This is a story I wrote dedicated to my beloved grandpa who past away this very day. I decided to honor him the best way I know how, with a story to show the whole world how much I love him and will always be remembered.
Enjoy and no flames please.
At the Scare B&B, Vampirina was looking forward for her bat-tastic babysitter Miranda to come over.
To Vee, Miranda was the best babysitter ever. She was more like a best friend than a babysitter. She never treats Vee like a baby.
The doorbell shrieked and the door opened to let Miranda in. But when Vee saw Miranda, her smile fell.
Miranda had the saddest expression on her face. There was no warm glow in her green eyes, just emptiness.
"Hey, Vee." Miranda mumbled. She sulked inside. Vee's parents, Boris and Oxana noticed the teen's depressed look.
"What's wrong, Miranda?" Oxana asked in concern.
Miranda looked at the floor in silence.
"What is wrong, Miranda?!" Boris asked. "You're not yourself today!"
Miranda walked into the living room and sat on the couch. She didn't even acknowledge Penelope snapping her huge jaw in Miranda's direction.
Vee rushed in front of Miranda. "Miranda! Please tell us what's wrong! You're scaring us! In a bad way!"
Miranda took a deep, shaky breath. "My grandpa past away."
The Hauntleys gasped. They were well aware of the fact that humans didn't live as long as vampires. And when one of them of no longer among the living, it's a very depressing moment.
"I'm so sorry, Miranda." Oxana said. She sat beside Miranda and gave her a hug.
"We all are." Boris hugged Miranda too.
Vampirina didn't no know what to say. She just joined in on the hug.
A few tears fell from Miranda's cheek. "I have to give a speech at the funeral, my mom's idea..." Her breath hitched. "I don't think I can do it."
"But you have to do it, Miranda!" Vee said at last.
Miranda shook her head. "How can I when I don't even know what to say?!" She buried her face in her hands. "I never even thought this would happen! It just happened so suddenly! My grandpa is such a strong man! It wasn't long ago that I saw him for Christmas and now this happens! He gets a heart attack and the doctors couldn't do anything to help him! After taking care of him for a whole week!"
The Hauntleys saw her body trembling. Miranda was really hurting inside.
Oxana rubbed Miranda's back. "Don't be so sad, Miranda. Death is also a part of life. But he suffered from a heart attack and was hurting. But now that his time has come, he is no longer suffering. He's relieved of all his pain and is completely happy wherever he is now."
Miranda looked at Oxana with a little twinkle in her eye. "My mom said the exact same thing." She wiped her eyes. "You're right. I got to do this speech."
"When you make your speech, just let the words come to you." Boris advised.
Miranda began to smile. "You're right. Your absolutely right."
"So, what was your grandpa like?" asked Vee.
"Well, grandpa always loved taking me and my family out on his boat. It was a lot of fun! I would always scream 'Faster! Faster!' and he would rip that engine and we would shred on that water!"
When Miranda told stories about her grandpa, she started to cheer up because some of the stories she laughed at, telling her friends what a character her grandpa was.
As Miranda talked, it made Vee think about her grandma Nanpire the Great. Vee's nan was a very colorful person. Always making grand entrances, makes the old vampire traditions tons of fun, and always loving and supporting Vee no matter what.
And that gave Vee an idea.
A couple of days later, all of Miranda's friends and family attended the funeral. Miranda looked around for a certain party to arrive, when she saw her relatives wearing confused looks aimed at the doorway, Miranda smiled because she knew the Hauntleys have arrived.
"Hi, Miranda!" Vee hugged Miranda.
"Hey, Vee!" Miranda smiled warmly. "I love your dress! You all look great!"
Vee twirled around. It was a long black dress with a bat wing shaped collar.
Boris was wearing a black suit with a high collard cape. Oxana wore a black dresses with a spider web lace shawl. They looked like classic vampires, and Miranda thought it was awesome.
"Thank you, Miranda!" Oxana said. "And we brought a certain someone to meet you!" She took Miranda's hand and lead her outside behind the funeral home.
"I don't get it. Why are we-"
Suddenly, a cloud of red smoke swirled around Miranda and floated in front of her.
POOF!
An elderly woman appeared from the red mist. Miranda saw her pale blue skin and saw that this was another vampire.
"Ghostly Greetings, Miranda!" the elderly vampire said.
"Miranda, this is my nan. Nanpire the Great!" Vee introduced.
"Wow! It's nice to meet you Mrs...um, Nan." Miranda extended her hand for Nanpire to shake, but the kind grandmother gave Miranda a big haunted hug.
"It's so nice to meet you too, Miranda! Thank you for watching my little spider, Vee!"
"You're very welcome, Ma'am." Miranda felt so happy meeting Vee's grandmother. She whispered a thank you to Vee before heading back inside.
And so, once everyone was settled in and acquainted, it was time for Miranda's eulogy.
With the microphone in her hand, Miranda cleared her throat and began. "Hello, I'm Miranda, the granddaughter of the deceased." She shuffled her feet. "Well, to be honest, I really didn't know what to say to all of this. But after a serious talk with my good friends, the Hauntleys, I now know exactly what to say and how to say it."
Miranda saw her parents smile and nod approvingly.
"Well, you see, Grandpa and I didn't have anything in common. He would always go fishing and build stuff like lamps and decoy ducks for hunting. His garage would always have this weird smell of wood, oil, and who knows what else. But I was always happy to see grandpa because I knew he was a great man who did great things, like raise a wonderful family and became an awesome grandpa. Grandpa was a strong trooper despite his age, he was always lifting heavy stuff and fishing out in the bitter cold when the soft grandpas stayed indoors. He's the kind of guy who could build the Iron Man suit if he wanted to."
Everyone was captivated by Miranda's words as she went on.
"Grandpa would always hunt for ducks and give them to us to eat. I was always happy when he gave us duck because my dad deep fries them and makes duck nuggets. I know it sounds gross but I love them, especially when you dip them in ranch. Sometimes when I'm eating the duck he gave us, I find a pellet in my mouth after chewing on it. At first I was shocked about finding grandpa's ammunition in my food, but then I just laughed it off. After all, I never swallowed them or broke a tooth on them. This all may sound eccentric to you, but these are special memories grandpa left to remember him better when his time came. I know for sure that I'll never look at a duck or a fishing pole or a funny smelling garage and not remember grandpa and how much he jokes around and makes me laugh and bickers with grandma...in a good way."
Vee actually started to cry, as did many others.
"We all know families are weird in their own way, but that's a good thing. Because when that family member is gone, all you have left are the memories. And you see those good memories in a whole new light. And when I look back on those memories and how happy they make me, I know grandpa is just as happy as he watches us from heaven. And so, I'm proud to come up here today and talk about grandpa. He'll always be alive in our memories and will never leave us. Thank you."
Miranda's eulogy received a standing ovation. There wasn't a dry eye in the audience.
Miranda and Vee's family showered her with hugs on a speech well done.
"Way to go, Miranda!" Vee said.
"I couldn't have done it without you guys." Miranda thanked.
"After the funeral, why don't you join us for some of my homemade ghoulash?" asked Nanpire.
"I'd love to, Mrs. Nan!" Miranda said with a hug.
Miranda was proud of her speech, but she was also proud of knowing the Hauntleys. They were feeling more and more like family to her.
And the Hauntleys felt the same way about Miranda.
Every word of Miranda's speech was exactly how I feel about grandpa. He was a fantastic, loving, reliable man who I always loved and I never had one negative feeling about him. I know that he's no longer suffering from his pain and he's feeling much happier in heaven. He will always be in my thoughts and in my prayers.