______ POV-

I remember it clearly, as the events of the past few years had only happened yesterday. My little legs running down the sandy path in anticipation: the sand filling up my shoes, but still, I ran on.

'Grandm-!' Looking up, I propped myself up out the sand that I had just face planted. A face aged over time: it was like the skin was melting off of her face, yet she still managed to move the skin forming a smile. '____ dear, you need pay more attention to your surroundings. Why don't you go back to the house and help your mother?'

'Bu-ut mama's helping papa. They said only grownups could fix the boat…' I hung my head down.

I noticed that grandma was sitting in front of something, 'But grandma, what are you doing?'     

'Painting dear.'

'What's painting?'

'It's a wonderful type of magic that you can use to capture something you see around you.'

'Magic?'

'What do you see here?' she said pointing to her canvas.

'The ocean! It looks same as the ocean!'

She stifled a laugh, 'Yes it is the ocean. You could paint the ocean too, do you want to try?'

'Yes please!!!'

She gave me a paintbrush and a piece of paper and told me to try painting what I saw: of course my skills back then weren't that spectacular and my painting was a mix of blue and yellow.

Tears started streaming down my cheeks, 'Awww~ grandma my painting doesn't look anything like the ocean.'

She smiled at me, 'It's alright _____, this magic takes a while to learn, but with my help, you won't be able to tell much difference between the ocean that you created and the real ocean. How about we play a game of hid and seek?'

And that's what started our weekly routine: every afternoon my grandma and I would go down to the shore and she would teach me how to paint. As the weeks pasted, I'd noticed that my skills had slightly improved. Every time I drew or painted something, grandma was always the first I showed: I always waiting for her praise and encouragement. But then something happened, something bad.

Grandma was sick.

All that life that she usually showed seemed to have packed up its bags and left. I made it my job to try and make her smile, hoping that my old grandma would return. If anything, I painted more often: throughout different times of the day and night, going down to the beach and painting the ocean so that grandma could still see the ocean.  

One day I went to visit her with my latest painting and found her asleep. I sat on the chair beside her bed and waited for her to wake up, only to fall asleep myself. I could swear as my eyes started to droop that there was someone else in the room.

When I awoke, I looked down at my hands to notice that my painting was missing. Panic-stricken I looked around to see my grandma awake, holding my painting: a small smile lay upon her face.

'What a lovely picture this is ______.' She said to me, '_____ I have a gift for you.'

'A gift? For me grandma?'

'Yes dear, for you.' Her expression turned serious, 'But I can't give it to yet. When it is time, they will protect you until it is time for you to pass them on.'

'They?'

'Be a dear and grab the box from under my bed.' Doing as she said I reached under the bed, coming back with an old box: it was red, lined in faded gold swirls and 12 gold symbols.

'Now open for me.'

This time I opened it. Inside were 12 patchwork dolls that looked like they had seen better days. 'Dolls?' I stated.

'Yes, dolls. When the time comes they will belong to you and in your turn protect you.'

'When is that time? And how will they protect me and from what?'

'Shhh~ that's enough questions for now ____. Isn't it your bedtime?'

'Yeess~ Goodnight grandma!'

'Goodnight sweety~'

As I was walking back to my bedroom, saw the kitchen light was still on and there were the voices of my parents. I was going to go up to them and wish them goodnight, but something stoped me. I don't know what it was, but I found myself trying to eavesdrop. Of course back then I didn't know that eavesdropping was a bad thing to do.

'How is the fishing going?' I heard my mother ask.

'We can't seem to catch as many lately. It looks like I'll be out for longer, and with mum all sick like that too, maybe I should stay home for a while…'

'You can't! We're barely living off what we have now. If you take a day off, it'll turn into a week and then into a month. I know this is harsh, but your mother is old and doesn't have much longer. We are young and so is our daughter, are you suggesting that we starve to death and spend every last won on an old woman who can't even earn her keep? Do you want to tell your daughter that she will starve because of you!?'

'No…'

'And you call yourself a man!?'

They wanted grandma to starve!? I ran to tell grandma what mama and papa had been discussing but I was stopped short again: there were voices coming from grandma's room, two of them.

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AN- the start of my second story!! comments are welcome. enjoy~!