Who's Linda

The sun reflects through the glass window panes and hits my eye, as i flinch.

I have to ask her to change my hospital bed’s position today, i do not like waking up like this.

I grab the bed railings and painfully sit myself up. The pricking stiffness of my limbs are excrutiating. I sigh and take a deep breath with efforts to deal with the pain.

Alzheimers is a painful disease that i wish on no worst enemy of mine.

‘Mommy! Im leaving to get groceries! The stove is on, I’ll be back in just a second, the nurse will be here in a few minutes.’ my daugher screams as she closes the front door behind her.

‘Okay, honey!’ I say back to her.

I try to get out of bed as i grab my cane and transfer my weight onto its trusty metal body. I slowly walk myself to the bathroom.

As i slowy leave the bathroom, i see through my room into the dining room, where on the table a neat plate of warm steaming porridge was placed.

Hungry, i slowly walk towards the table as i sit and enjoy the warm sweetness of breakfast in the bright sunlight lighting the room.

I get a cold breeze across my face as i look towards the open window in the room. The trees sway as the freshness of the morning and the smell of fresh grass tints the air.

I hear the door open and a ‘Good Morning, Sylvia! Arent you looking bright today?’

‘Who are you, child?’ i ask as i look at the loud woman barging in the room in wonder.

‘Why, ma’am im your nurse, Rudith!’ she says as she walks into the kitchen and lays down her purse.

‘Why do i need a nurse?’ i ask her. ‘Oh Sylvia, you, my beautiful dear have a tendency to forget some things, no biggie! so your lovely daughter hired me to take care of you while she’s at work!’ she answers with a big smile.

‘I have a daughter?’

‘Why yes you do, Sylvia! Linda is so beautiful and so very clever!’ She says as she turns off the stove.

‘Oh, keep that on, child, Linda said she was cooking something’

‘Seems to be done’ Rudith whispered as she opened the vessel and looked inside.

‘Keep it on!’

‘Whatever you say ma’am’ Rudith said as she switched off the stove quite to my annoyance.

She came over towards me and handed me a glass of water.

‘For your pills, Sylvia’

I took my pills after which Rudith kindly guided me back to my room and help me sit on the sofa in my room, beside the window.

‘Alright ma’am ill be in the hall if you need anything okay?’ She says as she leaves the room.

I glance outside the widow as i rest my head on the sofa and enjoy the cool morning breeze.

I look at the pictures hanging on the wall in front of me.

Me and my daughter had beautiful memories, some of which i still remember. The first time she talked, walked, and her first day of school. I remember being there for her always, for every issue no matter big or small. So is she for me, now.

Without her i would have been lost.

I close my eyes as i feel warm tears cross my face as i think of my progressive disease and my poor Linda.

It descended to evening quite fast. I was now on my bed.

Rudith entered as she naturally inserted a dvd in our telly as if she had been doing the same for such a long time.

‘i want to watch the news’ i demand.

‘Alright ma’am.’

Rudith switched on the news as she asked me if i needed anything else.

‘Ok, if you dnt need anything else, Sylvia, ill be taking my leave.’

‘Where are you going?’

‘Home for the day, ma’am. I have a home and a family of two little kids.’

‘you dont have a husband?’

Rudith churckled and said ‘No, ma’am, i dont, since when did he make himself useful anyways.’

‘i see, well good night and could you lock the door on your way out.’

I lay back into the bed as i saw into the kitchen, the stove off. I remembered Linda asked me to switch it on.

I slowly got up, and walked to the kitchen and switched on the stove as the news played in the background.

‘Who’s watching the telly?’ i say.

I walked back to my room and as i was about to bend to grab the remote i saw the reporter reading out the news,‘The accident on the Cherry Hinton Road nar the Cambridge Wine Merchants, where a drunk truck driver hit a woman who’s has been identified as Linda basedon hospital records, who was in her 20s, this morning, just passed away in the Royal Paperworth Hospital at 9am and no relatives of her have come forward yet.’

’Oh dear, poor girl. People are so careless these days.’i think out loud.

I switch off the tv, take off my specs and lay on the bed and as i say a praper.

i hear the pot boiling and think when my daughter would return to switch it off as i slowly drift to sleep.

Fin.