Bu s

Grandma hasn't took a bus for a long time. She almost forgot to bring exact change.

When she got on the bus, she held the grip with the rigt hand, then with the left search for the coins in her shirt pocket.

The driver drove on before she paid. Her body unvalanced a little and she gasped.

"Oh my heav en!"
Then the driver, chewing gum, told her,
"Got breakfuak?

"What??"

Grandma felt like she was getting much older these days.
Actually, she was. She made 50 New Years feast and went to 22 Sagred Mountains .
There wasn't any place for her on the front part of the bus, but plenty space in the back.

She expected someone would get up and let her the front seat, like, for example, the pretty girl who wore elegent whole peice. She looked at grandma, then quickly look out.

On the second row there was a gentleman, who wore nice suit on Sundy, probably to some ceremony. Next to him was a teenage who moved his head like a toy sticked to a spring, his eyes were half-closed, no one smoke in the bus but grandma could smell cigarrette.

Then when she looked around, there were more teenagers and middle-aged person getting looked like him. The difference was some inclinded their head and leaned onto the windos.

The last one she saw on the front part was a guy who looked at her chest. It was strange. When grandma made one more steps, she saw his eyesight focused in the front.

Grandma was disappointed.

The n when she got to the back part of the bus, the bus driver stopped abruptly, grandma didn't have time to hold the seats, she almost fell, but a pair of hands held her.

That man had big dark eyes, straight nose.

"Are you okay?"

" Yes.... yes". Grandma sat behind this young man.

Few stops passed.

A young girl wore white shirt with some werid patterns, with many cuts and could see that she wore black bra. The pants were a bit too long, or she suddenly got thin, grandma saw that she was wearing shorts inside, and the pants hanged on the hips or the shorts.

When she sat down, grandma saw more of "shorts" then the pants. As she chose a seat one row before her, diagonal side.

Grandma couldn't help but said "Eeee", waved at her, then made the gesture of pulling up the trousers and fasten them.

That girl found it strange, that an old lady took interest in her attire. She smiled when looked at her bewildered face, then closed her eyes and got the mobile.

It was Sunday, 7.30am. Grandma had almost never took the bus that hour.

phone call

Joey watched how Fa ith waited at the bus stop, hands on her cheeks.

He shaked hands, but Fiath didn't see him. Then the bus came.

Joey closed the window, then went to the living room for some muffins.

Grandma got him some milk, and sat down and ate together.

Grandma didn't feel like talking, but not Joey.

"Why Faith cried? Why she left?"
"She said nothing." Grandma stopped drinking milk.
" Will she come back?"
"We'll see."

Grandma knew that she talked to him last night. But she couldn't hear well from her room.

"Well, I need to make a phone call."

Grandma dialed her daugher's number. No one picked up the phone. It was probably too early, as JOey's mother worked as waitress and her husband in a convenient store.

Fa ith left

Faith woke up at night when her stomach was roaring.

She found a cooked chick en leg and ate it, cold.

She felt tired.

At the same time she believed he would like to know how she felt. It was a stupid argument anyway.

She dialed his number.

"..."
"Hhhhelllo?" the phone ring woke him up. His voice was harsh.
"..."She waited for him to speak first.
" Faith?"
" Why are you calling me this time of night? After accusing me for nothing?"
" Of what? It was you who said that I..." she sobbed.
" What do you want?"
" I...I love you."
"... you know what? It's not a good moment to talk now. I need to rest. Will call u again."

She went back to sleep. Her heart beating.
It was not the "good vibe", there was something uneasying her.
Like losing breath.

Dawn.
She packed up and said good-bye to grandma, Joey was still sleeping.
Grandma didn't want her to leave, she stood in front of the house, said,
" Where are you going? What's happening?"

Faith looked into grandma's eyes, insisted to go reaching out her hand to the doorknob.

Grandma was startled. This visit was not near as she expected!

Faith closed the door.

meal together

Grandma stared at the restroom's door, as she heard Faith was drowning in her tears.

She decided to have a long talk with her daugher and son-in-law.

"Why not play ball outside when I prepare the meal?"

At the same time she knocked the bathroom's door

"Faith, are you okay?"

"Faith?"

"shhhh" sound of water flowing.

" What are you doing, Faith?"

She opened the door, the eyes were swallen, her head down.
Still weeping, she went to her room.

Grandma went on to cook and finished preparing the meal.

Potatoe with minced meat. One big dish.

"Lunch is ready!!" Grandma was proud of the dish, it smelled good!

Joey ran into kitchen, and began eating.
" It's good!"
"where are the vegetables?"

"FaaiittthhhH! Time to lunc h!!"

After a while, no answer.

Grandma was a bit hungry and angry, went into Faith's room.

She was lying on the bed, weeping. Tears mark on the bedsheet. Beneath her body were cloths she had just taken out from the travel bag.

"Don't wrinke the cloth, Faith."

Faith felt wea k.

"Get up and eat something first!"

"What happened?"

"Let me alone for a while, please."

which story to tell

" What was the "Mean Aunt Daisy" about?
Grandma looked at Faith, 'I can't believe you have this hearing, you are just like your mom."

Joey felt that there were more famale presence in the kitchen , said "Little Alex's Adventure" sound good to me."

