Hope found herself standing in the middle of her grandmother’s room, cold and alone. It was dark, her only source of light was the soft glowing sun from the sky just as it touched the horizon. She doesn’t remember how she got there.  There was a deafening silence, “tick tock, tick tock”, then suddenly, she was startled by a tune from the grandfather clock. While the tune played, she leaned back against the windows and gazed into space. The tune made her feel warm, she felt as if it was calling her. The tune reminded her of her grandmother’s song. She sat there sobbing, hoping that everything could go back to the way it was.

Since her grandmother died, Hope became distant from her family, she felt her whole life turn upside down. Her grandmother was the bridge between her and the rest of her family. And now that she’s gone, she doesn’t have any reason to stay.

She needed some time to heal. She wants to make amends with her family because that is what her grandmother would’ve wanted. The only solution that she can see is by isolating herself from them and letting time heal her wounds.

Four o’clock in the morning, farewells to everyone, departing for the airport, family never to see again. As they pass by familiar landmarks, she is reminded of the time she spent with her grandmother. Open road, but wishing there was heavy traffic, hoping that something will cause a delay. Two miles away from the airport, the road was blocked. She couldn’t have been happier to be stuck in this predicament. She anticipated for it to last forever— it did not— it only caused a fifteen-minute delay. She felt her heartache, she didn’t want to leave the only memories she had of her grandmother.

She got to the boarding booth just as they were announcing “last call for Hope Coleman”. She booked a flight to Japan in the hopes that she can find her roots. Her grandmother was a Japanese native but her mom has forgotten about the culture because she chose to marry an American.

She stayed at a hotel south of Tokyo. At this time of the year, there aren’t very many tourists, since most days are cold. She met a few locals and they gave her a small tour of the city. Some of the older folks knew who my grandmother was, they were saddened by the news of her death. 

She chose to stay close to her grandmother’s roots, believing that she could find peace and forget about the pain of her death. But as the days go by, she realizes the mistakes she made towards her. She becomes regretful for having so much hatred towards her family. She begins understanding the sacrifices her mother had to make in order to give her a better life.