A birthday gift

PROMPT: TALISMAN 
It is common in Deifus for people to celebrate their birthdays in the same way as people in other cultures.
They were worn out from their celebration for little Kailani, so it was late at night and the home was quiet. 
It was the little girl's tenth birthday.

After saying goodnight to my mother, I headed to my granny's room. Earlier in the day, my mother had told me
that Granny had a surprise for me. I wonder what it is, I hope it's a new shawl!

A small murmur from my grandmother's chamber caught my attention as I walked up to the room, making me smile.
"Granny?" I opened the door and called out softly.

My grandmother was sitting by the window enjoying the summer breeze and the distant jingle of windchimes.
My granny rocked in her rocking chair under the moonlight. She turned to look at me and smiled warmly at me
as she heard my loving name for her. I've always called her grandma; I never knew her real name. She waved
for me to approach, saying, "Lani, come my child."

My grandma gave me the largest hug ever as I walked over to her. "Happy birthday," she said gently
in my pointed ear before releasing her hold and putting her hands on my shoulders.

"You must feel very excited, yes?" In all honesty, my grandmother never stopped smiling while she
was with our family. "Not really," was my honest response. I was nervous about starting this new
chapter in my life. What if no one likes me after I change? What happens if everything goes
horribly wrong? What if...

"My goodness child, I can see that you are worrying again." My grandmother jolted me out
of my reverie when she realized I wasn't answering her inquiries.

"Sorry, you know I can't help it." I looked down at her lap and gave her a sheepish expression.
I turned back up to meet her gaze, and she murmured quietly, "No need to apologize, my child,I understand how you feel."

"I was afraid of everything when I was your age. I was afraid of what was ahead, afraid of losing my
family, and most of all, afraid of the person I may have become."

I've always thought of my grandmother as the toughest person I know, so this shocked me
. It was almost strange, but reassuring, to learn that she had experienced fear at one point in her life.

"I used to look at this whenever I felt scared," she said, removing a pendant from her skirt pocket and displaying it to me.
"What's that?" I curiously asked maybe once or twice, at special events, I've seen grandma wearing that, but I never got to question what it was.

"Remember the stories I told you about the different worlds?" I nodded. I always remember the stories, my grandmother
told me about a little girl who traveled through several realms and encountered a wide variety of characters.

"This is the same pendant that the little girl wore." I gasped a little and my eyes grew wide and twinkled with wonder.
She passed the pendant to me and said, "And I want you to have it." After looking more closely, I saw that there were
carvings of a lotus flower with petals like droplets of water. Comparable to the lotus flower, which is the national flower of the deifus.

"Are you sure I can keep this?" My grandma nodded as I inquired, my eyes darting to meet hers as I studied the jewelry.
"My own mother gave this to me, I feel that it's only right to do the same for you." 

I hugged my grandma tightly and held onto the pendant she gave me. "Thank you, granny!"
I smiled as she gave me a warm, comforting hug in return and rubbed my back.

"Happy birthday my dear Lani, I hope this serves you justice as it did for me." She mumbled.

END