I stepped out of line. Grandma was soft-spoken, but firm; I never back-talked her for fear of the painful consequences my dad would inflict on my legs.

I remember one time I had acted up; oh I paid for that one. It had just rained, saturating the earth in the back yard beyond capacity. Mud puddles were everywhere; they were enormous filled with dirty grimy water. These mud puddles were everything a kid could dream of; they were irresistible. My cousins and I jumped, stomped, splashed, and rolled in the mud puddles; we had a great time. My grandma had told us kids not to track mud through the house, but I was having too much fun with my cousins to take he

I felt that genuinely cared about me, the one person that made me feel special, she was gone, forever. I felt abandoned; she left me all alone with no one to understand me, no one to console me. I gazed at the wallpaper, trying not to reflect on my grandmother's death, trying not to think about any of it. The wallpaper had pink and blue flowers as the decor. I didn't like the design; it seemed too bright, too chipper.

r seriously. We were chasing each other, and

I ran into the house with the mud still caked all over my body. My grandma caught a glimpse of me dashing through the living room when she bellowed for my father. Grandma told him that she had warned me to not track mud through the house, but I had done it anyway. My father came, took one look at the carpet, and instructed me to retrieve the switch. I did as ordered, and subsequently was beaten for my insolence. I had red whelps all over my legs; I never tracked mud through the house again.

My dad picked up my sister and I the next morning, and we drove to North Carolina. We arrived at my grandmother's house late that night. Grandma's house was an old green and white house, with white drainpipes coming down the sides. A dirt path lead the way to the front door, we walked in and saw everything just how I had remembered it. The aged brown recliner with a wooden handle was still there where grandma used to let me sit on her lap. The television was still on top of the makeshift T.V. stand where Grandma used to let me watch whatever cartoon I wanted. The kitchen still looked the same with the faded green and white tiles on the deck where I stood and helped her make little red hotdogs and cheese eggs for breakfast. All these things were still there except for one, Grandma. My dad ordered us to bed, as we had a long day approaching.

I wondered if I could ever connect with anyone as I did with my grandmother; that special bond between us, could I ever experience something similar? I still ponder these thoughts periodically, hoping to encounter that special bond I treasur

The next day would indeed prove to be an excruciating long day, with the wake and the burial. My older sister Perdin

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Approximate Word count = 1472
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)