Maybe one day you will turn to your loved one and, like Hugo, you will find yourself in a space with remorse.
His late grandmother Rosemary was a street sweeper and he was constantly ashamed of her. After she died, all he was given was an urn of ashes, which he smashed on the ground, condemning her.
Hugo, a 25-year-old guitarist, was uneasy when he arrived at his late grandmother Rosemary’s cottage. His memories of the dilapidated old house were very different from his life in New York at the time.
With pursed lips, he spoke seriously: “Grandma”. He walked around her modest home looking at photos of their early years together, apologizing to Heaven for missing her funeral. All they could do was bring up sad memories of his behavior and demeanor.
Back then, he was ashamed of her job as a street sweeper. He felt embarrassed for his behavior towards her now.
“Hugo, darling, please move. Be careful.”
Be careful!” She reminds him as she takes him to school, but he never listens.
His fingertips found the ancient study table she had given him, the one he had so quickly thrown away.
“These old things, grandma? Really? Hugo was joking. His grandma couldn’t buy him the game console he wanted.”
Hugo made fun of Rosemary’s best recipes for ingenuity because she couldn’t afford anything expensive when he went to the kitchen. However, he was an inquisitive young man who constantly demanded more.
She tried to smile. “Next time, bee!” Rosemary would swear. However, she failed to satisfy him and he became angry with her. Too bad he didn’t realize how ungrateful he was for so long.
He walked into her bedroom, which was cluttered with antiques like a wooden crib and clothes she had made for him that weren’t quite finished.
How wonderful, Grandma! On a scale of ten, how sure were you that I would see you after all these years?” Hugo shook his head, thinking.
The dress… another flashback popped into his mind, the prom fiasco eight years ago. He craved something to attract attention and enjoyed looking at a fancy suit in a boutique, but he was also angry at his grandmother for being impoverished.
Hugo came home and slammed the door to his room after being taunted at school because the kids knew he couldn’t afford a nice suit for the prom.
“Please open the door, bee. Is she a woman? Did she say no to your proposal or what?” Rosemary knocked in a soothing but worried voice.
However, he was not interested in interacting with her at the time. He yelled into his pillow, frustrated with their financial situation.
Rosemary was frightened and alone at the table when Hugo refused to join her for dinner that evening. The next day she hurried to make a proper breakfast, but he dismissed her and hurried away.
As Hugo walked past his grandmother’s old house, the memories kept haunting him. His face turned red with humiliation as he remembered the incident where his friends had made fun of Rosemary while she was at work. As a result, he snapped at them.
“Guys, shut up!” “Please stop talking!” he shouted and tried to turn away.
Unaware of Hugo’s embarrassment, Rosemary came over to offer him some cookies. She murmured, “Here, my boy,” she said.
He cried, “I don’t want these damn things!” and lost control of his outburst.
He denigrated their entire existence together, her career and her. “Grandma, stop it! Give up your gestures. I’m quite ashamed of you.”
Hugo noticed the deep pain he caused her, especially the drop in her shoulders as he left. Still, Rosemary was ready. She had enough money saved up to buy the expensive suit he wanted.
When they got home that day, it was waiting for him. “H-How did you know I wanted that…” Hugo asked, stunned. I saw you snooping around the boutique checking it out! “I put in extra hours at work every day just to make it,” Rosemary remarked, her smile accentuating the lines on her face.
“Oh, Grandma, I love you… I love you so, so, so much!” Out of breath and stunned, he poured himself. He hugged her tightly, but his joy did not last long.
Rosemary was eager to attend the ball with Hugo, dressed to the nines. When she said she would go with him, he started laughing and choking on his saliva. “Prom? Are you kidding, Grandma?” he exclaimed. “By no means!”
She tried, but he broke her heart again. A few weeks later, Rosemary dressed to impress and she and her co-workers went to the school for Hugo’s graduation. When Hugo noticed that so many people were supporting him, he bought a security guard to prevent them from entering.
