“The Last Goodbyes” by Anson 7A

“Mom, please don’t cry and be sad. Grandpa Bob is leaving us now but he will be walking across the rainbow bridge to meet Puppy Chow Chow in heaven ”

“It’s hard to believe that my dad died from a sudden heart attack. We were not even able to say goodbye to him. I- I love him ”

The tears rolled from mom’s eyes, overflowed and streamed down her cheek. Her eyes were swollen and red. She looked exhausted and heart broken I wrapped my arms around her tight I tried my best to comfort her It’s Grandpa Bob’s funeral. I looked at Grandpa Bob who was laying in a casket. He looked so peaceful. He wore a dark black suit and black shoes He also had flowers of lilies and tulips on his chest and our family photo in his pocket Mom and I touched him and he felt like ice Suddenly, a white bright light was flashing out from the casket. The glare of light spotted mom and I. It made us blinding and we couldn’t open our eyes. A few seconds later, that mysterious light was gone My eyes were blurry when I opened them again I rubbed my eyes and I saw an unbelievable thing happened

“Oh my god! What’s happening? Where are we?” I asked in a shaky voice

“We should be at dad's funeral. Why are we at my childhood home?” mom said fearfully. We were both shocked and freaked out by this

A tall and young man came out from his cottage and said, “Hello, how can I help you?”

“Dad?!” mom said surprisingly.

“Grandpa Bob?” I looked at the man He looked as though he was in his mid-30 years He greeted us with a gentle and pleasant smile. Oh, that is Grandpa Bob. That smile I could never forget! Mom and I went back to the past when Grandpa Bob was only in his mid-30 years by the bright portal It is enigmatic and unbelievable!

“Umm... hello, it is hard to explain, umm... we are tourists and we stop by here because of the beautiful scenery” I tried to be calm and replied to grandpa

“Yes, indeed This garden is decorated with lots of flowers especially lilies and tulips They are my wife and daughter's favorite flowers Everyday, the sun shines bright on the grass and beautiful butterflies fly over the flowers. My wife and I like to sit in the garden chairs and enjoy watching my daughter swing on her swing. The swing flies high and she guffaws loudly My daughter is our sweet little angel ”

“My name is Bob. My wife and my daughter are out of town to visit my mother-in-law today and I am alone at home I am very gald to see you guys here ” Mom tried to keep her breathing slow and steady Tears welled up in her eyes while she was looking at grandpa.

I grabbed ahold of her hand “Let’s take a seat in the garden and try some cookies that were made by my wife this morning. It's a peanut butter cookie, my daughter's favorite flavor.” Grandpa Bob smiled.

“It is the most delicious cookie I ever ate!” Mom beamed with happiness finally

Grandpa Bob took out a photo album from the house “Let me show you my family,” he said In the photos, Grandma, baby mom and Grandpa Bob smiled happily When mom was a child, she was so cute with her big eyes. Her hair has been braided in most of the photos. “Oh, wait. This photo brings me back lots of memories! As a dad, I assumed that my daughter looked up to me like a superhero Until one day, I saw that the bus was about to pass by Therefore, I decided to make a run for it When we were safely aboard, I noticed that my daughter was staring intensely at me with her big eyes. ‘“What’s the matter?”’ I asked her. She leaned into my ear and whispered, ‘“Dad, I didn’t know you could run ”’ She is such a funny girl!” Grandpa Bob laughed out loud.

“Hey, look at this one My daughter was attending a singing contest at school She loves to sing We always have to role play at home where she was the singer and we were the audience. At the singing contest, she has high expectations She was expecting herself to be the champion When the judges were almost gonna announce the result, my daughter felt nervous and she was holding our hands tight In the end, she didn’t get any awards in the contest. She was so disappointed and wanted to cry. My wife and I comforted her. I told her that an achievement award is not the end of a goal As long as she tries her best to perform, she is a winner She was not sad anymore ” Grandpa Bob said proudly

Then, Grandpa Bob bursted into a song, “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray…

“You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away ” mom sang along and I clapped to the beat. In seconds, I noticed that the bright portal was sparkling at the back of the house. Mom and I knew that it’s time for us to go Mom stepped forward to Grandpa Bob and gave him a big hug, “Goodbye goodbye We will miss you Thank you for the memories ”

Grandpa Bob felt a bit shocked by what mom did but he was still smiling “Hey, it’s my pleasure to meet you We had a great time together even though it was the first time we met. Welcome to visit me again when you are free!”

“Yes, we promised... we will meet you again one day... Goodbye!” we said. This happy moment became an everlasting memory for us! Mom and I were wet with tears while we walked towards the direction of the bright portal The flash of light was spotting again and we couldn't open our eyes We were finally back to the funeral when I opened my eyes. We were still standing next to the casket without a minute gone. Who would notice that we were gone ?