A Friend That Was

It was around the first of January when I came home one day to find a short gray haired old lady. She was standing in the backyard. She looked tired, cold, and very thin. It came about that she was my new neighbor, Lila Duff, whom I had met in the fall when I moved into the apartment building. Lila had looked a lot healthier back then. I wondered how long she had been standing there. I asked her if she would like to come up to my apartment and have a cup of coffee and get warm, but she refused. Then she just went home. I thought this odd but said nothing.

The spring came and things were going along fine. Lila was looking better now that it was warmer. On the weekends we became friends. We had a lot of things in common like gardening or sitting on the sun porch talking. She was the happiest when she talked about her childhood. She had decided to live a hard and daring life when she was young. Then she became a mother and a wife with all the responsibility of a farmhouse at the age of eighteen. To Lila, the loss of her youth was so overwhelming that she never got over it, even to until this day.

Gradually, I started to notice that Lila was forgetting little things like when to go to the store. Sometimes, she would forget to wear shoes or slippers on her feet. Then she would forget her coat in the middle of the wintertime as well. When spring came, I also noticed that she was eating some pretty strange stuff like pieces of bark and small leaves. I didn’t think that was very healthy or good for her body. Lila said that she was Indian and this kind of food was good for her. But to me this train of thought is all wrong as well as harmful.

She had mood swings. One minute Lila would be crying and then she would be laughing the next. Or she would be your best friend one time, and then next time she would be jealous of everyone and anything. This was confusing, and I don’t understand this kind of behavior. Sickness had rendered my friend Lila helpless. I know this kind of sickness has to run its course.

From my observations it seemed like Lila had the forgetfulness of Alzheimer’s, the uncontrollable shakes of Parkinson’s, and the delusions of hearing and seeing spaceships connected to schizophrenia. Whatever she has, I could see serious problems.

Even though results that came back from the hospital said she was normal, I’m not convinced. One thing is for sure, my old friend. I cannot restore your youth nor brighten the shaded places of your mind.

Marguerite J. Badger.

Sept 28, 2005