Story Contest 2016 #2 - Outstanding Stories » Good bye my dear old happy self

"Good bye my dear old happy self" is one of the outstanding stories of the second biannual Short Story Contest 2016 written by Nur Syamsina Nadhirah Binti Ramlee, Brunei Darussalam.

Good bye my dear old happy self

I looked at the usual surroundings. My eyes were not as good as before. The vision I had was a bit blurry but I did not mind at all. Well, at least I got to know that I was still in this world, grateful to be alive today because we might never know when our lives would be taken, especially in an age like this.

The sunlight passing through the window was blinding. I could hear the birds chirping melodiously. I got myself out of bed and instantly sat on my favorite rocking chair beside the open window to get some relief from the back pain I had. I tied my short silver hair with the elastic band.

"Ready or not? Here I come!"

A familiar voice was heard from outside. It was my two beautiful granddaughters. I stared at them playing the game called 'Hide and Seek' together outside. I had a smile on my face.

How I wish I could join them, but my body was not as strong as it used to be. At this moment, it reminded me of my childhood when I was still young and active.

I was a naive eight-year-old child, living in the world of fantasy. I have to admit that I did have those huge obsessions with becoming a pretty princess. Every day I would not get tired of wearing the same old princess costume given by my most generous uncle, Tyler Joseph, and because of that, my mother called me Aurora as a nickname.

I was truly a fan of Princess Aurora because her long, silky, gorgeous, amber-colored hair attracted me. To be honest, on my birthday, I begged my parents to buy me a birthday cake with a princess picture on it, but they could not afford to pay for one whole cake. Feeling upset, they gave me princess themed Greeting cards.

Although I wasn't raised in a prosperous family or with all those luxurious things, gadgets and so on, my life was wonderful. Every day I would eat my mom's cooking which was porridge. When my mother was busy cooking, I saw her putting salt and pepper as the special ingredients and that was how I get to learn cooking step by step.

My first attempt was cooking with my cousin, Harris Jung in the backyard. I collected some dead leaves, pebbles and short grass while he was making a big hole on the soil. Then, I put the things into the hole and pretended as if we were the professional chefs. Harris was such a fun person to play with.

Heavy rain came and washed off the soil. After the rain stopped, Harris and I started playing again and mud was everywhere so we decided to jump into the mud puddles.

"I love rainy days because rain makes mud and we can have fun!" I giggled and continued playing with the mud. Our hands and feet were covered with mud and soon my father came to scold us.

Other than that, we also used to play pretend, give each other different names, and share stories together. It was a coincidence that the both of us had the same interests.

I also remembered that every night, my mother would sing me a lullaby or tell me a short story filled with imaginative things before I went into the land of nods. However, unfortunately, it did not last long. My life drastically changed after my parents died in a fatal car accident. There was no one to blame.

My heart sank into deep despair.

Warm tears started falling onto my cheeks. I could not bear the pain in my heart as the hurtful memories came suddenly into the mind. I needed my joyfulness back. I missed the days with them and wished that turning back time was possible. My mind was elsewhere, full of sadness.

"Granny, are you alright? Why are you crying?"

I snapped back into reality as I heard my granddaughter calling for me. I did not even realize that she had come inside my room. I wiped my tears and simply gave her a soft smile. I tried not to be too emotional in front of her.

"It's nothing...really."

"Bye the way, breakfast is ready. Let us eat together, granny. Don't cry."

She gave me a warm hug. I stopped crying and held all the pain inside me.

After all, maybe this is life. I guess I need to move on and start a new chapter of my life. Goodbye my dear old happy self.