This is my second composition for English class.
Magical Realism—My Grandmother the Seer
As a true Seer, my formidable grandmother was famous in town. She, along with her Eye, had the power to search far and wide past the thick veils of Present, and into the distant Future. Her fortune telling was flawless: be it Tarot Card Reading, or Palm Reading, etc. However, grandmother’s specialty lies in the mysterious art of Crystal Ball Gazing. For someone who did not possess the powers to See, the Crystal Ball was nothing but an ordinary marble swelled into the size of a mini-basketball so famous among young children nowadays. Bright and colorful swirls twisted and turned inside the globe, illuminating the dark depths of her canopy. Many times, I stared longingly into the crystal globe, attempting to look past the incomprehensible yet breath-taking beautiful swirls, trying to find a shadow, or a flicker of an image that would reveal the unknown Future to me. Of course, no solution came from those long hours of gazing, or more like staring into the Crystal Ball until my eyes watered with pain.
Grandmother’s reputation grew; and with it her name, Rolena Graywitch. She became Rolena the Seer, Rolena the Wise, and even Graywitch—the Medium through Present and Future. People from all over the world flocked to our little town in the middle of Pennsylvania, just to have their palms read, or to draw a few tarots cards from a pile. Our town soon became a tourist’s attraction, and the once empty streets soon filled up with out-of-towners. Economy boomed. The Mayor was so happy he even awarded grandmother a Crystal Ball shaped trophy for the “Most Contribution to The Town’s Economy” award.
Occasionally, I, out of boredom, would stand in front of the entrance to grandmother’s workplace, which was increasing in space rapidly as days passed, and watch the people’s different expressions as they exited the dark canopy, their future having been foretold. Some wore gleeful expressions on their faces as they strode out, grinning widely, while some not so fortunate people trudged out, looking as if it was the End of the World.
Despite all, it was rare to see grandmother Crystal Ball Gazing for the out-of-town customers. If said customers should demand it, she would charge them exceedingly high. A local town’s person only needed to pay grandmother twenty dollars, but an out-of-towner was required to pay two hundred dollars minimum for a Crystal Ball Gazing session. Out of curiosity, I asked her why she only Gazed for the local townspeople.
I remembered her, that day, dressed in her Seer’s entire splendor, gazing at me calmly, and said, “Just like everything else in the universe, new things are born and the old expires. I am aging, and with me, my Eye. There is only so much Crystal Ball Gazing my Eye can handle until it expires. When that happens, no longer will I be able to See. So now, I only Gaze for those I hold dearest, and to those I am close to.”
“Then why don’t you Gaze and see exactly when the Eye will expire? This way, you’ll have a control over things,” I inquired.
“No.” she replied, shaking her head. “What will come will come. I do not have the power to alter that. It is only a matter of time until my Eye expires, so why waste a chance to Gaze for something more useful? I treat every one of my Gazing as though it is my last.”
“But—” I started, but was cut off by a customer entering the canopy.
“All in due time. Remember what I said, dear,” grandmother emphasized, and to my surprise her Eye looked at me and winked. It was a very subtle wink, like a flicker of a shadow, a mirage in the desert. For a flash, it was there, but it was gone before I could clearly register it.
I was lost in thought, or rather, a jumble of thoughts as I tread outside the canopy. Why did she want me to remember what she said? Was it something she Saw? *And did her Eye just wink at me?
“All in due time,” grandmother’s words echoed again through my mind.
I sighed once, frustratingly, and trudged back home. Little did I know, the Eye was staring at me the whole time I stood thinking by the entrance.
The next few days rushed passed with a fury of homework deadlines and exam preparations. I did not give my encounter with grandmother another thought. It was on the Saturday before the week examinations start, that I considered relaxing for one day and visit grandmother. Walking lightly, I arrived at her canopy…or where the canopy had always stood, until now.
Gone was the black tent that had held all of grandmother’s little table, her Crystal Ball, her Tarot Cards, and all her other Seer’s instruments. Gone were the black curtains covering the entrance that fluttered like bat’s wings in the wind and more importantly, gone was my grandmother, Rolena the Wise.
I ran back home, my heart pounding loudly in my ribcages. I burst through the front door panting heavily. Lo and behold, sitting in the lounge talking jovially with mother was—
“Grandma!” I exclaimed, surprised and bewildered at the same time.
“Ah, my dear, you are just in time,” mother said lightly. “Your grandmother was just telling me how she feels she needs to retire from her Prophesying job in the park. No offense Rolena, but I was never the one to believe in those future-telling crap.”
“None taken, dear,” grandmother replied with a smile.
“Well, why don’t you two talk while I go prepare dinner? It’s roast beef and mashed potatoes tonight,” mother sang and skipped out of the room.
Solemnly, I turned to face her. Grandmother did the same, fixing both of her eyes on me, looking at me intently. I frowned even more.
“Why the long face, dear?” she inquired.
“Grandma, your Eye…it’s expired, hasn’t it?” I asked even though I knew the answer already.
“Ah, and so it has,” she replied pleasantly.
“But how can you be so calm about this?” I asked. “Your Eye has been a part of you and your magical powers for years!”
“And why mustn’t I remain calm?” she said back, still in an unnervingly calm way. “ Loss is inevitable. I admit that I will miss my powers greatly. However, there is nothing to regret, for I used my Eye’s powers to the fullest, and people shall always remember it. And to that, I am content.”
“Whose—” I was about to ask but grandmother cut in.
“And I’m afraid you must do the same, my dear,” she said, this time solemnly.
I stared at her, feeling confused.
“Last night, I Gazed into my Crystal Ball,” grandmother put on a low misty voice she used with her customers, ‘to increase the effect’ she once told me, “and I Saw that you, my dear, in the not so far future will experience a great loss. You will feel extremely sad, but because of a preaching from a highly formidable old lady, you will get over the loss quickly.”
“And pray tell what the loss is going to be?” I asked, smirking slightly.
“All in due time, dear. Remember what I said,” was all she replied with another wink. This time, it was not so subtle.
It wasn’t until eight months later that I finally found out what my great loss was…at grandmother’s funeral. As I watched the coffin being carried past, all of grandmother’s words of wisdom floated through my head, as if a tape recorder was playing in my head.
“All in due time.” I muttered, and sighed.
“What was that?” mother, who stood beside me, asked.
“Nothing,” was all I replied, pleasantly.
~~The End~~
* Footnote: The Eye is a medium through Present and Future, so usually when not being used, it is ‘suspended’ between Present and Future. In other words, it is not looking anywhere specific. And so, the Eye always has a faraway look to it. Usually it should not look straight at you, and much less, even capable of winking.
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