1001 Cranes (21 page)

The Last Crane

It’s funny: when I first came to Gardena, I knew no one besides Grandma Michi, Gramps, and Aunt Janet, but now a small crowd of new friends gathers in the waiting room while Gramps has his surgery. Rachel, Rachel’s parents, Keila, Nathan, and, of course, Mr. and Mrs. O.

Something is wrong with the air-conditioning in the waiting room, so everybody’s face is a bit red and jackets are off. My dad and mom are there, too, even sitting next to each other in those uncomfortable plastic chairs. They really aren’t talking much, but it’s good to see them together. I wonder if maybe my prayer at church has come true, but not exactly in the way I pictured it.

Aunt Janet isn’t around, because she had to go to the flower market in Gramps’s place. But before she left, she squatted down alongside the couch, next to my head on the pillow. “Let me know when Gramps gets out of surgery,” she said. She spoke to me like I was an adult, not a kid. Although I wasn’t totally awake, I nodded. I’d remember.

Keila comes up to me and links arms with me as if everything is fine between us. Nathan leans against the wall and glances at me from time to time. Mr. O squeezes my shoulder. Rachel Joseph’s parents just smile. Rachel shyly comes up to me and presents me with a homemade card.

“I’ll give this to Gramps and Grandma Michi,” I tell her, but she shakes her head.

“This card is for you.”

It’s made out of colored cardboard and tape. When I open it, some paper flowers pop out. Underneath the crooked bouquet are the words “I hope you feel better.”

I’m not sure if she’s talking about Gramps or my parents’ separation, but it doesn’t really matter. Rachel has written my name on the card in capital letters, and it feels good that someone is thinking of me.

“Thanks,” I say, but she’s already gone to her parents.

I haven’t seen Grandma Michi all morning, and my heart feels very heavy, as if it’s overloaded with sandbags and rocks. I don’t know if she had time to read my diary or, if she did, whether she liked it. She didn’t stay in the waiting room, and I heard that when Gramps’s surgery was over, Grandma was the only one allowed to see him.

I notice that Nathan has moved around the waiting room’s walls, like an arm of a stealth clock, and now is only a couple of feet away from me.

“You know, I just may be staying in L.A.,” I say to him.

“Oh, yeah?” he says, and a huge goofy grin spreads over his face. Nathan is definitely not cool, but I like that he doesn’t hide how he feels.

Grandma Michi walks through the doorway. She’s wearing no makeup, and her hair is all frizzy and unkempt. “The operation went well,” she announces, and it’s like the whole room lets out a group sigh of relief. “The doctor says Nick should be fine.”

Everyone’s waiting to talk to Grandma Michi, but she heads straight for me. “I read your diary,” she says. “It was very well-written.” She reaches into her purse and takes out a gold box, which she shoves into my hand. She gestures for me to open it.

Sitting on a pillow of cotton is a red origami crane. It’s miniature, no bigger than Mom’s wedding ring.

“Oh, the good-luck crane for Mr. and Mrs. O’s display,” I say. “It’s so cute.”

But Grandma Michi shakes her head. “This one is for you. And I’m sorry, too.” She then grips my hand for a second, and I feel like sparks fly from her touch. Sweat begins to drip from Grandma’s nose and the top of her lip. The same way I sweat.

Someone pulls Grandma aside to get more details about Gramps’s surgery, leaving me with the gold box. I study my gift and see how it’s different from the thousands of cranes we have folded for the wedding displays: instead of being closed, this good-luck crane is fully open, its wings spread out wide, ready for wherever the wind will take it.

How to Fold a Paper Crane

Begin with a square piece of paper—ideally one side colored and the other plain. Place the colored side faceup on a table. In all diagrams, the shaded part represents the colored side.

1.
Fold diagonally to form a triangle. Be sure the points line up. Make all creases very sharp. You can even use your thumbnail.

Unfold
the paper. (Important!)

2.
Now fold the paper diagonally in the
opposite
direction, forming a new triangle.

Unfold
the paper and
turn it over
so the white side is up. The dotted lines in the diagram are creases you have already made.

3.
Fold the paper in half to the “east” to form a rectangle.

Unfold
the paper.

4.
Fold the paper in half to the “north” to form a new rectangle.

Unfold
the rectangle, but don’t flatten it out. Your paper will have the creases shown by the dotted lines in the figure to the left.

5.
Bring all four corners of the paper together, one at a time. This will fold the paper into the flat square shown to the right. This square has an open end where all four corners of the paper come together. It also has two flaps on the right and two flaps on the left.

6.
Lift the
upper right
flap and fold in the direction of the arrow. Crease along the line
a-c
.