STORY
John sat in the doctor’s office with his wife, Sara. John had Alzheimer’s and for weeks now, he had been repeating the name Evelyn over and over again. Sara had no idea who this girl was, and was desperate to find out about her.
The doctor, a psychiatrist, began asking the patient about his childhood, and John told him about growing up as an orphan, and living in an orphanage where he was bullied and had anger issues. Then he met a girl named Evelyn who helped him through it all. They became friends, and he fell deeply in love with her. John expressed his feelings to Evelyn, but things did not go well after that. They never spoke again. Sara listened in shock as John‘s memories came flooding back. She tried to comfort him by holding his hands.
Later, Sara went to the orphanage where her husband had grown up and began asking around. But no one had ever heard of a girl named Evelyn who had lived there. As she was about to give up, a staff member at the orphanage mentioned that some children had imaginary friends, and it was possible that Evelyn was one of those. Sara was heartbroken as she realized that Evelyn was not a real person, but just a figment of her husband’s imagination.
Determined to support her husband through this difficult time, Sara returned home to him, tears streaming down her face, and told him the truth about Evelyn. He looked at her with confusion, not understanding what she was saying. Sara knew that he would never fully understand the truth, but she hoped that being honest with him would provide some comfort. As time passed, Sara saw her husband’s mind slowly slipping away, his memories fading like an old cassette tape. He would whisper Evelyn’s name over and over again, a subconscious yearning for a connection that no longer existed. She sat by his side, holding his hand, offering words of love and reassurance as his memories became entangled in a web of confusion. The once sharp and vibrant man she knew was now like a puzzle with missing pieces, his thoughts now fragmented. Sara longed for a cure, a remedy to restore his memories and heal his mind, but she knew that it was not possible.
She held onto the memories they had created together – their trips to the library, their shared love for movies, and the evenings they spent laughing over a hot slice of pizza. Those memories were now more precious than ever, as they formed the threads of their love story, a bond that transcended the boundaries of reality.
As the final chapter of their life together drew near, Sara found herself cherishing every moment they had left. She held onto the truth she had learned through this heart-wrenching journey – the value of unconditional love, even in the face of a debilitating disease.
In the end, Sara was left alone, with nothing but the memory of her husband’s love for an imaginary girl, and the knowledge that she would never truly understand what had taken him from her. She was filled with a deep sadness, knowing that their love story would always be incomplete. But despite the pain, she held onto the belief that their love was reciprocated, a truth that would forever remain in her heart.