10. THE GIFT

 I entered my new house, a gift from my grandparents. It's beautiful and, most importantly, very bright just as I like it. Upon entering, the first thing that catches your eye is a huge mirror with trailing plants on either side. There's a small table with drawers and on top of it, the enormous vase I've always admired at my grandparents' house. I smile, seeing my grandmother's touch in this. The living room that follows is really spacious, with a beautiful floral furniture set - I can't believe she remembered what I said when I saw it while shopping with her. I liked it back then because it looked like a flowering garden, and I still do.

 As I continue my tour, a beautiful white marble staircase leads me to the second floor. Wow, why did they make so many bedrooms? I wonder. There are really many, and I open them all as I walk. They're very spacious, with huge beds beautifully dressed, each with its own bathroom including bathtubs, just as I always told my grandfather I wanted. I'm pleasantly amazed; they've made real every single thing I've told them throughout my life that I wanted in my house. It's a shame this isn't a real marriage. I would be very happy here if it were. I could spend the rest of my life in this house.

 I go back down to the first floor, and if I thought the second floor had excess bedrooms, I now have the same opinion about the variety of lounges and sitting rooms downstairs. Walking down a hallway after leaving a spacious salon, I find, to my great joy, a beautiful library - this has to be my grandfather's work! I tell myself, while picking up a new book and smelling it - I adore their smell! I browse for a while, discovering that I have many first editions and all the books I've been accumulating at their house since childhood. It's fantastic!

 Unfortunately, my grandmother lost her ability to speak after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in her thyroid. She's currently undergoing chemotherapy to fight the disease. Despite this, she still responds to me quickly and efficiently. And she hasn't lost her ability to hear.

"Do you like it?" she responds immediately.

"I love it!" I answer excitedly. "The house too, though I find it excessive."

"That was your grandfather's fault," she tells me, though I already knew that. She immediately asks, changing the subject, "Do you like the rocking chair?"

"The rocking chair?" I asked, looking around without seeing it. "Where, grandma?"

"It's at the end of the greenhouse," she replied, and I could imagine her smiling.

"I haven't seen it yet, I'm walking through the orchid path, they're beautiful mama, how long did it take you to find them all?" I wanted to know upon seeing their abundance.

She proceeds to tell me that she had them in her greenhouse, and whenever I liked one, she would have my grandfather look for it to give to me. My grandmother is unique, always finding ways to please me, just like my grandfather, but in a different way. I walk along a path full of wonderful colors, I'm glad it's the season when they bloom. She tells me to keep walking and after the jasmines, next to the fountain, I'll find a rocking chair.

She continues excitedly describing the place as if I weren't seeing it, but I don't say anything. I know she likes doing that.

"I think you'll love reading there," she tells me.

I continue walking while talking to my grandmother. Although she cannot speak, I know she can hear, read, and write. At the end of the path, just behind a rose bush, I see it. It's incredible!

"Mima, I adore it, I adore it!" I write excitedly.

"I knew it! Be happy my child, when you can, come see me," she requested immediately.

"I'll come in the afternoon, Mima," I replied right away, I was also eager to see her.

"Alright, I'll leave you now. A kiss," she said goodbye, leaving me full of happiness.

"A kiss, Mima, and thank you." God must have known my mother didn't love me and gave me a grandmother like her who loves me enough for both.

I put the phone in my pocket. I'm standing in front of the rocking chair; it's spacious, I can lie down perfectly in it, with very fluffy cushions. It has small tables on either side with books and other things. I sit in it and lean back, noticing a huge ceiling fan above - that must have been my grandfather's doing, I think while smiling as I sink into it. It's perfect!

I love the rocking chair and I know I'll spend much of my time in this house right here; it's already my favorite spot. I turn my head at the soft murmur of falling water to see a fountain in the background. I sit up suddenly - I can't believe it! The statue is of me when I was about ten years old, with a taller boy beside me. I contemplate it; he seems somewhat familiar. I close my eyes trying to remember who he is, but no one comes to mind. Although he's handsome and smiling happily at my somewhat annoyed face, ha ha ha... surely it was my grandfather again who had the sculptor make me look like that. Could it be Luis? No, he doesn't look anything like him. I'll ask him when I see him who that boy is.

Everything is so beautiful, quiet, fragrant and enchanting, it fills me with joy. The rocking chair is full of light, the perfume of the flowers is intoxicating. It's my favorite place! I look at the time, very reluctantly I go back inside the house, and that's when I notice a door to my right as soon as I enter the hallway, which says my name, I open it. I can't believe it!