Lu entered the nursing home that her great grandma was staying at. The nursing home housed fifty elderly people in total and had about ten staff on each shift to take care of them. The nursing home was designed simple. Single story, so there would be no stairs. Five main hallways that spanned ten bedrooms down each. The main office or desks was stationed in the center of these hallways as they branched from the main corridor. Lu was a bit amazed by the design of the nursing home as it was more built in a circular shape with the branches of the hallways. The design always made her think of some sort of a creature, almost like a spider.
The building was lit up pretty well, and in the main areas where the elderly gathered, had carpet tiles over basic tile flooring. It made it more safer for them as some lacked balance. At the main nurses station in the center of the building there was at least one staff member present at all times. Her name was Piper, a thirty year old woman who checked in visitors.
“Hello Piper,” Lu spoke as she approached the desk.
Piper smiled at her, with her gap teeth, “Here to see your great grandma Stalida?” Lu nodded as Piper noted down Lu’s time of arrival. “Room 25.” Piper spoke as she pointed down the third hallway. “Do you remember the way?” Lu nodded again. “Well, carry on.”
Piper went back to work as Lu went down the hallway marked number three. Now, most areas were covered in carpet tile squares but the main walkways had regular white tile, as it made it easier for things to be carted down to the elderly. On the walls was basic art work. Like a mountain drawing or a fruit tree drawing. As the nursing home supported the youth and buying their crappy art was one way to show it. Now, there were a few art pieces that did impress Lu. For example, the mountain drawing was done so well that it looked like a photograph. The mountain painting always drew her in.
She knocked three times on the door marked with gold numbers 25. Above the door was her great grandma’s name, Stalida.
Her voice, sounding a bit weaker than yesterday, chimed in through the door, “Come in!”
It was evident that her great grandma’s time was getting closer. As she entered, she could see her great grandma’s wrinkled body, droopy eyes, grayed hair, and frail body. Time had not been kind to her. But she still held strong as her grandma surpassed the life expectancy of that of an ordinary human. Stumping her doctors as they all questioned how one could live to one hundred and ten years old.
“Nana?” Lu questioned as she let the door close behind her. She was worried that her great grandma’s time would come soon.
“Don’t worry dear,” Stalida's cracked and brittle voice said, “all good things must come to an end at some point.”
Lu hated it when Stalida talked like this, but Lu always guessed that came from living a hard life. “Nana, I have a paper I need to do for English class. I was wondering if you had time for an interview?”
Lu pulled one of the extra chairs over to Stalida’s bedside and pulled the tray she used for food. Pulling out her laptop, Lu opened to a blank page and waited for her response.
“I have all the time in the world dear.”
“Great!” Lu expressed excitedly. She had been told bits and pieces of her lineage but never from the source. Her parents deemed it unnecessary and unreliable. Though, she couldn’t help feeling like her parents were keeping something from her, so she came up with the clever idea of the school project.
She hit record on her laptop, as she let the voice to text take over as she started to ask Stalida questions. “Nana, let’s start off with how you met my great grandpa.”
“Which one would you like to know about?” Stalida’s face lit up in excitement. No one has let her talk about her past before. She was always hushed when she tried to speak about it.
Wait…which one? How many times was she married? “The first one, I suppose, who was he?” Lu’s curiosity peaked. She never heard anyone talk about her great grandpa, which made her think that he was a bad man. Though, maybe this was why she was married twice.
Stalida took in a shallow breath as she relaxed on her bed and closed her eyes, “You would not believe me. No one does.” Lu watched as her excitement fell. She felt horrible for how Stalida was treated, when all she wanted was to tell her truth.
“Please, Stalida?” Begged Lu as she reached for Stalida’s hand. “I’ll believe anything.”
Stalida gave a slight smile as she sighed softly, “His name was Tut-Man. He was short, grumpy, not the brightest bulb in the box, but he cared.”
“Tut-Man? That’s a strange name.” That can’t be an English name. Lu thought as she thought about where her family may have originated from.
Stalida chuckled, “That’s because he was not a human. He was a Goblin, in fact, he was the Goblin King.”
