You stand at the window, gazing out at the stars. They twinkle and shine brightly but not as brightly as you once remembered. The shiny silver moon hangs waxing in the dark blue sea. You wonder where everyone has gone. You hear a door open and a voice call to you “are you still up?” You turn and start to head back to your bed. A nurse walks in, hands on their hips “now come on. What did I tell you about getting out of bed!” they put you to bed and scold you again before leaving.  

    You lay there for a moment before getting out of bed again. You go over to the small sink and mirror in a corner of your lonely room. As you gaze into the reflection you see that you are no longer that young person you once knew. Your youthful features are replaced by aged skin and grey locks. You run your hand over your face, hoping to smooth those wrinkles and lines away, but they still remain. Your eyes are tired and dark, your memory faulty. What color hair did you have? Was it brown or red? Maybe you dyed it different colors, you no longer remembered, and you honestly did not care. You turn to head back to bed. As you do your legs become weak and give way causing you to fall. But the impact never comes.  

    Someone is holding you tightly. “Wow, still kind of a klutz, eh?” You know that voice but who does it belong to? Did you have a spouse or partner? You can’t quite remember. Who was it that was speaking? You look up and catch the face of a familiar old friend. Their eyes were bright and full of mischief, a smile brimming with snark and flaming locks fall all around Them. You squint then exclaim happily, trying to hug your savior. They chuckle and hug you back. “You know, you’re not supposed to be out of bed.” They say teasing you.  

    You laugh as They lead you back to your bed. They help you get settled in and sit on the side of the bed. You both talk of the past, They tease you about embarrassing things that happened to you and praise all your accomplishments, big and small. After the reminiscing is finished, They caress your cheek gently. “You’re still the same, you know. Just older. To Me you’re still that same kind and loving soul.” You smile and start to cry. There are days you can’t remember Them and it breaks your heart. After all the things They have helped you with. All the days They had helped you out the darkness that had entered your life, They were that sliver of light when everything was engulfed in the blackness.  

    You apologize for not having a proper altar as the place you live would not allow it nor would they allow you to leave offerings of Their favorite treats and drinks. “Hey, hey it’s ok. I understand.” They say gently. You try to get up out of bed as you remembered that there was something you wanted to give Them. “Hey, what’s the hurry?” They ask. You tell Them that there was something that you wanted to give them. “Ok, I’ll get it, you just stay there. Don’t need you breaking a hip, you old fart.” They say teasingly. You tell Them that the item is in the drawer where the sink is.  

    They go over and open the drawer and take out the item and bring it over to you. It is a smooth rock, about as big as your palm and on it was a painting of a snake. You painted that for Them and have been wanting to give it to Them for so long. “Wow, you did this for me? Heh, I love it!” They observe the painted rock “you know it kind of looks like Jorms!” They say chuckling. They put the gift in a pouch for safe keeping. They sit back down on the bed and pat your leg “came by to check on you. Been awhile since I’ve heard from you.”  

    You apologize and try to explain that you’ve been ill and very tired all the time. They understand “No, don’t apologize. I know you’ve been sick. Illness always takes humans down, especially the older ones.” He gets up from the bed “don’t worry too much, I’ll see you on the flip side. Maybe we’ll prank Thor or mess with Skadi.” They say winking. You both say your goodbyes and They vanish in a puff of smoke. You lay back down and now a heavy tiredness overtakes you. You’ve never felt this before. Your body feels as if it is floating, and you start to close your eyes. The last thing you see is the concerned and frantic faces of people you don’t remember. You smile and drift off to sleep.