Bicycle

• Molly Tyler, Grade 6, Bridgetown Primary School
• Short Story
• 2013

Finalist in the 'Dream Big 2013' competition

She looked at her grandfather lying in the bed. She knew that this was her grandfather because everyone told her so. But the man before her with the tubes running into his nose and the translucent skin was not the man she knew. Her grandfather was powerful, overweight, vibrantly healthy and possessed of a spirit that would cause him to get up from his chair and dance across the room even if he was alone.
The man before her could barely breathe. His body was nearly lost in the sheets of the hospital bed and he didn't move. He sucked in air through a tube in his throat and the machines pushed the oxygen into him in a rhythmic tempo that was almost irritating. The machines around him hummed and made faint noises that filled the room with an ambient presence. The one closest to him beeped in rhythm to his heart, causing her to want to feel his pulse and make sure it was really his.
She approached the figure in the bed and reached out to his wrinkled hands. The hands which once held her firmly as she learned to ride a bike now barely moved as she slipped her fingers across their papery surface. His body was warm with life, but there would be no dancing this day.
She leaned over him, forcing herself into his field of vision. His eyes fluttered open and she looked into the watery depths. She thought she saw a corner of his mouth turn up just a bit and she knew without a doubt that inside he was laughing at her being there. It was so hard to see him locked in this white haired, old body with the soul of a young man seeking adventure in all things.
A tear fell from her cheek and struck his chin. Another tear slipped out of his eye and trailed down to the pillow. He looked at her with an intensity that finally told her that yes, this was the man she knew as her grandfather and she wrapped herself around his arm, tears flowing freely.
She thought she heard the chuffing of a chuckle from his breathing tube.
And the beeping of the machine stopped.