The Case Of Ali

Epilogue.

As the August date approached Ali became anxious. It would be the first anniversary of Jakes's disappearance.  Jake was looking at that date as the date of Ali's accident that put her in a coma for eight months.  Regardless of how Ali  looked at it; it brought back bad memories.  She was dreading the day but could not share this with anyone.  

Ali took baby Zach to a nearby playground.  She was sitting on a bench as she watched Zach play in the sandbox. Someone sat down next to her. "Beautiful day, is it not?" The woman said.   Ali looked up and her heart skipped a beat. Matilda ? There was no doubt that this  was the same woman she met at the house closing who told her not to touch the ugly mailbox. And the weird thing was, she was wearing the exact clothes she wore that day, with the fancy head wrap and all....But she was also Ali's nurse, Matilda from the trauma center.   No wonder, she looked so familiar.  Everything came flooding back to Ali as if it was yesterday.  Ali  recalled the woman exact words. "Change out anything you want in or outside the house, but not the mailbox; you hear me chile, not the mailbox; Don't  replace the mailbox,"  the woman had told her   

"Matilda is that you?" Ali asked.

The woman nodded. "How you doing chile?" she asked. She did not sound anything like Nurse Matilda. And she looked older than the Matilda Ali met in the hospital. Nurse Matilda looked like she was in her early twenties same age as Ali, but this Matilda looked to be in her late thirties. How weird, Ali thought.  What the hell was going on? Was this real or a dream?

"I am coping," Ali said. The woman hissed her teeth. 

"You  warned me about the mailbox when we closed on the  house; and you were my nurse at the hospital; why at the hospital you said that you didn't remember meeting me?" Ali asked.

"I never said that I didn't remember you; you were the one who couldn't remember; you were not suppose to remember," Matilda said.  'What?'

"Why did you tell me not to replace the  mailbox?" Ali asked.

"You need to put all that behind you now; that is in the past," She said.

"Are you saying that it is ok now to replace the mailbox?" Ali asked.

"You are a clever one; what do you think?" Matilda asked. 

"I think I will keep it always," Ali said.

"Stop stressing yourself; you should be happy; you have your husband and your baby and you know something that no one else knows; you know what life has in store for you, even if you dreamt it," she said.

"How is your husband doing?" she asked.

"He is good," Ali said.

"And the baby is thriving; he is doing  good; but you not so good?" the woman said.

"How is it I remember and Jake doesn't?" Ali asked.

Matilda smiled at Ali then looked at Zach in the sandbox.  "Your answer is right there in front of you;  did you do everything you were  told  to do?" Matilda asked.

"Yes....everything," Ali responded not sure where Matilda was going with this or if she even understood the question the woman asked. 

"Maybe not," the woman said.

"Who are you? Who is Alex? Where are you from? Are you from the future? Please tell me," Ali begged.

"I think you ask questions that you already know the answers to; But I will tell you this much; I am not from your world Ali but I am here  to help you, to protect you; that is all you need to know about me," she said.