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Red Tulips on the windowsill
A hurl of coughs and tears. A nursing home far away from the buzz of the city. An old woman sitting in a rocking chair and looking out of the window in pure hope and anticipation. And Alzheimer's disease.
"Miss May? It's time for your injection."
A polite nurse walked in, and tied Miss May's hair behind her head. She then rolled up her sleeves and gently but firmly pierced the old skin with a needle, replaced it with a band aid, passed a smile and left.
May Wells was a beloved mother and grandmother of five. But her late husband Derek was closest to her heart. Derek went missing at sea and was declared dead after three months. Contrary to many expectations and his wife's naive hope, he never returned. Ever since, May spiralled downwards and was eventually abandoned by her family into the nursing home.
May looked outside at the dancing leaves and waving yellow grass, so tall it would have met up to her ankles. Her once glowing skin had faded and wrinkled around her eyes and mouth, and her full red lips had reduced to thin pencil drawn lines of pale pink. Her blonde hair turned into a pure white bush. She was still pretty, even in the shadow of Alzheimer's disease.
May woke up the next day to the sound of her wind chime in the wind.
Her vision blurred into clarity and her eyes immediately focused onto a red hedge on the window. What she saw reduced get to tears. A bouquet of red tulips had been carefully rooted into the small grass patch on the window. Red tulips on the windowsill.
"Just... Just like m-my Derrek used to bring!" she said between sobs. She smiled and clutched a photo of Derrek to her heart as tears streamed down her face. A nurse stood in a doorway and watched the spectacle with tears in her eyes. She eventually went in to administer the regular injection.
The old woman babled on about the flowers in her room, and their subtle scent. She talked about her daughter, and Derrek, but she didn't remember her grandchildren. She was at the mental age of 25.
The next morning there were new tulips in her windowsill ready to greet her goodmorning. This went on for four days, and everyday it warmed the staff and nurses' hearts.
On the fifth day, the staff were ready with a camera to catch Miss May's mysterious, generous visitor. In the early morning hours, they spotted a young boy, one of Miss May's grandsons, accompanied by an elderly man with a spark in his eye. The boy was ushered into the building and then he ran off to put the flowers in place. The old man then kissed May's forehead and both of them left.
The staff assumed it was an uncle, or a friend or hers who brought the flowers for her. However, on the seventh day, there were more flowers than usual, almost double. Later in the day, the news about an old capsized ship being discovered surfaced, and the sunken sailor was identified as Derrek. In the video clip ftom the ship log, a younger Derrek held several red tulips and plucked one petal each day. On the seventh one, the ship flooded and he sunk, still clutching the tulips.
The nurse was amazed and rushed to alert Miss May, but she was already gone. The nurse, she swore that she saw a shimmery translucent old woman in the distance, holding a red tulip in one hand and the hand of the old man in the other.
"Miss May? It's time for your injection."
A polite nurse walked in, and tied Miss May's hair behind her head. She then rolled up her sleeves and gently but firmly pierced the old skin with a needle, replaced it with a band aid, passed a smile and left.
May Wells was a beloved mother and grandmother of five. But her late husband Derek was closest to her heart. Derek went missing at sea and was declared dead after three months. Contrary to many expectations and his wife's naive hope, he never returned. Ever since, May spiralled downwards and was eventually abandoned by her family into the nursing home.
May looked outside at the dancing leaves and waving yellow grass, so tall it would have met up to her ankles. Her once glowing skin had faded and wrinkled around her eyes and mouth, and her full red lips had reduced to thin pencil drawn lines of pale pink. Her blonde hair turned into a pure white bush. She was still pretty, even in the shadow of Alzheimer's disease.
May woke up the next day to the sound of her wind chime in the wind.
Her vision blurred into clarity and her eyes immediately focused onto a red hedge on the window. What she saw reduced get to tears. A bouquet of red tulips had been carefully rooted into the small grass patch on the window. Red tulips on the windowsill.
"Just... Just like m-my Derrek used to bring!" she said between sobs. She smiled and clutched a photo of Derrek to her heart as tears streamed down her face. A nurse stood in a doorway and watched the spectacle with tears in her eyes. She eventually went in to administer the regular injection.
The old woman babled on about the flowers in her room, and their subtle scent. She talked about her daughter, and Derrek, but she didn't remember her grandchildren. She was at the mental age of 25.
The next morning there were new tulips in her windowsill ready to greet her goodmorning. This went on for four days, and everyday it warmed the staff and nurses' hearts.
On the fifth day, the staff were ready with a camera to catch Miss May's mysterious, generous visitor. In the early morning hours, they spotted a young boy, one of Miss May's grandsons, accompanied by an elderly man with a spark in his eye. The boy was ushered into the building and then he ran off to put the flowers in place. The old man then kissed May's forehead and both of them left.
The staff assumed it was an uncle, or a friend or hers who brought the flowers for her. However, on the seventh day, there were more flowers than usual, almost double. Later in the day, the news about an old capsized ship being discovered surfaced, and the sunken sailor was identified as Derrek. In the video clip ftom the ship log, a younger Derrek held several red tulips and plucked one petal each day. On the seventh one, the ship flooded and he sunk, still clutching the tulips.
The nurse was amazed and rushed to alert Miss May, but she was already gone. The nurse, she swore that she saw a shimmery translucent old woman in the distance, holding a red tulip in one hand and the hand of the old man in the other.
