Where'd you go?

The Christmas before I turned 18 my whole family came to my grandparents' house from near and far to celebrate one last time. Grandma was dying, and we all knew it. She had an ongoing battle with cancer that she was just plain losing. I was named after her, and we always had a really special bond. The last few weeks of her life I would lay in bed with her and have conversations with her, even though she was delirious. I would hold her hand and we would just talk. A few days before she died she said 'I think 18 is old enough for this..' and she pulled out a bag. It was a necklace and a bracelet that her grandfather had made her when she was 17. He carved them out of plum seeds and it said 'Naomi' on it. She said she had been saving it for me until I was old enough to take care of it.

She told me to go through her closet and take things. It was strange.

One day my mom and uncle switched her to the other side of the bed where it was clean, they did this on a regular basis. They went out and were talking about something and she told me to go sit with Grandma so she wasn't in there alone. I went in and sat next to her on a chair besides her bed. She was breathing heavily and her eyes weren't all the way closed. I knew she was dying. I held her hand and let the tears flow freely. I told her how much I loved her and that I was here for her. I watched her last breath escape her lips and I hung my head and sobbed. I told her goodbye and I cried. I lifted her arm and watched it fall limp. I was afraid to touch her after that. My mom's boyfriend came in and I whispered to him if she was breathing. He went over and checked and looked up at me and said 'she's gone'. I looked at the clock. It was 4:16 pm. January 16.

I started a new job the very next day.