I was even luckier than some, that I met my great grandma on my mother's side. By the time my generation waltzed in, we were allowed to call her "Grandma" anyone before my set HAD to call her "mama", not because she was in some way ashamed of her age, but she felt she was more of a mother to my mom and her generation than a grandma, different times I guess.
Back then, when I was a tiny tot (different from being a tiny adult now), she was very open to sharing stories as well. You know how some parents will read kids fairy tales, and go over Cinderella 9000 times in their lifetime, well Granma didn't waste time going to books, HELL no, she had lived fairy tales that enthralled me eternally.
One of my favourite stories, was about when being a tiny child herself (she didn't remember if it was closer to 5 than to 10) she was taken by Leprechauns. Well, I call them that, but she called them "duendes". Apparently not the same though similar, little people, definite Fae folk.
She used to play outside (all kids did, outside was the place to be of course, nothing happened inside but chores!) and while walking the fields and enjoying the wonderful day, she saw a child that beckoned her to follow.
She used to lean into us kids while telling this part, and her "grandma finger" would pop out of her tiny (and yet so all encompassing and caring) hand and say "But it was no child, as the child had a tiny beard on him, like an old man but small!" and our eyes would widen and silence would prevail during the rest of the telling.
Grandma Rosa knew not to go to strangers, and back then, stranger were not people that lived across the road (like today), strangers were far off people you never ever saw, but this strange child made her comfortable somehow and she followed him down the fields.
Two weeks was grandma lost following the tiny fellow, to her? She said it was no more than a couple of hours, just walking down the fields but as we all are very much aware, the Fae make time go wobbly wobbly and stuff behave differently.
Here, we were all worried, as most children close to her, listening had NEVER ventured further away than a few hundred yards on our own, and being separated from our parents for days? Inconceivable!
"Grandma, what did you eat?" -"Weren't you cold?" - "what did your parent's do!!"
She used to quiet us all down and say "To me it was just a few hours, by nightfall I was found, but my parents were really worried and looked for days and days!"
"Back then, people used to believe more and they knew about the Elves and their ways, so they were certain one had picked my trail"
"But elves have a way of getting you lost even when you think you know you have them corralled, their feet are put on backwards you see!"
(At this age, I took that for being an eternal sign of mischief, now I wonder that if people knew about this particular physical characteristic, why would they not just follow the trail on both directions to cut time....)
Grandma told us that she asked the little "child" to let her go, that she knew she was further from home than she was supposed to be, and her mamma would be livid when she got back.
The child offered many sweets and toys, toys like you wouldn't believe! Little carts and trains and things with wings like birds; crystal flowers and sparkles, but grandma declined saying that she had to head back, and being reasonable for once, the child said "then just go back" and grandma was woken in the fields by family and friends that had kept looking.
They covered her in kisses and hugs, and took her back home and had her relate the tale of the last few weeks.
Today we can say that she was probably abducted, or got lost in the woods and a very many things that could be entirely "truer" than being hoodwinked by leprechauns and walking miles in dream land.
But grandma would have none of your lip, she would not back down from he story for in reality it was HER reality of the time.
I couldn't go back and ask anyone about this, her parent's had long passed away, her children had heard the same stories once or twice in the past, and truth is; I don't think I would have wanted anyone to prove them fantasy.
Today, we don't go out as much, our neighbours are as strangers as people that live countries away and we can't be bothered to trust stories anymore. Our fantasies have to do more with bigger houses, bigger cars and faster things than with alternate possibilities of reality.
I hope these stories don't die with me, I'll tell Junior about them and hope others in my line (cousins and family) share them as well, I know I wasn't the only one listening.
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