My Grandmother's Gift

Author's Note- This is a short story about my grandmother. I have always enjoyed my grandmother's company, but I rarely see her. Last time I saw her was Easter, and the day before I left, she gave me a gift I will cherish for the rest of my life. I hope that you will see, even though I never see her, she is always with me.  

The smell of English muffins, eggs, and ham wafted in through the open guest bedroom door. As I lay there, half asleep, I listened to the sounds of morning. Birds chirped cheerfully in the distance, and my grandmother hummed in the kitchen. Golden light poured in through an open window near the air mattress I was laying on. It was a beautiful day, but I didn’t want to move, let alone wake up. I had been dreading this day for a while now. This was the last full day I had with my grandmother at her home.

As I lay there, with my eyes still closed, I absorbed all of the smells and sounds around me. A smile flickered across my face, At least I have today, I thought.

“Maxie, are you awake?” I heard my grandma coo softly from the bedroom door.

“Yes, Mimi,” (My family calls her Mimi how some family’s call their grandmother Nana.) I slowly opened my eyes to see her smiling face at the door. She always had the best smile, that could always make you feel better. She had that rare human kindness, which is hard to find nowadays. Always willing to help a stranger, or work in a soup kitchen. Wherever she went, she always left a wake of kindness behind her.

“Well, breakfast will be ready in five minutes, and is there any cereal you want sweetheart?” she asked?

I slowly raised myself into a sitting position, and thought for a moment about it. “No thank you,” I replied, “Whatever you made will be perfect.”

“Alright Maxie, but feel free to ask if you need anything.” She smiled and left the room.

“I will Mimi,” I said with a smile back.

She closed the door when she left the room, and I gently pulled the blankets off of myself, and reached into my open suitcase. I grabbed a tee-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, and put them on. I opened the door that lead into the hallway to the kitchen, the scent of her delicious cooking getting stronger with every step.    

As I emerged into the kitchen, I saw her standing there in her big black shapeless pajamas. It wasn’t that she was stout, on the contrary, she was tall and very slender, but not stout.

“Maxie,” She said, “since it’s your last day here, I bought you a present.” She nodded over to the counter where there was a beautifully wrapped package in gold with a silver ribbon. “Open it,” she said as she smiled at me, “I hope you like it.”

I crossed over to the counter, and slowly removed the ribbon with care, not knowing what was inside. Whit the ribbon off, carefully ripped the paper off, only to reveal a black leather bound copy of  Jane Eyre, with red trimmed pages. “Grandma… I… I don’t know what to say… thank you,” I whispered. It really was a beautiful copy of the book. I collect  books I love, and this was the perfect edition to add to my collection.

“I’m so glad you like it! I know you love the book, and I thought this copy was completely you.”

It was true, this one person knew me better than anyone else, maybe even better than I knew myself. After that trip to my grandma’s, I haven’t seen her since, and I most likely see her for a few more years. That’s why I carry that copy of Jane Eyre around with me wherever I go, because it was the one thing I have to remember her by, besides the blanket she gave me. I have read that copy two times, and am working on my third. I devour the book every time, and I know when I read it, she is thinking of me.           

Chiyo/Sayuri Character Development

Authors note- All of the students in our school were commissioned to write a character development piece on a character from one of our favorite books. I love the book Memoirs of a Geisha, because I can relate to so mush of what Chiyo is going through. I hope you take as mush out of my piece, as I did out of the book. 

Chiyo-chan Sakamoto (Or simply Chiyo.) has always dreamed of being what she has seen only in old photographs, or heard about only in legend. She has dreamed of being Geisha, the beautiful girls with the painted faces, flowing silk kimono’s, and trained in the fine arts of Japan. Of course, this is only a pipedream for poor Chiyo, after all, she is only a fisherman’s daughter. Born in the village of Yoroido on the coast of Japan, she is doomed to a life of poverty. However, when her father is forced to sell her into an okiya (geisha house), and she is separated from her older sister, she is given the chance to be Geisha however, she must prove herself not only to the head Geisha, but to herself as well, and rise to the heights of Japanese society.