Hugo only had time to see Rosemary and the other sanitation workers being led away; he left to be with his friends despite crying and pleading.
When Rosemary returned home, she prepared Hugo’s favorite foods to commemorate his upcoming birthday and graduation. But when Hugo came, he ignored the food. “Grandma, why did you come to my school?” he insisted.
Hugo’s tirade was obvious, even if she was confused. He blamed her and her colleagues for trying to embarrass him in front of his friends and their rich families. “You almost ruined my reputation at graduation!” Hugo pointed a finger at her and accused her. Hugo left his grandmother despite her pleas a few days later on his 18th birthday, determined to follow his aspirations of becoming a singer in the big city. His communication with her gradually decreased over the years until it stopped altogether.
Because of his music tour, Hugo was unable to visit Rosemary when she fell ill. She died alone and he didn’t find out until much later. And here he was, back with her, thinking about all the things he couldn’t undo.
A knock cut through his wistful memories.
Rosemary’s neighbor Simon arrived with a letter for Hugo and an urn. After flying over her, he found himself wishing for her ashes to be scattered over the ocean. He rolled his eyes and felt it was a big deal.
However, the neighbor also had Rosemary’s dog, Sunny. He intended to leave him because it was another duty he didn’t want. He looked around the cottage for any hidden gems, but finding none, he became cruelly curious about Rosemary’s existence. Take care, grandma! What did you earn after years of cleaning and sweeping? Nothing! So what did you leave me? Nothing! All you have left is the urn!
Fantastic!” he spat out, aware that he was getting more and more angry with himself.
After spending the night, he began exploring the attic the next day. There he discovered a box with small trinkets and an old diary. Sunny’s barking at the rodent interrupted him just as he was about to start reading.
While trying to calm Sunny down, he accidentally drops his grandmother Rosemary’s urn from a nearby table and notices a locket buried in the ground.
Confused but intrigued, Hugo asked Simon for advice. He revealed that Rosemary told him to place the locket in the urn and cited it as a memento of his past.
A curious Hugo returned to the cottage and began reading his grandmother’s diary, which brought him back to Rosemary’s early years. Hugo couldn’t help but pat Sunny on the head as he read next to him.
Young Rosemary saw a rich woman named Anna and her son Henry arrive at the orphanage where she lived in the spring of 1949 while playing outside. She later found out that their family was a major contributor to the church that ran the group home.
That’s when she tried to take Anna’s beautiful red scarf, but Henry caught her.
“Where’s my mom’s scarf?” Henry’s mother was chatting with the other adults when he made his request. Rosemary insisted she didn’t take it, but he continued, “Liar! You stole it. I watched you walk away with it. Give it back!”
Rosemary began to cry, attracting the attention of the nun and Anna. “Hey, what’s up?” Why are you crying?” asked the elegant woman.
“She stole your scarf, Mom. “I witnessed her rip it out,” Henry countered. Anna, who sympathized with her, gave Rosemary the scarf, which she kept. Henry folded his arms and pouted as Rosemary stuck her tongue out at him. However, the enmity did not last long.
This meeting unexpectedly led to Henry and Rosemary becoming close friends. However, as Henry prepared to leave for London, he declared his love for Rosemary and asked her to marry him when they were 18 and 17, respectively.
He said, “Rosie, will you be mine?” She hesitated and looked down at the golden sands of their beloved beach.
“You are my friend, Henry! With the wind blowing in her hair, she softly whispered, “I’ve never seen you different.
He nodded. “Still I’ll wait for you, Rosie. How long!”
After leaving for London, Henry promised to bring her a teddy bear and love notes in the coming months. Hugo noticed that Rosemary’s journal was empty as he flipped through the pages. The only other entry in the diary was an old envelope without a postmark bearing the name “Henry” and an address.
Hugo had to hear the rest of their story, so he went looking for Henry with Sunny, the woman he had fallen in love with and bought a new urn to put Rosemary’s ashes in. “Looks like we’re in this together Sunny, my old friend, shall we explore Grandma’s mysteries together? he asked.
