Grandfather:

I rest on the leg of my grandfather
As he begins to tell me a story
I look in his vibrant blue eyes
And suddenly
I’m lost

Then
There in the distance
I see something familiar
But yet so different and unrecognizable
Then as I zoom in closer and closer
I realize that I’m standing on a frigid
Rock hard surface
As the booming of something
Gets nearer to me then I want it too
I look out into the vacant field
And soon realize that I’m not alone
There about a few meters away
Is a pile of my friends

As the booming
Of that something,
Throbs in my head
I watch helplessly as my friends fall
One by one,
Like bowling pins

I stare in terror
As I feel my arms and legs
Anticipation to move,
Get out of there
I stagger trying to get up
Then I sprint as fast as my legs can carry me

Then a shiver tingles down my spine
As a clammy palm grabs me by the arm
I struggle trying to break free
Of the hold someone has on me
I take a glimpse of the figure
And realize that it’s just my grandfather

As I scan the field for survivors
I find that something has changed
I’m not standing in an open field
But rather sitting in a closed place
With pictures hanging on the walls
Like monkeys from trees

My grandfather finishes his tale
With tears swelling up in his eyes
Which makes it seem like I’m drowning in them
I ask him what’s wrong
And he replies
The one thing I want to know now
Is if any of my dear friends made it out
I watch as a tear strays from the pack
And I tell him
Grandfather I know you’re suffering
But I’ve benefited from your stories
For they have made me grateful
For what I have
For the memories that I share with my loved ones
And I would like to thank you for that