My Tutu's Fire

Tutu is Hawaiian for Grandmother.

My Tutu's voice has a certain fire to it. It always sounds energized. For 16 years, I could not remember a time when she didn't talk with that fire in her voice. Even when she moved in with us at Hawaii, she kept that fire in her voice.

We live beachside in Hawaii, on the island Oahu. Because we live by the ocean, we experience the salty air that comes with the beautiful ocean in our backyard. As a result, we cannot have certain things out. Metal rusts quickly, colors fade, and the tile floors become a little slick when we leave the doors open. But never the less, we love it here. We make sure to keep metal covered, the colors to a minimum, and keep our floors dry. However, one day, the floor wasn't as dry as we thought it was.

My Tutu was walking with a large box. It wasn't that heavy. She was walking to our front door. I was outside, in our driveway, playing basketball with my younger brother and two sisters. We heard a loud thud and we all turned to the house. Our driveway isn't that far from the house. We saw Tutu lying on the ground. Holding the back of her head.

We all rushed back inside and my Dad was holding Tutu's head and asking her questions. Like what happened and what was hurting. When she replied, she replied without the fire in her voice. I was frightened! What was going on!? She never talks without that fire in her voice! My Mom called the paramedics, and they took her to the hospital. I didn't see her for the rest of the day. But when she came back, she had that same fire in her voice. Like nothing happened at all.

I just came back from a Cancer Walk that Kamehameha was holding. We had lots of fun. It was just Me, my Big Sister, and my Tutu. Tutu was part of this walk because she had breast cancer and she is a survivor! Tutu walked a little, talked with her friends, had dinner, and did some bidding on the silent auction they had there. My Big Sister and I walked around, eating snacks and joking with each other. Soon the bidding for the silent auction was coming to a close, and Tutu wanted to make sure no one over bid her things. I went with Tutu, by some unknown impulse, to the silent auction. I'm ever so glad I did.

After we made sure we had the highest bids, I noticed that Tutu was rubbing her eyes. I asked her if she was okay. She answered. Without the fire in her voice. In a flash, I was back at my house, looking down at Tutu as she lay, clutching the back of her head, with my Dad by her side. I didn't want that to happen tonight! I quickly grabbed her arm and took her hand in my hand. She gripped my hand as if I was her lifeline. I continued to ask if she was okay. She said she was fine, but I couldn't bring myself to believe her. If she was fine, why was she gripping my hand so tightly? I could feel my stomach tighten a little. I was so worried! I guided her over to a small wall where several people were sitting and sat Tutu down.

Tutu wanted to know where Big Sister was, and so I called her and she eventually came. Big Sister got some water for Tutu and we sat with her. After drinking the water, the fire came back to her voice. After a while, she wanted to go back to the silent auction to check her bids. I went with her. I didn't know what was going to happen! I stuck close to her and made sure that I didn't leave. We got all the bids Tutu bid for. We got papers that we needed to give to the money collectors so that we could leave with our items. We got all our items, and decided it was time to leave. I didn't want Tutu to drive, but she insisted on driving. Big Sister told me not to worry. I'm still a little worried...