I seriously dread seeing the age of the heroine in a jdrama plot summary because it’s always an indicator that her love interest is going to be either a high schooler or 20 years older than her.

I was doing some organizing in my room and came across a book by Anne Rice I’ve owned since childhood and never read. I’m almost certain it was a present from my paternal grandmother, who must have asked someone in the bookshop to recommend a fantasy novel for girls in their early teens because she knew I read fantasy almost exclusively but had no handle on the finer distinction between epic fantasy and romance novels about vampires, which I refused to look at. Somewhere around that age I got another book from her, some primer about the developing body, health and sexuality written for teenagers. I was almost offended to receive it because the idea of learning about the secrets of my body from a book seemed gross and condescending.

She got me so many gifts over the years that I was very rarely grateful for, and it is only now that I see not just how much she loved me, which I knew even in my most self-absorbed moments, but also how thoughtful her love was. Unfortunately, I can’t call her up to thank her for it because she’s not here anymore. She died in November of 2021, after years of physical decline following an accidental slip and fall at a bus stop. If she hadn’t stepped on an uneven pavement tile that day she’d probably still be alive to complain I don’t call her enough, but she’s not.

Anyway. If you’re reading this, call your grandma.