His Countdown Ended, but I Died
She opened her arms wide in an embrace and whispered, her voice as gentle as a spring breeze, "Come over here, Ash."
I drifted over and nestled into Grandma's embrace, mouthing silently, "Grandma..."
Grandma responded as tears rolled down her face. "I'm right here, sweetheart. I've got you now, so you don't have to be scared anymore, Ash."
Just like that, with one holding nothing and the other resting in a weightless embrace, we wept for a very long time. We cried until the flame of the kerosene lamp sputtered repeatedly and until the moon outside the window reached its highest point in the sky.