Faith arched her eyebrow, "who is Little Alex?"

"Let grandma tell us." Joey pouted.

" Little Alex is in a story...."

"Ahhh," interrupted Faith.

"Enought about things we don't know, the least we need are more stories. "What about mean aunt Daisy?"

Grandma looked at them, Joey was making face with his tongue out, while Faith turned her back to Joey and rolled her eyes. Granny rubbed her fronthead.

She signed, and thought "These kids need to do something."

"Now, you two." She got up"

" Help me to take out the big pot, fill it with water"

" Noooo" cried the kids.

"NO whining, pleasSe"

"you take out the pot" said Faith to Joey.

"Faith, I think the pot is pretty heavy, you two can take it out together."

"diiinggtindudududuudu" Faith's got a call.

" Excuse me granny, got a call from Andy." She winked and walked out.

" Who is this Andy?" asked granny.

" I don't know, but she gets calls and sms all the time."
"Ask ms??"
"Always from Andy?" asked grandma again.

"I don't know."

"Have you seen him?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure, once I saw her hands in hands with a guy, wearing strange cloths"

"Guys with strange cloths are no-good, I've heard."

"Many nights she talked with him...."

Grandma gulped...

Through the door they heard Faith shouted "I don't want to talk to you anymore!!"

She opened the kitchen door rushly, grandma and Joey saw her face. She was crying.

She didn't want anyone to see her cry, but she needed to go to bathroom. One hand with the mobile, other one covered the nose and mouth. Her eyes were full of tears.

And red.

The kitchen was the only path to WC.

Then with a "ban g", she shuted the bathroom's door.

"hmm," Joey turned his head to grandma.

"I forgot to tell you" with a little guilt on his face.
"She cries a lot too."

visit grann y

Little Joey went to visit his family.
It was boring in summer -homework, video games, TV. Joey almost missed school.
As there was nothing much to do at home, and his Daddy and Mom were working, Joey went to granny's house with his cousin Faith, who was much taller and older.

Faith was busy SMS with her "friend"all the time, she giggled everytime she typed something on the mobile.

"Darn, what's wrong with her?"it seemed to Joey that girls of Faith's age was ALL like her, laughed without any reason.

"it's so BORIng here." Joey looked for his granny in the living room, in her room, then he went to kitchen. There she was, peeling potatoes.

"Granma, what are you doing?"

"I'm peeling potatoes for lun ch." Granma lived alone since granpa passed away.
"Are you telling me a story?"

"There are not much to tell, dear." Frowned Granma, who was disappointed - she thought she was going to prepare a bigger lunch, for Joey's pa and mom - her daugher and son-in-law.

"I've seen in films and TV that grandmothers are kind, and they tell stories."

"I thought you probably watch too much TV", smiled finally granma. "I'm happy to see you, Joey."

"Do your mom and dad have much time to see each other?"

" Welllll," Joey was in such deep thought... "I dunno."

"I don't see them much myself."

Granny was confused hearing his answer, and the potatoe dropped.

"Let me think, your granpa used to tell ancestral stories to your mom. I'm not much a story-teller, but I can tell you about the town and the old stories. "
"What do you prefer "Mean aunt DAisy " or "Adventure of Little Alex?"

"WoW!! These sound good!"

At this moment, someonw opened the kitchen's door. It was Faith, still mobile in her hand.

"What are you talking here?"

gift

a watch,
a collar,
a pair of earring,
album,
music box,
cup,
dress,
sweaters
....

Amanda has many gifts, among them she likes the hand-made gifts best-
Like the knitted sweater made by Mamen.

Amanda, when she made gifts to others, she made it herself.
Once she made a handbag to Peter.

" What is this?" asked Peter
" A hand bag!"
" What is this piece here for?" he pointed at the bag and made a funny face.

Amanda felt humillated.

The sweater made by Mamen was of very plain colour, unevenly knitted. But just look at it Amanda could feel the warmth of the knit-wear. It was something practical, and hand-made!!

It was T's birthday.
Amanda brought T a lenguage manual.
Her eyes sparkling, her heart was racing,

"He must love this gift!", she thought. Then slipped the gift to his hands after giving him a kiss on his cheek.
T felt the weight of the gift with one hand, he knew it was a book, not a novel...
"Make a guess!" Amanda held his elbow with excitement.
Tee's eyes were dim.
"Is it drawing book?"
"Unwrap it !"

So T did, and he stared at the manual, couldn't say anything for a moment.

Proud of the gift poor Amanda, she couldn't interpret anything else but delightment in that long silence.

Then T's Mom came in and asked "What did you got for birthday?"
" Look at it yourself", then she frowned.

T's brother came in for a drink, saw the gift paper, then asked,
"What you got for your birthday?"

Amanda pointed at the book on the table, smiling.
"Lenguage Manual?" T's brother couldn't hold the laugther
" John!! you know what T's got? A lenguage manual!! "

Then it was the first time, well, not really her first time, Amanda realized that those gifts she prepared were not welcomed.

She clenched, and dropped her head. The most desired gift for her was a lenguage manual, giving out the most wanted thing had turned into a joke.

Amanda didn't want to prepare gift anymore.