Personal Narrative #1 (Revised) - What the person who left brought us.

What the person who left brought us

10a1 Choi Chang Seon

     On July this year, one of my grandmothers passed away. As she had serious health problems, she was in the convalescent hospital until the day she died. Because such news was so sudden, I was forced to leave school, though I had numerous classes to take that day. One of the relatives who lived near KMLA came to pick me up, and I left with mourn and grief.
     When I arrived, the first thing I noticed was that everyone was dressed up in black. Although I knew that it was a Korean tradition to have respect for the dead, as the news was so unexpected, I didn't have time to change my clothes. It was really embarrassing, and some people might have considered me as rude.
     During the funeral, my cousins, brother, and my task was to serve the food for the people who visited. Though the process was really tiresome and boring, we endured such agony and tried our best for more than ten hours, as it was our beloved grandmother who had passed away.

     The next day, it was time to bury grandmother's body after burning it. When the body began to dive into the flame, my grandmother's sisters cried and mourned in such an intense despair that everybody was touched, and some even cried following them. We stood still looking at the fierce fire, to pay respect for the person whom we are unable to see anymore. 
     After her body turned into ashes, we went to one cemetery to say our  last farewells. We purchase the best, glistening tombstone for her, and wrote our message on it. It was short, but it was enough to                                       (my brother with black suit)
endow our thankful mind to her. It went, "Here lies a woman who spent 
her entire life supporting her children." We bowed to show her respect, and our family returned home, promising to visit her annually.
     At home, I was tired out, so I went to bed without even washing. Sitting on the bed, I slowly closed my eyes. The thing I couldn't believe was that the person who gave us big smiles and hope a week ago has passed away. The thought that I can't see her bright face anymore made my eyes full of tears, and I sincerely wished her luck in afterlife.
     Thinking back, what I recognized was that this was the first time our family and relatives had met over the last three years. There had been a conflict about money, and such event split my family and relatives from joining together on traditional days. We didn't even phone each other to say hello, and the conflict lingered for 3 years. As my family and relatives were both in real grief as my grandmother passed away, we both looked at our past 3 years in introspect, regretting how stupid we acted against each other. I was actually exciting at the end of the funeral when my parents decided to meet our relatives on traditional days such as Thanksgiving every year.
     The thing was that we even started meeting each other on normal weekdays. We had as much fun as ever, as my relatives and I hadn't met for years. 
     One day, when  my relatives arrived again at my house, I suddenly wondered, 'who is responsible for all this ecstasy? Why are we happy all of a sudden?' The next moment, I got the answer for my question: my grandmother. All of a sudden, again, I prayed for her, closing my eyes in the bathroom. After, I went out to enjoy the happiness and harmony my grandmother had left us. 
     I know that our memory of her image and face will slowly fade away. However, I'm pretty sure that our hearts won't forget her gift, until the day we lie beside her and meet her again.