Stranger

I woke up in a strangers bedroom, with no recollection of whose room I had invaded or how I had got there. To call it bedroom was a generous description as all that filled the room was a small bed, a closet, a single dresser, and a lamp. Personal touches were nowhere to be found, but there was a nice view of the outside to the left of the bed that gave the room some semblance of life.

Still, even while I found this room bare and lacking personal touches of whoever lived in here; I felt a sort of calm and sense of belonging in this strange place. Knowing I would have to venture out to figure out where I am and how I got here: I steeled my nerves, borrowed some ill-fitted clothing certainly not of my taste, and found some people in the confines of this larger housing unit.

A woman with the warmest smile was the first to greet me with, "Morning, are you hungry?" And while a part of me wanted to ask who she was and if this place was hers; the smell of food and feel of my stomach growling pushed those questions out of my mind. After all, how bad can a person be if they let me sleep here and make me breakfast?

While at the table eating I sat with the nice woman to whom I first spoke and couple younger sweet looking girls who I had not yet spoken with. As I ate I caught the older lady staring at me from across the table. And while it could have angered some by the lack of privacy as I attempted to enjoy my meal, I couldn't help but feel unsettled and anxious instead, which still set me off my food. As a stranger I completely understood her wanting to keep an eye on me, but then I questioned why let me in, in the first place. Could I have shown up lost at her door? Was I in the looney bin? Neither would surprise my sometimes scatter-brained self.

Whatever the reason this lady and others had me over I felt great appreciation despite my confusion. As she looked so concerned and alarmed during our meal I thought the best way I could thank her for her hospitality was to offer her an ear and some friendly advice to whatever problem was upsetting her.

Walking around the home I noticed there were way too many rooms for the number of people I'd been introduced to, even when you counted yours truly. After taking a small self-guided tour, I found myself in a small yard where I also spotted the woman who was sitting in a chair looking at nothing in particular, just starting up into the clear blue sky. As I sat in the chair next to her she continued looking into the heavens and acknowledged my arrival with a smile and simple, "Hi."

She looked so at peace just staring at the cloudless day that I didn't want to waste her time so I got straight to my point. "You looked so worried earlier? Is everything ok and is there anything I can do to help?

She then began to tell me about how someone in her family was sick and that while it had seemed that person's doctor was having success with the cocktail of drugs he was prescribing to them-the inevitable was finally happening and that she was here to tell that person the bad news as well as take them from this place.

The cruel irony she said was that, "They will be so excited to finally leave here, but won't comprehend that they're leaving so they can be with family at home when they die." At this point the woman was in tears and as I felt so bad for this woman and her relative, strangers be damned, I couldn't help but cry as well. All I could think to do is put my arms around this woman with the heartbreaking story as she cried and lay her head in between my shoulder/neck. It was at this moment, for some inexplicability, I couldn't help but contemplate the reasons why I never had children. After a great deal of crying I decided I was going to help this woman. I would be an ear always at the ready to listen, a shoulder to cry on, or even someone to help her through the grieving process. Finally, after having taken a couple deep breaths, stifled her tears and cleaned her runny nose...the woman stood up trying hard to make and hold that beautiful smile as she offered her hand to me, "You ready, mom?"