Moonlight Magic

“Morning.” Shouted Julie as she closed the white upvc door behind her.

She rented a terrace house with her boyfriend only a few hundred yards from the hospital which made working there that much more bearable. It only took five minutes to walk to the end of the street, through the traffic-calming bollards which blocked cars from using the street as a short-cut, over the main road and she was at the main entrance to the hospital.

She probably couldn’t be any closer if she tried.

The house had come up for rent purely by chance at exactly the right time.

Just over two years ago, she had finished her training to be a nurse when she and her boyfriend had made the decision to find somewhere to live together. They had been looking for a while with no luck when this little terraced house appeared in the local paper. Julie couldn’t believe her luck and made an immediate appointment to go and see it, knowing fine well that if she left it long enough to talk it over with her partner it would probably have gone. Houses and flats around here don’t last five minutes on the market before they are snapped up.

They saw it that evening and instantly fell in love with it. It’s a two bedroom terraced house with a downstairs bathroom and loo at the back of the house, through the kitchen because the upstairs bedroom at the back used to be the bathroom but like most of these small houses it makes much more sense to have two bedrooms…although it does mean adding a small extension through the kitchen, which is a small price to pay for an extra bedroom.

“Hello.” She called again as she walked from the small hallway into the living room where her boyfriend, Barry, was sat at the table eating a piece of toast.

“Hi. How’s your day…sorry…night been Jules?” He said throwing his free arm around her and pulling her close.

She bent down and gave him a kiss…then just stood enjoying the closeness of his touch for a few seconds before gently pulling away and sitting down at the table.

“It’s been…” She paused for a second, “strange…to say the least.”

Barry was a porter at the hospital and like Julie, sometimes worked night shifts which was great, but this week he was on days so he only had a few minutes with her before he would have to leave.

“Oh no...” He said standing up and making for the kitchen with his plate, “Has Sandra been giving you a hard time again?”

“No…no…she’s been fine. Well…you know how she is. No…it’s a patient.”

“A patient?” He said as he ran his plate under the tap.

“Yes…he’s…”

“What…he’s pinched your bum like that other dirty old man you had in a while back?” Said Barry walking back into the room. He knew she worked in the geriatric ward so any problem with a patient meant someone was ill, died, dementia or had wandering hands.

“No Barry…nothing like that.” Said Julie standing up and walking towards the front room window that looked onto the street.

“Sorry love…I didn’t mean to be…you know.” Replied Barry apologetically.

“I know…this guy…he…” She stared blankly out of the window.

“He what Jules?”

“He…he just had something about him. Something different.” She turned to face Barry. “Most of the patients we have in the ward have a lifetime of experiences…some fantastic stories to tell…but this old man…he’s lost his memory…but…”

Barry took old of her hands.

“Look love.” He said quietly. “Don’t get involved…they die…then you get depressed.”

“I know…I know. But this old guy…he looked at me. Into my eyes. And it felt as if he was looking into my soul. I’ve never felt that before Barry…I love you…and when you look at me. Into my eyes. I love it. But this was different. I felt as if he could see into my mind and I could feel his sadness…a huge sadness.”

“I bet he’s sad…he’s in hospital.” Replied Barry uncaringly and dropped her hands. “Look love…I’m sorry but I’ve got to go to work.” He picked up his small black rucksack next to the dining table, threw his jacket over his shoulder and left through the door.

“Bye Love.” He shouted as he slammed the front door behind him, rattling the letter box.

Julie stood motionless for a second or two looking out the window watching people getting on with their lives as she thought of the old man in hospital. Who was he…what story did he have to tell? Why did she feel the way she did about this patient…after all, she had seen many old people, men and women come into the hospital on her ward with all sorts of amazing and peculiar stories but they never grabbed her attention the way this old man had done. Visually there was nothing different about him…apart from his stunning blue eyes…that was it…his eyes. There was something about the way he looked at her. It was as if he was trying to tell her something…something that was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t say it.

He had lost his memory for some reason which no-one knew. It usually happened because of a trauma…like a blow to the head…or the death of a loved one. Maybe he had remembered something and that was what he was trying to do…tell her what happened. He hadn’t said much but the few words he had spoken made a real impression on her

“We can live forever…it’s the moon. The full moon.”

Why had he said that? He had been looking out of the window at the hospital before he stumbled and fell back…maybe the sight of the moon had triggered a memory.

She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Who knows?” She said out loud to herself. “I need something to eat.”

She turned away from the window into the street and headed for the kitchen

“I think I’ll have some toast.” She said quietly coming back to her life in the terraced house and pushing the thoughts of the old man to one side.

Life goes on.