My kind, old great grandma entered the stairway to heaven this evening. A tremendous storm swarmed into my heart as the news reached me. I am Katie Chang, 14 year old. I was born in Taiwan but immigrated to the US. My great grandma was a hard working and easy going person. She had been through an extremely tough time when she was young. That was why she usually kept her thoughts to herself. My heart ached as my last conversation with great grandma rushed forcefully into my head. What she told me the night before she abandoned me was the tale of her life…

Kathleen, my great grandma, was 20 when she married. My great grandfather was a very wealthy man in China. They had tons of maids and servants and lived happily and joyfully for many years. Also, they had 3 children-two girls and a boy. Yet, the cheerful days didn’t last long. My great grandfather was a member of the parliament of the Nationalist Party. The Nationalists were at war with the Chinese Communist Party; they were losing very badly. Finally, in 1949, the Nationalists retrieved to Taiwan. My great grandfather followed the leader of the Nationalist Party, Jiang Zhong-Zhen, to Taiwan. He only brought his son with him, leaving my great grandma and their two daughters behind. It wasn’t such a shock for great grandma since she believed that her family would likely be together again.

Then the government of China passed a law stating that no citizen was allowed to have properties of their own; my great grandma was out of luck. The law stated that wealthy masters and mistresses were to be tortured or even killed by their servants. The servants were allowed to throw eggs, vegetable, and other objects at them. After that, if the masters or mistresses survived, their riches would be taken from the government. When my great grandma found out what would happen to her, she figured that it’s about time to join her husband. Because back in my great grandma’s time, girls weren’t important, so my great grandma decided to leave her 2 precious daughters in China, under the care of her relatives. It was an extremely hard and tough decision. But great grandma knew that it was for her children and her own sake. So with no hesitations, she abandoned her daughters and started to pack her belongings. She brought a few clothing and some personal items. Most important of all, she took bags of precious things: gold, money, diamonds, antiques, crystals, jade, and the likes.


My great grandma quickly got hold of a midnight ticket to Taiwan. She was to leave at 11 and abroad the ship at 12. She would travel across the Taiwan Strait without people noticing that she was gone. As the strike of 11 thundered through her head, she sneaked out the back door and started to race to the peaceful dock. There, a ship awaited, for the desperate women. Without looking back, great grandma got on the ship and left the place that had been her home for the pass 25 years.

Great Grandma drifted into a deep sleep as soon as she found a comfortable place to sit. It had been a long night! Great grandma roused with a start from the tremors of the ship. She heard screams and laughter. Immediately, she took her belongings and ran out onto the deck. There, a dirty ship floated nearby. Men with knives from the weird ship were rushing onto the crowded deck of great grandma’s ship. With a sock, grandma realized who the strangers were-pirates. They were the cruel people who raid helpless ships. All of a sudden, a man’s gigantic shadow covered great grandma. “What do you want?” shrieked grandma. The man only chuckled. He reached for the bags containing the priceless objects and snatched it right out of great grandma’s clumsy hands. She tried to scream for help, but no sound came out. She stood motionless in the middle of the chaos, too surprised to move. The pirates left, with all the passengers’ money, within the hour. As great grandma finally recovered from the sudden shock, the ship reached its destination. Great grandma arrived safely to my great grandpa’s house.

Great grandma became cheerful again after a few weeks, since she was united with her dear husband and son. Within years, great grandma gave birth to 3 more sons, one of them is my grandpa. After her children grew up and became mature, the family is wealthy again. All her sons were doctors and masters. They all had their own business. Two became professors, one became an engineer, and my grandpa was the president of his own company. After all the woes, grandma finally got her welfare…
“Are you OK?” my sister interrupted my thoughts, noticing that I’ve been staring at the same spot for the past 20 minutes.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It was just such a shock after all.” I replied.
“I understand. But death is just another part of our life. Great grandma must be really happy in heaven. Maybe she’s watching over us right now!” my sister added.
“Um, now she would rest in peace under the peaceful ground,” I mumbled to myself,” She should not be disturbed for a hundred years. That was what she deserved,” Tears now stream out of my eyes, burning my cheeks,” Good bye… my dear great grandma.”