your flight was. Once he was there, he realised that you were already gone. That night, he spent the whole night in his tree house, he never came down to see me or work or went to the beach. It was unlike him. It was as if he was trapping himself there in his own world. He was there for four days straight and I didn't even know where he did get all the food," Grandpa sighed.

"He probably bought fruits from the grocery shop and stored snacks up there. I missed him so much. I couldn't climb up there because a man like me cannot go on a flying fox like that anymore. After the fourth day, he came back to the wooden house and hugged me tight. He just sobbed there in my arms. It had been ages since that happened. I knew he was upset.