I told my grandpa,
I'm gonna study in America.
A place across the ocean,
A place over the mountains,
A place on the other side of the globe,
A place that is very, very,
Very far from him.
Grandpa's ears don't work well.
He looked at my eyes,
Smiled and nodded his head.
I doubt if he heard me.

Don't eat too much chocolate
I told him
You have high blood sugar now.
Gotta be careful.
He looked at my eyes
Smiled and nodded his head.

Again,
I doubt if he heard me.

A few months later
I got a phone call from home.
Grandma sounded happy as usual
But only I could sense
The hint of sadness floating in her voice:
Grandpa mumbles your name every day.
He misses me a lot.

She passed the phone to Grandpa.
He sounded excited and mysterious
Like a kid who just caught a bird in his hands.
He said,
“Don't tell your grandma.
I have a piece of chocolate in the fridge.
Do you want to have a little bite?”

Tears rained down my face
Like a broken pearl necklace.
I told him “Hold on to it.
I will be back soon.”

For the piece of chocolate
He has saved for me.

Through the telephone wire
I can see him
Looking at my eyes
Smiling and nodding his head.
I know this time
He really heard me.