The Ghost of Memories.
Great-Nana Elena.
Dad soon went back to recording an album again, and Sophie had now got a full time job, so she couldn’t look after me while Gerard wasn’t there, and she couldn’t continue my home education. Gerard would come back late, so I went to live with Donna for a few months while he finished it. She looked after me well, and helped me learn the things I should’ve been learning and more.
The next thing I knew, my great-nana Elena had died. I was ten by then. I knew she was ill, but I never dreamed it could be cancer or it would kill her. I honestly thought she was suffering from a bad case of what Donna called ‘persistent cold’.
I went to her funeral, dressed in a black dress I still like the general style of today. It had thin, neat little straps over my shoulder, and it was tight at the top, down to my waist. Around my waist, there was a black ribbon, with a bow at the back, covering the bottom of the black zip. The skirt of the dress what slightly poofy, and had a thin line of black lace around the edge. I was wearing see through tights and little black dolly shoes.
My long, then waist length, flaming red hair was plaited and left to hang down my back, but I soon had redone it to hang over my shoulder instead, as I thought it looked better. My straight fringe hung into my eyes slightly. Sophie helped me put on a really faint line of smoky grey eyeliner, and black mascara. She dabbed lip balm on my mouth.
My father was wearing an all-black suit, but he was wearing a red tie. Red had always been her favourite colour. So bright, vibrant and cheery, she would say. His chin length hair had been brushed, but it still looked greasy, though he had washed it the night before. He wasn’t wearing any make up, for we both knew he would cry a lot at the service. He didn’t want to parade around with black tear tracks down his face.
Uncle Mikey was there too, of course. He was wearing the same as Gerard, though somehow, he looked completely different.
During it, I sat sandwiched, in the front row, between Mikey and Gerard, with Donna on the other side of Gerard and Alicia, Mikey’s future wife, next to Mikey.
Seeing her coffin was enough for me to start crying. A single tear I shed at the church, and a single tear I shed as her coffin was lowered into the ground. We all threw a red rose on the wooden box, and then, we were done.
Not a day went by where I didn’t think of my nana Elena.
The next thing I knew, my great-nana Elena had died. I was ten by then. I knew she was ill, but I never dreamed it could be cancer or it would kill her. I honestly thought she was suffering from a bad case of what Donna called ‘persistent cold’.
I went to her funeral, dressed in a black dress I still like the general style of today. It had thin, neat little straps over my shoulder, and it was tight at the top, down to my waist. Around my waist, there was a black ribbon, with a bow at the back, covering the bottom of the black zip. The skirt of the dress what slightly poofy, and had a thin line of black lace around the edge. I was wearing see through tights and little black dolly shoes.
My long, then waist length, flaming red hair was plaited and left to hang down my back, but I soon had redone it to hang over my shoulder instead, as I thought it looked better. My straight fringe hung into my eyes slightly. Sophie helped me put on a really faint line of smoky grey eyeliner, and black mascara. She dabbed lip balm on my mouth.
My father was wearing an all-black suit, but he was wearing a red tie. Red had always been her favourite colour. So bright, vibrant and cheery, she would say. His chin length hair had been brushed, but it still looked greasy, though he had washed it the night before. He wasn’t wearing any make up, for we both knew he would cry a lot at the service. He didn’t want to parade around with black tear tracks down his face.
Uncle Mikey was there too, of course. He was wearing the same as Gerard, though somehow, he looked completely different.
During it, I sat sandwiched, in the front row, between Mikey and Gerard, with Donna on the other side of Gerard and Alicia, Mikey’s future wife, next to Mikey.
Seeing her coffin was enough for me to start crying. A single tear I shed at the church, and a single tear I shed as her coffin was lowered into the ground. We all threw a red rose on the wooden box, and then, we were done.
Not a day went by where I didn’t think of my nana Elena.