Stories that land

Grandma had something she wanted to give me

Sento Takemori recalls a New Year’s family gathering and a gift his grandmother had been keeping for him.

Before the story

Sento Takemori (竹森千人) recalls his grandmother and a New Year’s gathering with the family.

“Come here a moment”

This is a story about my grandmother, who has since passed away.

We’d been told at the hospital that she didn’t have long left. Everyone wanted to be especially kind to her. At our New Year’s gathering, we were thinking, “This might be the last one with Grandma.” I was well past twenty by then, so I wasn’t expecting otoshidama—New Year’s gifts of money. I was just happily watching my nieces and nephews receive theirs.

Then Grandma suddenly called me over. “Come here.”

“What is it?”

“Wait just a moment.” She opened a sliding door and went into the room beyond.

She brought out something like a tiered food box, tied up very securely. “I’ve been meaning to give you this for a long time. Take good care of it.” Grandpa chimed in: “She’s kept it safe all this time. Go on, take it.”

I started undoing the string, thinking, “Is there something Grandma wants to leave in my care?” Inside, whatever it was had been wrapped in tissues.

“Oh, is it money?” I thought.

It wasn’t money. It was wet wipes.

Three packets of wet wipes.

Wet wipes, wrapped in tissues. I figured she’d probably been given them somewhere and thought, “There’s only one thing to do: leave these to my grandson.”

Except they were already completely dried out…

Painting of an older woman wearing glasses, a pink shirt and a brown cardigan against a yellow background.

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