Dear Grandma

Isn't she cute?
She brought me up literally, my mom gave me to her at 6 months old. I called her mama for the longest time. She (mom) had four little girls when she and dad separated. She couldn't take care of all of us with her meager teachers salary. That's how I ended up with grandma.
Grandma was tough! She never spared the rod when I was naughty. The one time that sticks out is when she beat the living daylights out of me because my friends and I had sneaked into a neighbors farm to steal fruits. The neighbor found us and we had to run away, since I was the one on top of the tree handing down the fruits, I had to jump down and in the process caught a splinter in my big toe. I was terrified to tell grandma so I kept my feet in socks and shoes for several days. The pain! then it turned septic and green pus was oozing out. I had to tell her eventually. Let me tell you she beat me up.. fever and all. Then carried me on her back, walked the 10 kms to the local hospital so I could get treatment.
Life was hard. In my school, we were about 3 kids who wore shoes to school. I was bullied for having shoes, for having long hair, for having new /clean school uniform. I was a target for rape by the older boys, by my grandfathers friends, by the gardener. But Grandma? she kept me safe because everybody in the village feared her and they feared what she would do if they went ahead with the act. I once told her about this boy who run after me until i was too tired to run and my friends had to beat and pull him off me. She almost killed him in front of his parents. Nobody dared to touch me again. I was 8 years old.
She has cancer now, we just found out. I am scared to lose her. She is 85 years old, I don't know if she will handle the chemo and the drugs. she always seemed so strong to me and like she will live forever.
I plan to spend as much time as I can with her and take care of her as she did me.. Because to me, This is my Mama.