Once upon a time there was a little girl named Rebecca. She loved her grandfather very much. Usually, children had to travel long distances to reach their grandparents’ homes, but Rebecca was very lucky because her grandfather and grandmother’s house was in the same village where she lived. The school bus even dropped her off at her grandfather’s house every day, and she would stay there until her mother returned from work.
The best thing was that Rebecca’s grandfather was retired, so he mostly had a lot of time to spend with his little granddaughter. As for the grandmother, she was usually busy preparing dinner and tidying the house. But the grandfather would leave everything he was doing and devote himself to Rebecca. He would make her a glass of lemonade and listen to her stories about all the events she experienced at school. Sometimes he would solve the big puzzle with her. He would also take her with him to wash his car. Sometimes he would take her to the library, where they would stroll around and read some books. He would also take her to buy some household items or groceries.
Rebecca was very happy with the times she spent with her grandfather, and she wished he would stay there forever. But one day, Rebecca’s mother told her she wouldn’t go to her grandfather’s house after school because he was sick and would go to see the doctor.
Rebecca felt very sorry for her grandfather’s illness but didn’t feel anxious. She also got sick sometimes and had to stay in bed for a day or two, perhaps taking a short trip to the doctor, then she would be fine.
Rebecca never imagined that her grandfather’s condition wouldn’t improve, even that she had to go to a friend’s house after school. Rather, she was waiting for the day she would return from school to go to her happy grandfather’s house.
But one day while she was at school, Rebecca found the teacher calling her name. She went out and found one of her mother’s friends waiting for her. The teacher told her that her mother had called and requested that Rebecca go with the friend. The child felt strange, but she liked her mother’s friend, so she went with her and talked the whole way. But when she reached her grandfather’s house, she found several cars waiting in front of the house.
When Rebecca entered, she found her mother’s eyes red as if she had been crying. She went toward her mother, who embraced her tightly and said to her, “My dear Rebecca, you know your grandfather was sick recently. Today his heart stopped and became unable to pump more blood. Today, Grandfather has passed to another world, and we must pray for him until we meet him, because we will all depart!”
Rebecca felt sad because her grandfather was no longer there and wouldn’t go with her to the library or play together. She kept crying. Her mother told her it was right to cry because she missed her grandfather, but we must thank God at all times and not be dismayed, because we will all die sooner or later.
Translated from story: Missing Grandpa