Time

Trudging through those familiar doors, Harper sighed in anguish, knowing this to be her final encounter with them. This was the last time she’d be met with the welcoming warmth and the odd perfume of age that the young woman had grown so accustomed to. Ignoring the pitiful glances being tossed at her by caregivers, Harper swallowed hard and proceeded to pour a cup of hot coffee, black, from the pot that always sat on the front desk. This is why Harper liked Cypress Waters Nursing Home-- it tried too hard, just like her. Who really has fresh flowers at home all the time, and matching everything? Harper and Cypress Waters. Soon, the home would be the only thing left common to her. And even then, Harper wouldn’t have a reason to return.

Nevertheless, her feet operate on autopilot, and she aimlessly wandered down the dimly lit corridors to her Bubbe’s room, where she was met by a lanky man, if you even call him that, in a white coat holding a clip board.

“There’s no point in you being here,” she spat, “you updated me on her condition l this morning. I’m fine.” Doctor Grissly squirmed with tension before answering.

“I’m sorry to inform you Mrs. Klein’s condition has worsened. She only has a few hours left. I’ll leave you now,” he stammered and stiffly roamed to another patient’s room. Mustering up her courage, Harper clasped the doorknob, cool with the aura of death, and turned.

As a little girl, Harper always wondered what happened after the end of fairy tails. Would the princess ever grow up and become old and crusty like her horrid stepmother? Who would know that all these years later, she would find out? Bubbe’s wrinkled frame was draped across the bed, her body covered with a pink night shirt and tie blanket that Harper cra...

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...body in the synagogue was really there. Just a memory.

And the scene changed again and again, Harper viewing the same moments viewed by those watery blue eyes she loves so dearly. Yet, she watched distantly, for she could not shake the feeling of loss seeing her Zayde brought. In a flash, a wave of woe washed over her. She knew what she had to do.

Harper awoke with cold hands, only to find that they were not her own. The young woman, although she felt more like a helpless child, swore, Bubbe held on for her. Her water blue eyes were watery with tears of both joy and sorrow. Her voice was barely audible. “We got more than a day or two, mamaleh. We got a lifetime.” With a shaky breath, Bubbe’s body went rigid. Harper kissed her forehead, closed the old woman’s eyes and released her now limp hand. It was time Bubbe got back to Zayde. It was time for Harper to let go