By Gomathi Sridevi Radhakrishnan
He was awake, sitting with a letter gripped in his trembling hand. I greeted him cheerfully, but he only grunted before holding the letter out to me.
“Can you send this to my daughter? It’s her birthday,” he murmured.
“Of course, Mr. Dan,” I replied, accepting the imperfectly folded letter.
Back in my room, I slid it beneath my bed into a hidden box already overflowing with similar letters. His handwriting was clumsy, yet always legible.
My chest tightened.
He may no longer remember my face, my name, or who I am, but somehow, every year, he still remembers my birthday.
Beautifully bittersweet. Well done.
A beautifully written story.
A fantastic use of words to capture the pain of the condition of dementia. Keep on writing
Love it. That. Is. All.
Poignant. Well written!
Sad, poignant story told very well!
Beautiful and subtly powerful.
My dad had Alzheimer’s. This really touched me
Powerful story!
This could be my mother-in-law. My wife puts on a brave face, but you’ve captured her feelings beautifully.
Oh that hurt… beautifully done.
Very moving