“Gob---Goblin?” Lu blinked and rubbed her eyes. Goblin? There is no such thing. Lu thought to herself. Perhaps her parents were right. Stalida was crazy. No, I have to give her a chance to explain, a chance to tell her story. Even if it seems like a made up fantasy world.
“Yes, dear. Goblin.” Stalida looked Lu dead in the eye as she spoke. Her voice was clear despite being brittle. She was serious, thought Lu as she tried not to act surprised, she didn’t want to offend her.
“Tell me more about him.” Though Lu had her doubts, she was interested in hearing more about this man.
Stalida smiled with her false teeth, something Lu hasn’t seen in a long time. “Tut-Man the Goblin King. He was a well liked man. Well, at least liked by the other goblins in the camp. Outside of our encampment, he was hated. Often hunted but never found until the day your grandpa came and got me. You see, I was born in this world, but I was raised in another. Transformed from a human to a goblin, then back into a human again.”
Lu scratched her head. She was very confused. As this seemed like a medical episode rather than Stalida telling the truth.
Stalida’s eyes narrowed as she studied Lu, “I see you are questioning things dear, and that is alright. But believe me when I say this, a world of dragons, elves, goblins, magic, exists. It all exists and your father’s family took me from that world.”
Now, this really did seem like a medical episode. She was talking about stuff only found in books. Not reality. “Stalida, this doesn’t seem logical. There is no such thing.”
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“I knew you wouldn’t believe me.” Stalida closed her eyes and breathed softly, as she relaxed herself back in bed.
“No, Nana I do, it’s just a bit hard to wrap my mind around.” Lu grasped her hand tightly, in hopes of reassuring her that she believes her. “Please, tell me more.” If anything, this will make for a good story. Lu thought to herself as she eagerly awaited to hear more.
She watched as Stalida took a deep breath before she reopened her eyes and fixed them on Lu, “Believe me my dear. I need you to believe me.”
Lu tensed, as she had never seen Stalida act like this before. As Lu still held onto Stalida’s hand, she felt immense strength grip her. That caught her off guard. Stalida continued her fixed stare on Lu, “Come back tomorrow and I will tell you more.” Stalida released her grip and rested back against the bed, closing her eyes once more.
Lu was puzzled and worried and as she stared at Stalida who had fallen asleep. Is she sleeping? Lu thought and sighed as she watched her great grandma’s chest rise and fall. She turned off her computer program and put her laptop back in her bag. “I’ll see you tomorrow Nana.” Lu bent down and kissed her great grandma’s head softly and left her room.
Lu walked back up to the nurses station where Piper sat, “That was a short visit.” Piper spoke, “Is everything okay with Stalida?”
“Yes. I’ll be back tomorrow.” Lu watched as Piper made a note in Stalida’s file. She saw something along the lines of falling asleep a lot more often. Daughter will be back tomorrow.
“Same time?” Piper glanced up at Lu.
“Is there a good time to visit her when she isn’t exhausted?”
Piper sighed and flipped through her notes on Stalida. “Before lunchtime. Though she gets a bit cranky around that time.”
“I’ll come around that time. See you tomorrow!”
Lu waved at her as she left the building. Lu’s mind was already spinning. Fantasy world stuff exist? It can’t be true! Lu was in disbelief with what Stalida had already told her.
“How was your visit with your great grandma?” Lu’s mother, a woman in her mid fifties with dark skin, black hair with streaks of gray, and brown eyes spoke as Lu entered her home through the navy blue wooden door.
I can’t tell her what she has said, she will ban me from seeing her again. “It was interesting. She ended up falling asleep, so I didn’t get to talk to her too much.” Her mother’s expression was that of relief. “Did you learn anything?” Lu knew her mother was trying to figure her out. She wasn’t going to give in to her. She wanted her great grandma to be able to trust her.
Her mother was standing in the kitchen as the kitchen was one of the first rooms of the house that you could enter. Other than a side office that was her father’s. Lu could smell dinner being made as her mother often cooked it early and they ate right at five, when her father got home.
Lie. Lie. Lie. Lu thought to herself. Lu usually wasn’t a good liar, but she hoped she would not have to disclose what she and her Nana talked about. “Not really.” Lu could hear her voice almost crack as she spoke the last word. Dang it. She just had to hope that her mother wouldn’t pick up on it.
