1911 (12)

I promised Grandmother I’d bring her a model pistol next time, but the chance to keep that promise never came.

Not long after our visit to Friedrichshof, word arrived that Grandmother’s condition had suddenly worsened. Mother went to see her a few more times, but she didn’t keep bringing us along.

Whenever I worked on the model at the workshop, I asked if I could take it to her this time.

I asked when we changed the position of the barrel link’s pin, and again when we cut a new groove into the slide model. When seven dummy rounds fed and ejected in a row by hand, I thought I might finally be able to show it to her.

But the answer was always the same.

“Wait a little longer.”

And now that the model was almost finished, there was no need to wait any longer.

Grandmother had passed away.

For the second time that year, black cloth was hung throughout the Imperial Palace.

In January, it had been my great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. This time, it was Grandmother...