Shaved Ice by 本間 麻子 (優勝、エッセイ賞候補作)
(優勝、エッセイ賞候補作)
誰もが思い出にある祖父母と過ごした思い出を
きれいに表現していただきました。
優勝、エッセイ賞ノミネートおめでとうございます！【ランキング投票】
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Shaved Ice
“Go get some ice.”
Grandma’s wrinkled hand passed me two silver coins. There is no shopping tax. 200 yen is enough for two cups of shaved ice. As I left the room, her voice followed that she preferred syrup on top. She always liked syrup; and I, strawberry. It was hot and humid outside. Cicadas were singing with all their might. I started running to the store; it shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes to get there.
Grandma was born in Ushigome in Tokyo, which is now called Shinjuku. It was the year the Meiji Emperor died. After surviving in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, her happy marriage ended in 1945, when a letter arrived to inform that her beloved husband bravely died for the country. He never came home to her, not a single piece of his body. She was told that he died somewhere in Burma, but it could have been a mere story to convince Grandma that he was not coming back to her anymore. Everyone had to go on with life.
The lady at the shop liked to joke with me. She always called me Yoruko – Night Child. Then she would tease me why a Morning Child – that is I, Asako – would show up at the store in the evening. It seemed unfair that she didn’t tease my two sisters. Probably she couldn’t come up with good jokes about their names.
Grandma always left the door unlocked. She liked to stay in the living room, near the balcony, so she could see her friends when they passed by. Grandma was old, but she ate a lot. As a little child, I often admired how generous Grandma was; always buying me shaved ice when my parents wouldn’t. It was much later when I finally understood, that it was probably Grandma who wanted the shaved ice more than I did. She was like a child in a way. Syrup for Grandma, strawberry for me. Her small hand scooped shaved ice from the cup, and I saw the wooden spoon absorb the water and get darker. Grandma liked it when I ate too much shaved ice that I got a brain-freeze. She was a cool woman, and she loved anything funny.
As she became older, her wrinkled hands shrank, and she couldn’t eat shaved ice anymore. Instead, she took dozens of different pills every day. A yellow pill, a green capsule, white powder – they looked all beautiful in my eyes– “I am jealous Grandma can take such pretty pills every day, they are like gem stones”. Grandma laughed. I was 8 years old when she passed away. I didn’t cry. I was upset that my uncle had weeded my plumed cockscomb flowers during the preparation for her funeral. Father told me that I could plant them again in the future. But you need to know that Grandma isn’t coming back. She had been fighting for a long time, but she is gone now.
That small shop near Grandma’s closed down a few years ago. The lady owner became too old to manage the store. Nobody calls me Night Child anymore. I sort of miss her poor jokes. 200 yen is not enough to buy them, now that the shopping tax was introduced, but I can cover that with my own money now. When I close my eyes, I could still see Grandma’s small hands, those extremely wrinkled hands, taking out two silver coins for me. And I tell her. Yes, Grandma! Syrup for you, and strawberry for me!
アイ・オズモシス
夏の英語エッセイ・評論コンテスト 2009
エッセイ賞 受賞作品
自分の祖母との思い出を思い出しました。私の場合はかき氷じゃなくて、おばあちゃんには缶コーヒー、わたしにはミルクセーキでした。短編小説のような、素晴らしい完成度の作品だと思います。
This is a very interesting and descriptive piece…very well written…
Very vivid description in the essay, i could actually visualize the strawberry syrup on the shaved ice, grandmas’s wrinkled hands, the colored pills…i loved reading it
Very well written essay and very touching too!
You definitely know how to tell a story. The essay was a delight to reaad.
It’s a sad story but somewhat I feel a little happy and warm after reading it.
Nicely put narrative. Keep up the good work.
Asako-san,
This is great narrative-you’ve put a lot of thought in arrangng the story and the flow of events and emotions is seamless.
And, the story remined me of my gandma, when she used to count out pieces of candy to give to me after dinner
Very nice essay and really touching. It reminded me of my grandma who is no more with me.
Such a touching story!! It leaves you with a warm feeling.
“I am jealous Grandma can take such pretty pills every day, they are like gem stones” — Only children can say something so innocent.
Very touching!! Nicely written
hello, I am also a contestant in this contest. It is marvelous how you were able to write from a child’s point of view. Most people forget what they felt when they were small, and it is absolutely fabulous how you could recall and describe what most of us have forgotten so long ago. Thankyou for sharing this.
Excellent story! I found the narrative extremely gripping and very creative!!
Very well written and touching story. Made me remember my own grandmother who passed away earlier this year. Grandparents love spoiling grandkids and in the process relive some of their own childhood too!
Keep writing.
This is a lovely and touching story. I read it twice simply to recall the memories I have of my own grandmother. She would go out for a stroll in the evening and return home with some snack. When I would return from work, she would very kindly share some of it with me.
I like this line: When I close my eyes, I could still see Grandma’s small hands, those extremely wrinkled hands, taking out two silver coins for me. It conveys the emotion very clearly, and at the same time, shows that she is forever etched in your memory. I also like the way you have started and ended it by alluding to the same shop. This gives it an almost movie-like feel
.
Thanks for reminding us all of the innocence lost! Beautifully written
Thank you everyone for commenting on my essay.
thank you again.
I had a lot of fun writing this story, and I am glad to have shared my precious memory of Grandma with you all.
I read (and re-read) every one of the comments and I really appreciate it!
Thanks to i-osmosis, I have decided to keep on writing more English essays.. and I hope that some of you will be interested in my future essays