I was calling my grandma on the phone with my mom, which barely happens cause we live in different time zones cause she lives in China, and she told me someone remembers me. And it wasn't someone I really cared about but someone I saw very often. 

When I was younger, before I moved to Canada, my grandma would always take me out when my mom was busy working. We would go to walk by a big lake, where I would always play by the rocks. This was almost ten years ago, when I was three, but I still remember it very clearly. I would stumble from rock to rock, picking up the ones I thought were particularly pretty, and bring them home with me, where I would lay them on the windowsill. My grandma would always stay with me while I crawled amongst the rocks, and when it got later, and closer to the time my mom would come home, we would leave, going through a nice and calming forest. 

The forest was really nice. The tree were tall and reached the sky, they were separated enough to make it not seem scary and dark, but still close enough to feel cozy and calm. We would head back to the house and pass a nice store. My grandma would lead me in the store and let me pick out and ice cream. The lady who worked there was really nice. It was always that same person. She would just be there to recommend new ice cream flavours or smile at us and ask us how our days were going. Once we went for a few weeks, she would start hugging me, and being the shy child I was, it took me a few days to hug her back. But eventually I would run into the store and practically tackle her. I really liked her. 

Since I moved to Canada, I barely spoke Chinese, not wanting to face the racial discrimination against me at the time. I left my grandma, the lake, the rocks, the forest, and the nice lady, not to mention her ice creams. I pushed them as far back into my mind, trying to separate myself from China in general.

Today, when my grandma called my mom and I, those memories came flooding back in, destroying all the walls I had between my life in Canada, and my life back in China. She told me that she went on a walk, to the lake, to the rocks, and she was reminded of me. When I picked out rocks. She walked through the forest, and to the store. She told me that the Store manager asked about me. She was the same lady who I hugged ten years ago. She asked where I was, and how old I was. My grandma told her and she told my grandma to tell me that she missed me and that the next time I visited, to go to her, and get a free ice cream. Knowing that someone missed me kind of hit me like a truck. I didn't even think she would remember me, and I feel stupid and silly for trying to push away my memories from China just because of some stupid kids who made fun of me for being Chinese. 

Remember that there's always someone who cares about you, someone who cares even though you haven't seen them in a long time. Even if you don't know at the moment, someone cares about you.