After many bus trips, hotel stays, and hitchhiking, Hugo and Sunny finally found themselves outside the huge mansion in an unknown city where Henry was supposed to live.
But the correct address was given to Hugo by an older man. Hugo found the elder Henry when he arrived at a small plot of land about an hour from the ocean with a rose garden. Henry’s harsh voice cut through the air before Hugo could say anything.
“Hey, can you hear me? You’re not getting any of my roses. “Leave my property!” he growled.
Sunny got angry and started barking at Hugo’s defense.
“Get out of here or I’ll call a companion-“
“I’m Rosemary’s grandson!” Hugo closed one eye as if bracing himself for a blow and blurted out.
The older man’s jaw dropped. “Rosemary, rose, rose… With wet eyes, Henry stammered. Enter now!”
Hugo walked in and saw that Rosemary’s favorite trinkets were scattered all over the house. Henry motioned for him to sit down in his ill-fitting chair in front of the warm fireplace. Hugo explained his visit by showing Henry Rosemary’s diary, his love letters to her, and her unsent letter. He also explained to the elder how he came to know about him. Henry sighed and moaned, “Oh, Rosie, why have you been gone so long?” “Why did you leave me?” he asked, reaching out to touch the ancient treasures.
Henry began to cry even more when Hugo took out the locket with their photos.
“What happened after you went to London?” he asked.
Rosemary stopped writing to him, the old man admitted with disdain and a little broken voice. When he returned from London, he was informed that she had moved away and did not love him.
Henry was devastated and lived alone. “My heart has been permanently stolen from Rosie. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his face. “Just like she took the red scarf,” he muttered. He also claimed that once his parents died he sold everything and moved into this magical little home near the orphanage that Rosemary attended, Henry didn’t know she had died and continued to cry while the handkerchief muffled the sound.
Henry, maybe your parents lied. Grandma loved you, so why would she leave you? Hugo tilted his head and said, “Maybe they told her to stay away from you because she was poor.” “Do you know where this locket is located? in her urn.”
Hugo showed Henry the urn after taking it out of his backpack. He touched the older man’s shoulder and remarked, “Your Rosemary hasn’t gone anywhere.” “He’s standing right in front of you! believe me, it’s time to break up.”
Henry nodded at him, cleaned his face with a cloth once more, and took him to their favorite beach which is nearby. Together they scattered her ashes to the sound of waves and seagulls. Hugo returned to normal life a few days later with Sunny by his side but began writing songs about his grandmother, informing the world of his long-lost love with Henry and begging for her forgiveness.
It was his most famous work and seemed to be an attempt to make up for the terrible child that Rosemary was.
Hugo scattered Henry’s ashes on the same beach after he died a year later. He whispered, “You can be together now,” the hit singer sang.
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Hugo’s journey from bitterness to understanding was profound. Initially weighed down by regret and the memory of his past mistakes, he finds a new perspective through the remnants of his grandmother’s life. Initially seen as a symbol of his disdain, the urn becomes the key to unlocking the deeper layers of Rosemary’s story and her enduring love for Henry. Hugo’s search for Henry and the discovery of the true nature of their relationship closed a chapter that had long remained unresolved.
The emotional journey Hugo took not only changed his understanding of his grandmother but also gave him a chance to honor her memory in a meaningful way. By reconnecting with Henry and sharing Rosemary’s story with the world, Hugo made amends for his past behavior and created a legacy that celebrated his grandmother’s love and sacrifice. The act of spreading her ashes on the beach and the song he wrote in her honor became a tribute to her memory and reflected his newfound appreciation and regret.
Hugo’s story highlights the power of reconciliation and the importance of understanding and honoring the lives of those we once took for granted. It serves as a poignant reminder of how the past can be revisited and transformed through empathy and forgiveness, and how love can endure despite the passage of time and distance.