An amazing dream

It might seem strange to you, but I always wanted my grandmother to be modern and open to new things. It never occurred to me that I would change my mind one day, but…

It all started on Tuesday. Magda, my classmate, was telling me what she was going to buy my grandmother for her birthday.

"You know what, my parents said I could buy her a new cell phone case. I'm going to the store today. Will you come with me?

" "Okay," I replied and started solving a math problem, but I couldn't concentrate. I kept thinking about a gift for my grandmother. Half the class was buying their grandmothers something modern, Kacper was giving her a new cell phone with a camera. "And me? What should I buy her? My grandmother avoids her cell phone like the plague! She's afraid of it, as if who knows what it might do to her!" I thought.

On my way home, I stopped at a tablecloth store. My mother asked me to look for a new napkin for my grandmother. I couldn't find anything interesting, so I left.

As soon as I arrived at my house, my mom bombarded me with questions.

"So, was there anything interesting? How much? And which store?

" "Nothing cool, but go see. Maybe you'll find something." I took off my jacket, hung it on a hanger, and turned on the radio. I threw myself on my bed and closed my eyes. A moment later, I was asleep.

I woke up in an exceptionally good mood. I got out of bed and started stretching. After a few stretches, I went into the kitchen. No one was there.

"Mom, are you there?" I called out, but no one answered. I wanted to make myself something to eat, but when I opened the fridge, all I saw was mayonnaise and butter.

"Oh no... Looks like I'll have to go to Grandma's."

I quickly dressed and ran to my grandma's house. I was craving her delicious cabbage soup.

"Grandma, I'm terribly hungry. We don't have anything to eat, Mom's away on a training trip and hasn't left any money, and my piggy bank is empty. Will you make me some cabbage soup, please?

"Quiet! I'm writing an important email. Don't interrupt," Grandma hissed. Only then did I notice she had her laptop on her lap, typing something.

"But... I'm hungry... and I don't have any money," I started to whine.

"Take 10 złoty and go get a hot dog."

"What? Since when do you tolerate food like that?" I was utterly surprised. "First the laptop, now the hot dog. What's going on? My grandma was always afraid to touch the computer, and now she's pounding away at the keyboard like crazy!"

Grandma didn't say anything. She just waved me off, not even looking at me. What was I supposed to do? I took the money and ran to the hamburger stand. I'd always loved fast food, but today it was particularly bad. I was craving Grandma's cabbage soup, and then BOOM! Grandma rebelled. I felt terrible. "Maybe I was imagining something?" I thought, and went back to Grandma's. Unfortunately, what I'd seen a few minutes ago was absolutely real. I took off my jacket and sat down next to Grandma. She was playing solitaire on the computer…

When I was little, I loved watching Grandma's wrinkled hands as she gently, reverently placed cards on the table. I loved it when she stroked my face with those hardened hands, gazing at me tenderly. One day, while Grandma was playing solitaire, I asked out of pure curiosity,

"Grandma, how old are these cards?" I pointed to the worn scraps of paper Grandma was lovingly shuffling.

"Oh... A long time ago," she smiled. "I remember buying them for your Aunt Basia when she was still in third grade. They came in a beautiful box with two decks. I was so captivated by their beauty that one day I decided to buy them. And so I started playing them every day, until they got to this state." Grandma laughed, showing a card that was about 5 cm wide. "But that was until recently, but now..."

Now, as I look at Grandma's hands clicking away, tears well up in my eyes. I miss the old sight of Grandma cheating at the game, cutting 10 cards instead of 3 and pretending nothing happened.

"Grandma..." I said, and burst into tears. I so wanted to snuggle into her stained apron, the one she'd always worn since time immemorial. But now she wasn't my grandmother. She was a stranger disguised as her. I so wanted to see her sincere smile, the one that always graced her worn, yet beautiful face. I wanted to, but I couldn't, even though it was right there. "Grandma..." I whispered again.

The woman turned her head. When my dear grandmother always looked at me, she had such a beautiful twinkle in her eyes. And now? Now she only had eyes reddened from the computer. I knew she was still my grandmother, but I didn't love her. I only loved that cool old lady who smiled at me, stroked my face with her tender hands, and gave me my favorite cookies.

I grabbed my jacket and ran out. I sat on the stairs in the stairwell and started crying loudly. Suddenly, someone came up to me and patted my head.

I opened my eyes. I was sweating.

“It was just a dream,” Mom said, still stroking my head.

I didn't immediately understand what was going on. I looked around, but I wasn't Grandma's anymore, I was in my own room, and Mom was standing over me. So it was just a dream…

"Fortunately," I smiled.

"What did you dream about?" Mom asked with interest.

"Never mind…" I smiled mysteriously. "What matters is that I understood something thanks to that dream."

I got out of bed, did a few stretches, and ran to Grandma's. When I knocked on the door, my dear Grandma answered. In an apron, with a beautiful, mysterious twinkle in her eyes. I looked at her work-worn hands and started crying.

"What's wrong?" Grandma asked, wiping my tears with her stained apron.

I hugged her tightly and whispered,

"I love you," and after a moment added, "I'm very hungry. Will you make me some cabbage soup?" I smiled.

"Of course!" she said, and immediately ran to the kitchen to make my favorite soup. A few minutes later, it was ready. I sat down at the table and began eating.

"So? Good?

" "Delicious. As always!

" "So... what do you say? Great?

Let everyone have modern grandmothers who surf the internet, snap photos on their digital cameras, text and email. The most important thing for me now is that my grandmother never changes. That she always makes the best cabbage soup in the world, that she always gives me my favorite cookies, that she always cheats at solitaire. Although at first I envied others for having amazing grandmothers who help them format their hard drives, who listen to rock and techno with them, now I understand that no one can replace my beloved grandmother, who, even though she doesn't do any of those things, is still great!