after my night shift ended
i went to sleep
woke up a few hours later
mother told me grandfather died
i went back to sleep and dreamt of him
the dream was very blur
round table, family dinner, relatives
he stood there
glowing
speaking to me
could not hear his words
but it amounted to 加油*
* A mandarin term that connotes encouragement, similar to the Japanese “ganbatte”. In English, loosely translated as: “You can do it, I’m behind you.”
Anonymous, Taiwan
[loved one]