"Great Grandma?"

A girl, not yet in her teens steps close to a woman, perhaps in her late thirties. Far too young to be this girls' Great Grandmother, at least at first glance.

The older woman smiles, several lifetimes of wisdom in her eyes. She puts an arm around the girl and pulling her close in a hug.

Without hesitation, the girl returns the gesture. The small girl's bright red pigtails shift as she turns her head to look up at her great-grandmother.

"Mom is worried about you. She thinks you spend too much time out here."

She says, turning her gaze to where the older woman is looking.

With a little smirk, the older woman glances toward the mansion from across the expanse of the estate's back yard.

"Your mother worries too much."

She falls silent for a little while, then speaks again.

"Everyone seems to rush into the future, always worried about what comes next, what tomorrow will bring. It's a shame really, so many people lose the past, forget where they came from, and don't appreciate what brought them to the present. Mind, the future is important, but the past is every bit as important."

The younger woman turns her gaze back to her great-grandmother.

"Is that why you come out here for a few minutes every day?"

"Yeah."

The older woman says.

"But I won't bore you with the story again."

The girl seems to draw herself up a little straighter.

"I like it when you tell me the story. Like you just said, the past is important, you're my great grandmother, so in a way, your past is my past."

With tears in her eye, the older woman hugs the younger a little tighter.

"Don't tell anyone, but you're my favorite."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

A mischievous smile tugs at the corner of her lips.

"I know."

"You know you're too smart for your own good sometimes."

The older woman says.

The older woman turns her eyes toward the small graveyard, less than a dozen headstones in total.

"That one is my grandpa?"

The girl asks, pointing at one of the stones.

"Yeah, my son. He was a good man just like his father. He lived a good life, passed away at the ripe old age of 89. You were born about a week later."

A tear begins to crawl down the side of the older woman's face, following the curve of her nose.

"No parent should ever have to out live their child."

She says, clearly to herself.

After a short silence, she continues, mentioning who each person is, talking briefly about each of them until only a single headstone with two names on it remained.

"I always thought my sister would pass first. It broke my heart when she proved me right. She had so much heartache and hurt inside of her. What happened to our parents, she knew what really happened and kept it bottled up inside of herself. She put herself through horror to protect me, and even once she fell in love with our husband, there was always some small part of her that was scared to be happy, like she thought she didn't deserve it. Even so, she lived a full life, passing away of old age."

The older woman smirks.

"But even though she was scared to be happy, he made her happier than anyone I've ever known."

With those words, her eyes shift slightly, looking at the other name on the stone.

"Your great-grandfather married both of us. Some people thought that was wrong, but there was something special about him. He made me and my sister whole, and I'd like to think we did the same for him."

She dabs at her eyes before continuing her story.

"He gave us our lives, in more ways then one, and the bad man before him that made me young."

She nods at the stone.

"He was the one who found a way to let me grow old, even if he never found a way to make me age normally. It takes me a little longer to get older."

There's a long silence.

"After my sister passed, I expected him to stay with me, but he surprised me. The very next day he walked out here, laid down beside her and never got up. He died of heartache. He loved us both, but there was a part of him that couldn't survive the loss of even one of us."

She turns toward the younger woman, kneeling and hugging her a little tighter.

"For me, I just chose to pour my heart into our children, and then our grand children, and great grand children."

"My mom looks as old as you are. Will you live forever?"

The younger girl asks suddenly.

The older woman regards her for a moment, considering her words before replying.

"Not forever. But for a long time. I'll be an old woman when your great-grandkids are born."

"I was named after you. I'm glad I was named after you."

The girl states matter-of-fact.

"I know Eve, that was my idea, your mother was named after my sister, so it just sort of felt right."

The older woman finishes speaking, dabbing at her eyes again.

The girl suddenly grins.

"I know what will make both of us happier."

Eve raises an eyebrow at her great granddaughter.

"I figured out where they hid the cookies."

The younger Eve states with a mischievous grin.

When the pair starts back toward the mansion, they are already laying their plans for how to steal the cookies, and how best to share them between themselves.

END.