MIA TALAMASCA

The First Time I ever Touched a Corpse

Her name was Sara and she was a patient in an assisted living facility where I was employed as a Certified Nurses Aide. I had been working there for almost a summer when she came in. The very day that I entered her room, she was sitting on her bed with a few photo albums spread out in front of her. "Hello, my name is Mia and I am your Aide this morning." She looked up at me and motioned me over to her bedside. "Hi Mia, my name is Sarah, would you like to see some pictures of me in my younger days? I was quite the looker." She smiled at me and I laughed and said, "That would be incredible actually, but only on one condition. If you agree to give me some background stories behind the photos? We have a deal." I went into her room and sat down in a chair next to her bed and began the first of many journies through her glorious and eventful life.