Reader's Response to Part I of I Am The Messenger By Markus Zusak

In Part I of the novel, I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak, there was one particular scene that really made me feel emotionally connected with Ed and Milla. Ed is given three addresses to go to and 1 of the 3 is to a lonely, elderly woman by the name, Milla. Milla thinks Ed is her husband and so they have an emotional ride together from eating together everyday to talking about how much they love each other. One day, Milla asks “Jimmy” if she treated him right and he replied, “You treated me right. You were the best wife I could ever…(Zusak 57)”. This brings tears of happiness to her eyes. This scene makes me emotional because I remember doing the same for my grandmother. Not all of my aunts were very close with her. In fact, they refused to take her into their homes but my mom loved my grandma dearly. So, she moved in and she was about 85, and I was 10. With having so many siblings, it is hard to get the amount of attention a 10 year old might want. In this scenario, that was me. I was 10 and I had no one to just talk to myself and having a long conversation with. My parents would scold me if I did trouble and send me to my room all the time and instead, I would go to grandma’s room and stay with her. Sometimes, she would want tea or oatmeal so I would make some and give it to her. She would tell me stories about her childhood when she was around my age and how fast they had to grow up because of the culture. She told me work hard and never give up. In this section where Ed spends time with Milla, he gradually starts to create a bond with Milla and is happier. The same thing happened to me. Everyday I became even more attached to her and spent more time with her than anyone else. Then everything took a huge turn. Two years after moving in with us, my grandma got very sick. It wasn't the first time she had gotten sick and so everyone acted as the norm. Give pain meds, food, and sleep. But, I could tell there was a bigger problem going on. Grandma became less talkative and more quiet as if she was daydreaming all day long. Two weeks later I lay beside her on her hospital bed. She was moved in the hospital because her heart rate dropped rapidly one day. As she was breathing her last, she said to me, thank you Leyla for coming back and taking care of me so well, I love you. I was shocked because Leyla is one of my aunts and I then only realized she confused me with a whole other person the entire time. Tears strolled my face instantly and I was sobbing loudly. I said, “I love you too, Grandma”. I knew it was reassurance she needed in her last breathe. Five minutes later, she had passed away. Even today, I still remember this day and I can't stop the tears from coming. I realized that no matter what, you never forget your past. Milla had thought Ed was her husband just like my grandma thought I was her daughter. In contrast, Ed and I both melted in such emotional feelings with the people we had met and really loved them. To conclude, this may have been a fictional novel, but I was able to relate such a sensitive and heartwarming experience in my own life with Ed and Milla’s from the novel, I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak.