Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition: Gold Award Winner by Avika,13, Bangalore

Topic : Write a dialogue between yourself and a grandparent about resilience and hope. What can you share with the older generation, and what can you learn from them? 

Title : Echoes of Hope

“I’ll kill them!” Grandma screamed. “I’ll kill them before they take me alive!”
“Grandma, calm down. No one’s taking you anywhere. It’s just that you must attend Granddad’s funeral.” I said soothingly.

The men that had been waiting at the door for twenty minutes while Grandma changed into her funeral clothes had been slowly growing impatient.

“Is she done?” One of them asked rather rudely. “Can’t you see that she’s grieving?” I snapped back.
“Come on, Grandma. Let’s get you changed.” I slowly led her out of the room, and took out her black clothes. She changed slowly. We walked out and into the car that was arranged for us. I had no one but her now, and she had no one but me.

After the funeral, we came straight home. It was too painful for either of us to stay long.  Grandma was in a bad place. She never left the house, and took to drinking. I tried my best to help her, but there was only so much I could do. Her health deteriorated. 

One day I lost it.

“Grandma, I understand what you’re going through. You just lost the love of your life. I understand. But you weren’t the only one who suffered a loss. I lost my grandfather, and I think I’m losing you too. Grandma, please. You have me. And I-I need you.”

She sat in silence with a shocked look on her face. Neither of us talked for the rest of the night.
In the morning when I woke, I was surprised to find a warm breakfast on the table. 

“What’s all this?” I asked.

 “Dear, you were right. I lost track of everything after James died. But I still have you. That means I still have hope. For you and for myself.”

“Thanks, Grandma.” I said, feeling tears close. I gave her a big hug. 

“I really miss him.” She said quietly. Her eyes gazed straight into mine. I felt a powerful rush of emotions. 
“Me too,” I said. “But you know what he always told me when I was sad?”

“What?”

“That in life, you can’t be happy without being sad. Just like we wouldn’t have light without darkness, or day without night. We’d just be existing otherwise. It’s only human to feel this way, Grandma.. But the important thing is to feel the emotions and to let them pass.”

She laughed. “That sounds like something your grandfather would say. I can’t believe this. You’re so grown up. I should be taking care of you. Not the opposite.” She grew serious.

“Grandma, it’s my job to help you out. Weren’t you there for me when I needed someone to help me through mum and dad’s death?” I said. 

“Remember what you said? That when you’re down, the only way left to go-”

“Is up.” She finished. She gave me a watery smile. 

“You’re not alone, Grandma. You never will be, as long as you have me. Promise me, no matter where you are, you wont give up. For me.”

From then on, we sat and talked about everything. The weather, neighbours, schoolwork. She just listened. And it helped. She was like a therapist, and made me feel better in so many ways. She always told me, “Belle, hope is a tricky thing. It’s kind of like the sun. You need to believe in it. Even though you can’t see it at night, you have just got to believe that it’s out there. You were like my sun. After your grandfather’s death, my life was shrouded in mist. You reached out to me with your rays of hope and lifted me up. I don’t know where I would be without you.”

She used to have a poem that she read quite often:

The mountains I climb,

Their shadows fall on me,

Yet even darkness cannot cover me,

My spirit stands tall,

My heart even taller,

My love like a Sequoia tree,

If not stronger.

The snowy mounts try and freeze me,

But my soul is warm,

My fire still burns,

Like a hearth.

Life then leads me,

Into a dark wood,

I will come out untouched,

I will be unscathed,

By the horrors of night,

Even they do not scare me,

For I know, 

That all woods have an end.

WORD COUNT : 721

The young writer Avika Patel is also a published author at Bookosmia. Pick up her book The Power of Six , a must-read, fast-paced thriller, published at Sprouts , enhanced with stunning illustrations by Pooja Saklani, is a tale of courage, sacrifice and true friendship.

Chloe, Trixie, Liz, Skyla, Rena and Bobby look like your average 14-year-olds.

They are anything but.

Known secretly as the ‘The Six’, these six best friends were born at the same time to their parents who are also best friends, giving them unprecedented supernatural powers. They do not reveal their powers to the outside world until they get a mysterious email threatening their loved ones.

Will the girls get to the bottom of the mystery and fight this unknown evil force or will their infighting and petty differences prove to be their bane?

The Power of 6 | Fantasy Children’s Book