3 Things that Haunt

Happy almost Halloween. In honor of my least favorite holiday, here is a list of things that haunt, courtesy of my life.

A Reflection of Past Life
Harriet*, once healthy, now shuffles around a memory care dining room, scooping bread crumbs from glass tables into her long, wrinkled hand. In seconds, she forgets the crumbs in her hands and lets them drop to the floor. This is a reflection of her past life – a life she will no longer remember, when she cleaned her own kitchen, surrounded by family. She continues to shuffle, scoop, and mutter to herself, haunting the dining room.

Ugly German
Carter*, a young man in a college German class, sits far away from the others. His method of interacting is not like the others – in English or German – and for that, receives snickers and satirical questions. He never gives up trying to be liked, but the others never give up their play. The man is haunted by people no better than he, for his ugly, evil-sounding German.

Blindness in October
Julie*, who’s had far too many troubles in her long life, is now mostly blind from failed surgeries. Her eyes never look at the same spot, and she keeps the house closed and black. The possibility of permanence haunts her as she looks past me, holding on to the wall for a foundation in her dark world.

*names have been changed