"We Are Not Alone"

Jack began to laugh uncontrollably and as he did some of the ground beef mixed with gravy and strings of saliva fell out of his mouth and right into his lap.

It was not unusual for the three and sometimes four health workers to be overseeing the well being of some thirty Alzheimer’s patients in the dining area within the private facility. The merciless disease was diagnosed two years ago and had advanced rapidly within the last ten months. Ultimately, it has not only stripped Dr. Redman of all of his dignity, but even more savagely caused the brain of the once brilliant astrophysicist to atrophy to the point that it left him unable to recognize his only daughter and tremendously dedicated wife. Sara Redman waited for her husband in his room, as she lovingly hung up a few of his favorite shirts in the narrow closet. Sara used to cry endlessly since that awful day when she lost her bedmate, but now at the age of sixty-one, just a year younger than her high school sweetheart, it seemed as though there were no longer any tears left to shed. Nevertheless, Sara came to visit for two hours or so, six days out of the week, far fewer than she used to just six months ago when she and her husband could chat a little, no matter that his memories failed him badly, even then.

“Do you want to squeeze my boobies?” A five foot, very skinny female patient asked, as she lifted her sweater to reveal her sagging-wrinkled breasts in full view of several visitors within a nearby lounging area. She repeated her request, only this time she yelled loud enough for everyone within the hallways on the floor to hear. The words resonated in Sara’s ears as if each one was a dagger that pierced at her sanity, but by now