SHORT stories

Prison for the Elderly (based on a true story)

Martha walks down the empty hallway in the assisted living facility where she works. The scents ofbleach and urine battle for dominance in the stuffy air and many times she wishes to hold her breath. She couldn't imagine living here. As she passes by an occasional open door she is met withdesperate eyes longing for company. They have been locked up for months thanks to COVID-19.

They are all deathly afraid of the virus, and the very air seems unfit to breathe. They cover theirfaces with masks, unlikely to ever see a fellow human's face again before they pass into thenext life. All they'll ever be able to see is eyes from now on.They are getting tired of being here, and she doesn't blame them.

They are at the end of their lives and are denied human interaction. She has seen their fear slowly fade and turn toincurable depression. Depression more deadly than the virus itself. So many times, she has walked past an open door and found them with their heads in their hands. A posture of fatigue and despair.

A few weeks ago, one of the residents came up to her in the hall looking rather downcast and upset and he said, "When is this going to be over, it's like we are in jail." She nodded sympathetically but not knowing what to say. It is like they are injail.

They get their meals at their doors and they are told to stay in their rooms where all theydo is watch the news and become more fearful. She is sure that it is worse than jail. They were dumped in this place by their family members who have abandoned them. One lady told her, "If I were to ask my son to come at four, I would wait till five, then six, then seven, and he would nevercome." It is sadly like this for most of the residents who live here.

Even when there wasn'tCOVID-19 she hardly saw family members come to visit. Depression hangs the air in this place and smiles go unnoticed beneath the masks.The gradual death of the body is nothing compared to the death of the spirit.

Their spirits arefading as their hope dies. The atmosphere of the place is very dull and void of life. There is nomusic, and no laughter. Martha doesn't know how to give hope to these people. Day by day theirhearts become heavier in their last few moments on this earth.

Martha's job at the nursing home is simply to deliver food to the resident's doors. She often finds herself trapped when a resident sees her and talks her ear off, but she doesn't mind. For some she might be the last person they ever talk to.

Since the pandemic started more of the residents started dying of broken hearts than sickness itself. Martha's favorite resident Patty even passed away and she didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. Martha loved Patty, who had always treated her like a granddaughter. Patty was old, but the lock down brought her loneliness and she gradually stopped eating. Martha was convinced Patty died of a broken heart.

The longer the lockdown lasts the more devastation Martha witnesses in the precious elderly citizens. There is a worse way to die than a sickness, and that is desolation. There is a reason why solitary confinement is a dreaded punishment. The elderly who have done nothing wrong are locked up in solitary confinement, afraid for their lives. Martha can think of nothing worse, but there is nothing she can do about it but be an ear to listen to them and a voice to comfort them.