She woke up with a start. Blinking her eyes a few times she slowly turned her head to scan the room. ‘Where the heck am I?” she thought. Panic slowly started to rise in her chest. Her breathing had already begun to quicken and she could feel her heart beating faster. She sat up and flung back the duvet. She was wearing a nightdress but she knew that it was not her own. Pushing herself up into a sitting position was difficult, she felt so weak and frail. “What is wrong with me?” her voice sounded deep and hoarse. She coughed to try and clear her throat. ‘Maybe she had been ill and was in some kind of rehabilitation unit,’ she thought, trying to make sense of where she was. Stepping out of the bed, her legs wobbled and almost gave way. She slowly walked to the wardrobe and looked inside. Its contents were sparse. She took some trousers, a blouse, a jumper and a pair of flat slip-on shoes and then placed them onto the bed. In the side cabinet by the bed she found some undergarments. She decided she would get dressed and go and find out what the ‘bloody hell’ was going on. The process was agonizingly slow.

The corridor was empty, so she made her way to the reception. No one was there! She looked around exasperated and searched for a phone. Nothing! Where was her husband and her daughter, she would be crying waiting for her mummy? It just doesn’t make sense. She was worried now; an overwhelming desire to find them overcame her. She walked out of the building and wandered down the street. Cars drove by and people hurried past. She looked at the houses but didn’t recognize the street. A car slowed downas it passed her and a woman poked her head out of the window and shouted, “STOP!” ‘Who was that and what did she want?’ Frightened she started to run away. She ran and ran. Past houses and then a row of shops. Out of breath and shaking, she stopped. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window. An old grey haired woman stared back at her. She heard screaming and then realized it was coming from her own mouth.

Then in an instant she was gone.

“Mom, mom!” the woman had finally caught up with her, quickly followed by a man. “Mom are you alright what are you doing out here?” turning to the man. “She must have escaped again! That bloody place, I told you we should have moved her from there Richard!”

“I know love, but the only other Alzheimer community hospital is more than 70 miles away. We would only be able to visit her once a week if we moved her there. Besides, the kids would only get to see their Grandma only once a week! “

She looked at the man and woman talking. “Who are you?” she enquired, unaware of the situation.

Candy Croc © 2018 Staffordshire