I’ve locked myself in my room for the past 3 days. I haven’t eaten since breakfast yesterday morning. The flowers my mom brought me on my birthday are wilting, just like I am. It comforts me to know I’m not the only one suffering. The delicate roses plead to me, crying out for help, begging for something I can’t even give myself. The petals cling to their stem, hoping that when they inevitably fall, someone will be there to catch them. I pour out the filthy water in a vain attempt to revive them and their beauty. I stare at the vase that belonged to my great grandmother. She’s been long forgotten, too. Her name was Peggy, but everyone remembered her as Ganny, plain and simple. They thought of her often. They thought of her when she was struggling to care for four kids during a war. They thought of her when she was rotting in a nursing home. They thought of her while she clung to pictures of the people who no longer cared. They thought of her while she rocked herself to sleep in her hospital bed, realizing that her time was almost up. They thought of her as her beloved husband clung to her beautiful wrinkled hand as the life slipped from her. They thought of her as they passed her casket, placing a rose lovingly on the wood, a rose that would wilt just as mine do now. They think of her even now, at this very moment. But, I can empathize with my great grandmother. Because, just like her, everyone thinks of me, pictures me in their head, but when I actually need them, their thoughts will be elsewhere. And then it will be too late.