84 Doublegängers

He was elderly and suffered from Parkinson, so he accepted the hallucinations along with his tremors and stiffness. Thus, when he saw his late wife doing dishes in the kitchen, he was unflustered. In fact, he enjoyed the scene, their lives together being a great love story. This time, however, would talk with her.

She had her back to him, but he knew it was Ruth. He recognized the day dress she wore. While it was a dress from earlier in their marriage, hallucinations needn't follow any rules.

"Ruth?" he called. She spun around excitedly and when she saw him, bolted to embrace him. It was the young Ruth--the newlywed Ruth--the spry, vivaceous, and funny Ruth. He returned her embrace.

"I thought you were dead, Sammy," she said, fighting joyful tears.

"Oh, Ruth," he said back. "I've missed you so."

"I've missed you, too," she replied.

He realized it wasn't crazy that he held his newlywed Ruth in his arms, for he had never seen her as anything different. Growing old together has a way of airbrushing away life's scars and blemishes such that they really don't accrue in the mind's eye.

"But how is this possible?" she asked him.

"How is what possible?"

"You're so young and beautiful. You're my Sammy. I love you so much!"

"It's the Parkinson's," he explained, "writing a script for you in my mind."

"I like the script," she said."We deserve Oscars!"

"That we do, my love. Lifetime Achievement Oscars."

She turned away from him after a few loving moments and returned to her dishes.

Being elderly, she suffered from Parkinson's and accepted that the hallucinations came with it as much as her tremors and stiffness. Thus, when she had heard her Sammy, her late husband, call her, she was unflustered. In fact, she had always enjoyed such episodes.

They had been buried together, dying within twelve hours of each other. Ruth had slipped into dementia and then Sammy had died; in Shakespearean irony, when she became lucid enough to know about her husband, she slipped away quietly. The doctor had called it Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, commonly known as "broken heart condition."

Theirs was a great love story.

____________

O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love and I'll no longer be a Capulet. Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this? 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy: thou art thyself, though not a Montague.

________________

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Word count (excluding notes): 363

Submitted for Sunday, March 24, 2024

2024: A Story-a-Day for the whole year. This one is #84.

All pictures are AI-generated, but the words are not!

From https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2028123/: "Death after marital bereavement":

The best fitting model for females and males indicated an increased relative risk of mortality which lasted for approximately six months after bereavement.

From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2636447/ "The Effect of Widowhood on Mortality by the Causes of Death of Both Spouses":

For both men and women, the death of a predecedent spouse from almost all causes, including various cancers, infections, and cardiovascular diseases, increased the all-cause mortality of the bereaved partner to varying degrees.