“Well, maybe that is for the best dear.” Her mother turned her back on her to check on whatever was in the oven. Lu arched her eyebrow, she was curious. She felt around her pocket for her tape recorder and hit the record but.
“Why?” She doubted she would get an answer but at least it was recorded.
“Stalida, isn’t all there. Her stories aren't real.” Her mother's voice, cracked just a bit as she spoke the last words.
This surprised Lu. As she thought, no one knew anything about her heritage. This proved that her mother, Harley, knew something.
“Why do you think that?”
With her curiosity high, Lu hoped that she would get somewhere with her mother. Her hopes were crushed just as fast as they peeked, “No reason Lu. Go get cleaned up and get ready for dinner. Your father will be home early. You can discuss this more with him.” Her mom’s voice spoke volumes. She didn’t want to discuss anything. She was irritated, tired, and a bit stressed. At least that is what Lu could pick up.
Lu went up the stairs and took a left down the hall to her bedroom. Her bedroom wasn’t anything special, it was average sized, with a full sized bed up against the back wall. There were two windows, framed in white wood. One wall was decked out in countless rows of books, as Lu was an avid reader. She had a very well crafted desk and comfortable chair. A black fuzzy rug that felt comfortable as you walked across it. Her main floor was a gray hardwood, and her walls were painted that of a forest green. On the walls she hand painted leaves and trees with black paint to give her room a naturistic feel.
With her books, there was one corner of the room dedicated to her reading, as she had a hammock strung between the two walls. She sat her laptop on her desk and plugged it in to fully charge. Plopping herself down on her bed she couldn’t help but think of what Stalida had told her, even though it wasn’t a lot, yet.
Five o’clock was just under two hours away. I should just record the whole dinner. Lu thought to herself, as she put her recorder on the charger. This is going to be an interesting dinner. Lu remained in her bed for the full duration, thinking about what may happen at dinner.
Lu grabbed her recorder as it was five minutes till five. She knew her father was close and wanted to be recording as soon as he got home. She ran back down the stairs with the device in her pocket and sat at her seat at the oak table. Her mother had already plated the majority of dinner by the time they both heard the car door slam shut. “Please don’t bring up your great grandma Stalida.” Her mother begged.
Lu shrugged. Her mother sighed in defeat. She knew what was about to happen. It’s time to get some answers. Lu thought as her father entered the home, “Good to see you dear.” Her mother was quick to move to him and hugged him. Lu could see her mother’s lips move, picking up her great grandma’s name, “Stalida.”
Lu heard her father grumble as she watched his face fall. Something was really messed up when it came to Stalida and my family. “Father.” Lu tried not to sound disappointed as she knew that this may not be a very pleasant dinner after all.
“Lu, I thought we had talked about this.” Her father spoke annoyed as he took off his shoes and sat down his briefcase. He walked over to the kitchen table and took his seat. Her mother followed suit with plating the last food item that they would be eating for dinner.
“Father, I know you don’t want me to talk to Stalida but I have my report to do.” Lie. Thankfully, Lu practiced this one and was able to speak it normally.
“Yes, but can you not do your report with someone from your mother’s side of the family?”
“Stalida is the oldest living person in Hedgrick. Not to mention, the oldest living person in this family.” Lu thought those were some pretty good argumentative points.
“Does it have to be from the oldest living person?” Her father was definitely annoyed. Definitely angered. Lu did not care at this point. She knew then that they were definitely hiding something.
“Yes! It’s a historical paper!” Lu shouted. She was getting frustrated.
“Lu! There is no need to yell!” Her father snapped back as he hit his fist against the table.
Lu sat back and shut up. “Please?” She whispered quietly.
“No. Now that is enough on the subject.” He was firm. He was not budging. He did not want to talk about Stalida, neither did her mother. The rest of the dinner was filled with silence. A bit of talk here and there between her parents on how her father’s day went. Neither of them talked to Lu, they went to the extreme of avoiding eye contact with her entirely.
Something is definitely up and I am going to get to the bottom of this, no matter the cost. Lu thought as she placed her plate in the sink and went up to her room. Turning off the recorder, Lu got ready for bed. Tomorrow. Lu thought as the sky grew dark as night time fell.