FAMILY

The Eulogy for My Grandma Should Have Been About My Mum

Eulogies comfort the family, and gravestones are built to give the living a place to heal

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TW: Death, Grief

Six months after my aunt died of lung cancer, the landline rang, and my uncle was on.

His voice sounded raspy as he said he had just opened a bottle of wine and was sitting alone on the sofa. My insides reflected the sharp pain. Half a year without a beloved one was never enough to heal the gaping wound after a whole life together.

It would take years to reach that dull, throbbing scar that remains, which, no matter how much you massaged it, would never flatten.

My parents were at the sports club, as they were every Friday night. So, I sat cross-legged in my parents’ bed in their dark room and just listened while stroking my purring cat's soft fur. I hoped it helped to alleviate our loneliness for a moment.

“Oh well, Granny…that was so typical of her. She always liked to do things alone.”

Everything inside me tensed up. Even my eardrums seemed to contract at his words; I only heard his following words muffled.