Grandma's Story

My great-grandmother, who was 92 at the time, had a bit of dementia. She would sometimes use the garden as a toilet and wouldn't remember her great-grandchildren. So, when my sister and I, who were elementary school students, desperately tried to stop her from wandering off, she'd get angry and yell, "Whose child are you! Go away!" I remember it was quite a hassle. Even so, before she got dementia, she was very affectionate, and if she wasn't in a bad mood, she was a kind person. My grandmother always ate kelp candy and arare (puffed rice crackers) in hot water. When she remembered us, she'd give us that unappetizing kelp candy and arare in hot water. One day, my sister found a beautiful blue glass marble behind the community hall and showed it to my grandmother. My grandmother, who was eating her usual kelp candy and arare in hot water, got furious and said, "If you touch my grandchild, I'll take you with me," and ate the marble. We panicked and called our parents, and they took her to the hospital. However, the marble wasn't found in her stomach or intestines. They decided to just keep an eye on her, assuming it would eventually pass with her stool. "Why did you eat it? It's not candy!" my mother yelled, upset. "I was just protecting my grandchild. What's wrong with that?" my grandmother replied. Even when we pressed her for an explanation, she wouldn't tell us the details.