She was born as Ana to the lovely couple Mr. & Mrs. Stewart. The old man sat at the hospital for the entire day praying for his daughter. When he received the news, his eyes filled with tears, he was the happiest, even happier than the father. He was happy to have a granddaughter for which he had been longing. Little did Ana know that she would be welcomed to the family with such grace and love. The girl eventually started living just like all of us do.

Ana was just 2 years old. She was a jolly child, with a lot of potential and promise. Ana and her brother Rick used to play all throughout the day. Rick was her aunt’s son. Rick was the elder one and so he was privileged in many regards more than Ana. Even their grandmother liked Rick more and was generously partial towards him more. Thus, came the day when the old lady refused to take care of Ana anymore. She could not handle both kids and so was willing to take care of Rick alone. Ana’s mother had to quit her job because she had nobody who could take care of her daughter. Ana on the other side unfamiliar to all this, was busy knowing the world, she stared at the sky for long hours wondering what were beyond those clouds, how were they there and why couldn’t she reach there. She was a wondrous imp on the outside but a sensitive and beautiful soul inside. All was going well for her, until the day she realized that her mother had to sacrifice her own dreams in order for her to have a good life. At a very tender age Ana understood the feelings of abandonment and sorrow.

Years passed by, Ana was growing now, she was now 5 years of age and very wise for her age, though the sheath which covered her wisdom unveiled itself at a much later age. Ana’s grandfather like every other grandfather was a very loving and caring person. He took her to parks, for walks, for evening feasts etc. Even when her mother was pregnant carrying her baby brother her grandfather prepared her for her exams, he taught her everything just like a mother would. All of Ana’s weird questions were answered by the old man without hesitation. He was always there for her no matter what. Ana used to come back from school with scars because she never fought back at first, but then she learned and just like the devil inside every person, Ana’s inner devil also got the chance to be a part of the demonstration. The old man understood that the girl is not feeling the way a 10 year old should feel, so instead he decided to tell a story.

One fine evening, when all were busy preparing dinner, Ana’s grandfather called her, and asked her to sit on the easy chair right in front of his chair. He asked her how school was, and she replied, ”It could not have been better.” Her grandfather wondered what the best part of her day was and so asked her the same. She replied saying that a girl was bullying her back at school, she was quiet at first but then she reciprocated to the girl’s behavior by promptly pushing her and then by raising her voice and telling her that she does not have the right to bully anybody like this. The news quickly flew to the principal’s office and they both were summoned by her, and Ana explained to her principal how she was asking her friend to step back but she would not care to listen which compelled her to push her. The principal was not convinced entirely and warned both the students. Ana’s grandfather heard her story and felt sorry for his granddaughter. He told her not to worry and that everything would be fine with time. He taught her a very beautiful thing that day. He shared his experience while he was working in the military, and said, “Go speak to the girl who bullied you today, she needs friends, and mostly she needs help, so be there for her, make her a friend, you will find that she will not bully you anymore and with time she will not bully anybody else as well.” Ana was pretty young to have understood this beautiful lesson but she somewhat managed to catch the bottom line, that she had to be friends with her so called enemy now and most importantly, she had to be good to her.

Ana spent a lot of her time with her grandfather. The old man would mesmerize her with his stories as well, the stories of his childhood somehow created hers’, she felt at peace whenever she heard them because they all came with lessons crowned.

Teenage is supposed to be the start of difficulties in an individual’s life. Ana also faced a lot of troubles all those years but she was always mentored by her grandfather. He was a strong man, but little did he know what was coming to hit him soon. A few years later just before Ana’s board examination her grandfather was diagnosed with malignant germs along his foodpipe. He had to be operated and the doctor claimed it to be a very serious and uncanny operation. Ana’s grandfather was being operated fortunately or unfortunately as one might say, on the day of her birthday. She was back home, but her heart was beating along with the footsteps of the doctor. The OT was shut and the operation began, it ended after 14 long hours, and well the fortunate part, it was successful. Even after that, the doctor had just added up one thing, that if ever the old man undergoes another big operation, the germ might grow again and he might not live. Moreover, he had already made it clear that he would only live for 5 more years. But the last information was only known to two people which did not include Ana.

By the time she was 19 she had a pretty good idea about all the stories, he repeated his stories only so that she could get the crux someday, and she eventually was getting it all. Ana learnt a lot more about life as she grew up but she was very indecisive. She would always seek help from her grandfather for all her troubles, though she would never regard them as troubles but he would anyway understand. Then came the various stages of life, where she was learning to adapt to various environments.

In no time she was admitted to college, she was really lost unlike many. She did not know what to do or where to go, she started figuring that out on walks with her grandfather during the evenings.

One year of her bachelor’s was done when one fine morning she was off to college, she received a phone call from her mother who informed her that her grandfather had been hospitalized because he had broken a leg. Ana rushed back home where she found her brother back from school and unknown to such an incident. She handled the situation and remembered her lessons, he had once taught her that we should never lose hope. No matter what we should stand strong and fight whatever was offered by life. This is what she passed down to her own brother that day and told him that their grandfather would be fine. Eventually, he was fine and was back home after an operation where they replaced his thigh bones with some steel rods. Life was not simple though, soon after this Ana’s grandmother got seriously ill, so ill that she had to go for dialysis. But she could survive just 4. Everybody at home knew that Ana’s grandmother would not be able to survive for much long, so they were prepared for the blow.

Ana’s grandfather knew it all but he just went numb when it all happened. The couple were married for 40 years and their love for each other made people believe that true love exists- it’s just old enough maybe. Ana was herself inspired by their love. She could actually feel her grandfather’s pain, but could not show that she could. Ana was heavily sad because she could see that her grandfather had lost all interest in life. He was just waiting for it to end. He even used to talk to her about it. Surprisingly, he fell ill within a few days too. He was very ill, and was not able to speak properly, was under complete and strict bed rest. Ana’s grandfather was very fond of sweets. So she decided to treat him everyday with the best sweets available nearby. Ana’s grandfather grew worse with days and doctors had even given up on any sort of recovery.

One evening Ana was speaking to her grandfather. He was telling her how he was being called by his wife everyday, so he had to go and that she needed him. Ana asked him not to be creepy and eat properly and sleep well. Within a few days he was not being able to recognize people, that’s when everybody was absolutely sure that his life was not for long. Every family member used to visit his room in the first floor of their house atleast once and definitely before going off to sleep. Ana’s grandfather got ill and had contagious diseases now so Ana’s mother would not let Ana or her brother near him for long, only the nurse stayed with him, others would just get to check on him.

That night Ana was out with her friends, and came back late, so she thought that she would greet her granddad in the morning itself because she did not want to disturb him as he was asleep. Little did Ana know- the next morning when she went downstairs to check on him, she could not feel him breathe anymore. She was not sure so she called everybody else and asked them to do the same, but astonishingly she received the same verdict from them all. She regretted, and she had to live with that. That day, Ana learnt another lesson, one should not live with regrets in life and that one should always accept and move on in life.

Ana’s grandfather taught her a lot about life and he had told her how to live it, he was the real man for her and always will be.