Helloooooooooooo, everybody! Hanna Cabrodi here! Here's another one-shot for ya! I've been listening to "Footprints in the Sand" by Leona Lewis a little too much these past few days and I wanted to write, soooooo... here ya go!
Most of the fic is derived from the episode "The List," so lemme just make that clear in advance.
I wanna dedicate this one-shot to the victims, the survivors and the families of victims of the deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma. I also wanna dedicate it to the victims, the survivors and the families of victims of the explosion in Texas and the Boston Bombings a few months ago. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. God bless.
I leave you with: Don't Look Away.
DISCLAIMER: Hey Arnold, "The List" and "Look Up" were created by Craig Bartlett and his team and belongs to Nickelodeon. The lyrics to "Footprints in the Sand" belong to Leona Lewis and the songwriters responsible for the creation of said song. In other words: IT AIN'T MINE SO BACK OFF!
ENJOY! ^.^
When my each of my grandparents died, I felt like a part of me died with them. It was as though our spirits were intertwined and when they died, it was just ripped away from me. My drive for living disintegrated and my reason for living was shattered. I was no one without them.
Grandpa went first. Grandma, however, died just a few days ago. The very night she passed away, I chose to steer clear of anyone and everyone. No one could understand the pain I felt. I went to the one place in the boarding house I knew no one would bother me; my roof.
A cinematic display of depression seemed to be painted across the sky. The clouds were dark and just dying to release its precipitation and it did. I walked towards my grandmother's old piano and began to toy with the keys as the raindrops pounded against me, allowing the tears that cascaded from my eyes to be lost in the rain.
"Greatest Saturday a kid ever had… PFFT! What a CROCK!" Arnold sighed miserably as he folded 'The List' into the shape of a paper airplane and tossed it into the late afternoon sky. His gaze dropped as he sadly stared at the ground. The sound of a grand piano being played grabbed his attention. He turned to see his grandmother and her piano being placed on the rooftop by a crane.
"Grandma. What're you doing?" he asked as she was finally left on the roof.
"Well, we couldn't get the piano through the front door or through the window so we'll have to keep it up here on the roof," she explained very calmly.
"That's terrible," replied Arnold.
"Well, NO! That's WONDERFUL! We're gonna have a PIANO on the ROOF!" she exclaimed joyfully.
"Come on, Arnold." She pointed at the available spot next to her on the piano seat, gesturing her grandson to sit next to her.
He hopped off the top of the roof's entrance. "No, grandma. I had a really rotten day and I just wanna sit here and relax and do nothing."
"Rotten day? Well I've got JUST ONE THING to say about THAT!" She began to play her piano once more and sang.
"When life gets you down
Wearing a frown
Don't look away
Look up
'Cause memories true
Come out of the blue
You know the way
Look up…"
"Come on, Arnold!" she cheered, inviting him to join along.
"Ugh, grandma. I'm really not in the mood," he responded sadly. She continued.
"When skies are gone gray
Things gone astray
Don't look away
Look up!"
"Take it!" Grandma kindly insisted. Arnold sighed and relented, adding his own glum words to the song.
"I had a bad day
Nothing went right
I hate my dumb life
I'm down."
A car crash was heard and balloons began to swarm the air.
"When you're feeling under the weather
And the dark clouds are getting to you
Keep your troubles light as a feather
And soon you'll be seeing
A bright patch of blue
Youuuuuuu…
Gotta look up
You gotta be strong
You gotta take things as they come
'Cause everything new
That happens to you
Is better when you
Look up…"
Arnold waved the balloons goodbye as his grandmother wrapped up the upbeat song.
"Well, Arnold? Whaddaya say?"
He smiled and pulled out his harmonica. "One more time, grandma."
She returned the smile and clasped her hands together. "Arnold, you're a pip!"
They reprised the song joyfully as the sun continued to set on that Saturday evening.
She always knew how to put a smile on my face when things went rough. The memories began to torment my heart in pain because I knew I was never going to see her again. I slammed the piano shut and got up from the seat. Thunder clapped in the midst of the storm and a fell on my knees and began to sob. I grabbed hair for dear life and continued to cry ceaselessly. My sunshine was gone. Grandma was gone.
My heartbroken stupor was immediately shaken off by the sound of footsteps on my fire escape.
"WHO'S THERE?!" I shouted. "GO AWAY! Everyone just LEAVE ME ALONE!" I pleaded angrily. My blurred vision, courtesy of my tears and the rain, spotted a blonde female with a pink ribbon placed atop her head.
"Helga." I whispered. She smiled sadly and weakly at me as she walked towards me. Lord knows if I needed my best friend at a particular moment, it was this one. No words were exchanged as she raced towards me and captured me in a much needed embrace. I could feel her crying against me and began to sob once more.
"She's GONE, Helga. My sunshine, my grandma, she's GONE!" I cried inconsolably.
She began to rub my back and whispered in my ear. "Shhh, I know, Arnold. It's okay, I'm here, okay? Just let it out."
I held onto her for dear life and cried endlessly. I couldn't thank God enough that he'd given me such an amazing friend in Helga. Her kindness was uncharacteristic of her right now but I didn't care. She knows exactly what I'm going through.
When Bob died of a heart attack two years ago, I found her curled up in the corner of her room, which was torn upside down and cried with her. I sympathized with her because I knew it must have hurt her deeply to lose her father… But now that it's happened to me, the ache in my heart was unbearable. She knows… She knows. I was there for her… And now she's here for me. And that's all I need.
She began to whisper a song in my ear.
"I promise you
I'm always there
When your heart is filled with sadness and despair
I'll carry you
When you need a friend
You'll find my footprints in the sand…"
"Thank you," I whispered in gratitude.
She looked up at me and stared intently into my eyes. "Always, Football Head. Always."
Since this IS a pretty solemn fic, all I'll say is thanks for reading and I'd greatly appreciate some R&R. God bless!
-Hanna Cabrodi