Window Of Memories

The taxi took Barbara to work every day . She was the registered nurse at Koo Wee Nursing home . Each morning Barbara began the day in the sane way . After walking through the front door she would say good morning to Fred who sat near the front door . Fred sat there alone looking outside the large glass window as if he was expecting someone to come . In the six years that Fred had been in Koo Wee nobody had ever visited him . He had been diagnosed with dementia and was ever so slowly slipping away …. silently slipping away and then he was gone . No one noticed him slip out the front door and hail the taxi that just brought Barbara to work . In a matter of seconds the taxi was out of sight and Fred was on his way to God knows where .The taxi was heading down the road through open country in the direction of Whistle Town that boasted a population of ten thousand . Fred directed the driver to a street in town where he paid the fare and got out.
He walked slowly up the street looking into every house until he stopped at one in particular . Then he walked up the path to the front door and knocked . An old woman answered the door looking slightly perplexed . Fred smiled .

“Hello is it Mrs Muldoon ?“ He asked politely . The old woman looked over Fred’s shoulder and replied .

“I saw you coming up to the door and wondered in a silly kind of way who have I at my door . ?”

Fred replied , “My name is , well its quite silly really . I can’t remember but now what I was going to say was , just give me a minute oh isn’t it silly of me I’ve forgot what it was I’ve come here for .“

The old woman placed her hand on his shoulder and said .

“Oh that’s all right . Don't worry .It happens to us all . Yes , my name is Muldoon I do recall and who have I here standing at my front door? ”

Fred put his hand over his mouth and stumbled through his words .

“ As a matter of fact , my memory is slack and I really don’t know anymore .”

God love him and her this lovely old pair for they had been married three score years before Fred was put away into care . Some how he remember where he used to live .The ironic thing is that his wife now also was a victim of dementia and they had no idea of who they actually were . It just goes to show you that true love is like a morning dew that glistens in the early dawn but gets brighter when after the mist clears away and the day is old .
Fred stood there talking for a while to his wife . The next door neighbour eventually intervened and was able to put both of them into a taxi .
When Fred and his wife returned to Koo Wee Barbara called in the community health team and Mrs Muldoon was assessed for an immediate placement into the dementia specific section of Koo Wee where she and her husband were looked after until the last dew had fallen on the roses .

The End

By Paul McCann