Mother's memory.

Sandra had been quiet and unusually reserved for some days. The thoughts of her mother came over her as though she was missing her.

She was sitting in her room, holding a picture of her mother that she adored. Her grandmother gave her the picture a few years earlier.

Sandra's mother, Catherine died when she was two years old under a circumstance that brought accusations and counter-accusations between Joe, Sandra's father and his in-laws. He was accused of negligence in taking proper care of his wife before her unfortunate demise while he vehemently disagreed with such narratives. The burial of Catherine, just like her death, was controversial and her family didn't care to take any of her personal belongings from her husband. Not many pictures of Catherine were available with her mother due to this reason.

Sandra is twelve and she has been with her grandmother for the past 10 years.

Grandma, as she was fondly called, walked into Sandra's room to bid her goodnight as she always does but met her holding the picture with her head bowed. This is a state that grandma detest seeing Sandra in. She held the curtain for a few minutes watching Sandra who sank herself into a pillow leaned against the wall while she viewed the picture with her head down.

"Am I not doing enough for this girl? Why this sudden attachment to her mother whom she never knew?" These questions ran through grandma's mind immediately she realized that what Sandra was holding was her mother's picture.

"Cati, Cati," grandma called her attention. She calls her granddaughter with the short form of Catherine's name. This might be due to the striking semblance between the duo or trying to keep the memory of her daughter alive through the name. "I have been here for the past few minutes. Why are you lost deeply in thoughts to the extent that you didn't know I opened the door?"
Grandma asked with her sight in the picture.

"Welcome grandma. I am imagining how my life would have been if my mother was alive. I miss her."

"It's normal to have that imagination especially when you see your peers with their parents, most probably younger than I am, taking them out to do what I can't take you out to do. It was my wish to see your mother outlive me but there was nothing I could do when death came knocking at her door."

Catherine was a lovely grandmother who did all that was within her power to make Sandra happy. The lacuna being felt by Sandra was the lack of someone to take her out to parks, tourist centers, holidays abroad and the likes. Her friends tell her a lot about such fun seeking visits and travel. Grandma was a septuagenarian and there were limits to what she could do in this regard.

Sandra always tries to hide her emotions from grandma in order not to make the old woman feel that she is not doing enough. She changed her mood immediately and forced a smile.

"My daughter," grandma drew her close with a hug, "don't be too sad about the absence of your mother. I will continue to improve on what I do for you to make you happy."

"Grandma, you have been playing the role of my father and mother since I was 2. You do this all alone. There is no better way of showing love to one's grandchild." Sandra tried to talk grandma into desisting from seeing herself as not doing enough.

"That reminds me, are you getting prepared for the upcoming Halloween?" Grandma asked in order to divert attention from talking about Catherine.

"You promised me to search for my mum's picture where she wore the costume that you once told me about the story. I want to see the picture and possibly appear in such a costume next week."

In one of the numerous stories about the childhood of Catherine told by grandma to Sandra, she had narrated how a unique costume that she designed for Catherine made her collect many gifts in admiration of her peers.

"I can't tell you about the particular place where I kept the picture but I can see that you are eager to see it, let me look for it."

Grandma brought down some bags from the shelf and spent about 30 minutes searching for the pictures. A bundle of old pictures was brought out by grandma.

The particular picture that they were searching for imitates supernatural and scary beings. If you call the character a witch, you are right. In another closer look, you may take the character as a vampire.

"Can you do this for me?" Sandra raised her head with a grin.

"I will try if we can still lay our hands on the materials for the design." Grandma, a seamstress of more than forty years, responded with the picture in her hand.

Sandra was happy. This was her first opportunity to have anything that connects her mother with her in any way.

Grandma got the materials as promised and the Halloween costume was replicated. Two days later, Sandra put on the costume and joined her peers for a "trick or treat" visitation to neighbors.

They got treats like candies, sweets and chocolates. Many people put pumpkin lanterns outside their houses to welcome trick-or-treaters.
At the end of the visitations, no one among the peers of Sandra got half of the gifts that she got. Her costume was admired like never before in her four years of participating in Halloween.

She was very happy that the experience that made her identify with her mother brought smiles and fulfillment to her amidst her peers.