Sometime, in the beginning...

A dementia patient has wandered off from home. He has completely forgotten who he once was—so much so that he no longer knows where he’s going or where he came from. He clings to the wall for guidance, hoping it will lead him to the right path, but he can’t even feel it shift under his own weight.

He sees a stunningly beautiful woman and assumes she is his wife—but she could be his daughter, sister, mother, best friend, or even a witch. When you don’t know who you’re dealing with, you can choose to relate to them however you like. He chooses to see her as his wife. Her reaction to this feels perfectly natural. He assumes he is correct.
“But where is she taking me?” he wonders.
“Is she even real? Her beautiful words are suspiciously well-crafted. Is she a dream? Am I so far gone that I can no longer tell the difference between a real woman who loves me and a dream? Or a nightmare? Go with your assumption. Love may be more reliable than your dubious brain.”

Even to a demented old man like Albert, love is easily recognized when it’s seen.

Still bewildered by circumstance and cognitive decline, he bets everything on this love. This beacon of light in the fog. He may not have much left to lose—but it is the last of who he was.
Let us pray that it will lead him home.

AEW the IV
March 2024.