In early 20^th century Japan, it is nearly impossible to ascend one level in the social ladder, let alone from the bottom to top. In the years before World War II, Japan was divided into a rigid social class system, and whatever class you were born in, you stayed in for the rest of your life. Chiyo, though born a very striking girl, is doomed to a life of poverty. Her father, one of the many fishermen of Yoroido dresses her family in rags, and feeds them nothing but rice and fish. Poverty is hard enough on Chiyo as it is, but when she turns nine, her mother is diagnosed with bone cancer, in constant pain. With his wife in such pain, this sends Chiyo’s father into a deep depression, until he is unable to care for her and her 15 year old sister. He is forced to sell them to a slave dealer, who then sells her into the okiya run by “Mother” (The Madame or owner of the okiya.), and her sister is sold into a different area of the city they are sold into, (The city is known as Kyoto.) and is forced to become a prostitute. After the devastation of the separation of her father, sister, and dying mother, Chiyo us forced to grow up faster than any nine year old should, and is forced to develop a strong skin never letting things out, but only in. She is forced to look after herself, and in this sense her character develops a strong emotional endurance at an extremely early age.

Aside from Chiyo’s character developing emotionally, she also develops physically. As I have said in paragraph two, she was born a striking young girl, with her unusual pale blue oriental eyes, and dark hair. It is said in ancient Japanese tradition, that people born with blue eyes were given extra water at birth (For, they believed that people were made up of five earthly elements.), and this shows on the outside of the body. Fitting for her charming personality, always in a hurry, just like water. However, her eyes are not just enough to allow her to become the geisha he has always dreamed of becoming. She must grow to become a beautiful young woman. Throughout most of the beginning, she is nine years old, however, after several years have passed, and she is now blooming flower in full peak. With her long flowing b lack hair, porcelain features, and smooth skin, she is a truly exquisite. She is finally ready to begin her geisha training. Her character has now developed into beautiful young woman, and is finally ready to begin her geisha training.

Finally, Chiyo’s dream of becoming a geisha is finally coming true. With her character developing stunning beauty and developing emotional strength, she was equipped to begin training. However, becoming is not as glamorous as it sounds. Japanese tradition dictates that an apprentice geisha must learn to sleep, eat, pour tea, walk, dance, and even sit in a precise fashion. However, she must not work alone. With the help of Pumpkin, (The other apprentice geisha in the Okiya.) and Mameh, Chiyo’s trainer, and a senior geisha. Geisha’s must be trained when they are very young, starting at ages 8 or 9, however, Chiyo displeased Mother, and she forced Chiyo to remain her indentured servant. Yet, Mameh  sees potential in Chiyo with her charming beauty, and takes her under her wing, and begins to train her in the Japanese arts, of dance, tea, music, art, and fan dancing, giving her the geisha name of Sayuri. She must then all of the arts listed above in what would normally take years, in six months in order to find a “Danna” or patron. Finally, just in time before she is too old, she is able to finish her training, and find her patron, Dr. Crab (This is not his real name, but Sayuri calls him this on account of his appearance. After her training and she finds her first Danna, her character has developed into a well rounded intellectual.

Sayuri has finally done it, she has risen the social ladder of Japan all the way to the top. After all that she has been through, her character starting out as a weak, small minded little girl, has developed into a beautiful, well rounded, emotionally strong geisha. Her dream has finally come true, and she has what she has always wanted, ever since she was separated from her mother, father, and sister; another family, being found in Mameh and Pumpkin. It in a way reminds me of the movie Ever After, in the sense that Daniel finally gets her wish granted, where she marries the prince, and is given a new family from her step sister, and mother and father in law. However, they story lines may be completely different, they both have the same meaning, that dreams really do come true. Chiyo has finally had her happy ending, and has risen to the heights of Japanese society.