Every day, Grandpa was full of energy and spirit. Whenever he had a few moments to himself, he preferred to sing a few lines of traditional folk opera:
Tongtong laughed. "But Grandpa, you’re eighty-three!"
Grandpa chuckled. He stood and posed as if he were an ancient general holding a sword as he sat on his warhorse. His face glowed red with joy.
In another few days, Grandpa would be eighty-four.
Tongtong played by herself at home.
There were dishes of cooked food in the fridge. In the evening, Tongtong took them out, heated them up, and ate by herself. The evening air was heavy and humid, and the cicadas cried without cease.
The weather report said there would be thunderstorms.
A blue light flashed three times in a corner of the room. A figure moved out of the corner noiselessly: Ah Fu.
"Mom and Dad took Grandpa to the hospital. They haven’t returned yet."
Ah Fu nodded.
"Your mother sent me to remind you: don’t forget to close the windows before it rains."
Together, the robot and the girl closed all the windows in the house. When the thunderstorm arrived, the raindrops struck against the windowpanes like drumbeats. The dark clouds were torn into pieces by the white and purple flashes of lightning, and then a bone-rattling thunder rolled overhead, making Tongtong’s ears ring.
"You’re not afraid of thunder?" asked Ah Fu.
"No. You?"
"I was afraid when I was little, but not now."
An important question came to Tongtong’s mind: "Ah Fu, do you think everyone has to grow up?"
"I think so."
"And then what?"
"And then you grow old."
"And then?"
Ah Fu didn’t respond.
They turned on the video wall to watch cartoons. It was Tongtong’s favorite show: "Rainbow Bear Village." No matter how heavy it rained outside, the little bears of the village always lived together happily. Maybe everything else in the world was fake; maybe only the world of the little bears was real.
Gradually, Tongtong’s eyelids grew heavy. The sound of rain had a hypnotic effect. She leaned against Ah Fu. Ah Fu picked her up in its arms, carried her into the bedroom, set her down gently in bed, covered her with a blanket, and pulled the curtains shut. Its hands were just like real hands, warm and soft.
Tongtong murmured, "Why isn’t Grandpa back yet?"
"Sleep. When you wake up, Grandpa will be back."
Grandpa did not come back.
Mom and Dad returned. Both looked sad and tired.
But they got even busier. Every day, they had to leave the house and go somewhere. Tongtong stayed home by herself. She played games sometimes, and watched cartoons at other times. Ah Fu sometimes came over to cook for her.
A few days later, Mom called for Tongtong. "I have to talk to you."
Grandpa had a tumor in his head. The last time he fell was because the tumor pressed against a nerve. The doctor suggested surgery immediately.
Given Grandpa’s age, surgery was very dangerous. But not operating would be even more dangerous. Mom and Dad and Grandpa had gone to several hospitals and gotten several other opinions, and after talking with each other over several nights, they decided that they had to operate.
The operation took a full day. The tumor was the size of an egg.
Grandpa remained in a coma after the operation.
Mom hugged Tongtong and sobbed. Her body trembled like a fish.
Tongtong hugged Mom back tightly. She looked and saw the white hairs mixed in with the black on her head. Everything seemed so unreal.
Tongtong went to the hospital with Mom.
It was so hot, and the sun so bright. Tongtong and Mom shared a parasol. In Mom’s other hand was a thermos of bright red fruit juice taken from the fridge.
There were few pedestrians on the road. The cicadas continued their endless singing. The summer was almost over.
Inside the hospital, the air conditioning was turned up high. They waited in the hallway for a bit before a nurse came to tell them that Grandpa was awake. Mom told Tongtong to go in first.
Grandpa looked like a stranger. His hair had been shaved off, and his face was swollen. One eye was covered by a gauze bandage, and the other eye was closed. Tongtong held Grandpa’s hand, and she was scared. She remembered Grandma. Like before, there were tubes and beeping machines all around.
The nurse said Grandpa’s name. "Your granddaughter is here to see you."
Grandpa opened his eye and gazed at Tongtong. Tongtong moved, and the eye moved to follow her. But he couldn’t speak or move.
The nurse whispered, "You can talk to your grandfather. He can hear you."
Tongtong didn’t know what to say. She squeezed Grandpa’s hand, and she could feel Grandpa squeezing back.
Grandpa! She called out in her mind. Can you recognize me?
His eyes followed Tongtong.
She finally found her voice. "Grandpa!"
Tears fell on the white sheets. The nurse tried to comfort her. "Don’t cry! Your grandfather would feel so sad to see you cry."
Tongtong was taken out of the room, and she cried—tears streaming down her face like a little kid, but she didn’t care who saw—in the hallway for a long time.
Ah Fu was leaving. Dad packed it up to mail it back to Guokr Technologies.
Uncle Wang explained that he had wanted to come in person to say goodbye to Tongtong and her family. But the city he lived in was very far away. At least it was easy to communicate over long distances now, and they could chat by video or phone in the future.
Tongtong was in her room, drawing. Ah Fu came over noiselessly. Tongtong had drawn many little bears on the paper, and colored them all different shades with crayons. Ah Fu looked at the pictures. One of the biggest bears was colored all the shades of the rainbow, and he wore a black eye patch so that only one eye showed.
"Who is this?" Ah Fu asked.
Tongtong didn’t answer. She went on coloring, her heart set on giving every color in the world to the bear.
Ah Fu hugged Tongtong from behind. Its body trembled. Tongtong knew that Ah Fu was crying.
Uncle Wang sent a video message to Tongtong.
Tongtong, did you receive the package I sent you?
Inside the package was a fuzzy teddy bear. It was colored like the rainbow, with a black eye patch, leaving only one eye. It was just like the one Tongtong drew.
The bear is equipped with a telepresence kit and connected to the instruments at the hospitaclass="underline" his heartbeat, breath, pulse, body temperature. If the bear’s eye is closed, that means your grandfather is asleep. If your grandfather is awake, the bear will open its eye.
Everything the bear sees and hears is projected onto the ceiling of the room at the hospital. You can talk to it, tell it stories, sing to it, and your grandfather will see and hear.
He can definitely hear and see. Even though he can’t move his body, he’s awake inside. So you must talk to the bear, play with it, and let it hear your laughter. Then your grandfather won’t be alone.