The Albatross

“There weren't always dragons in the Valley,” said Alberta.

Leo glanced up from tying Alberta’s shoes. She was peering intently back at him with her pale, gray eyes. “Oh, really?” he asked. “Where were they then?” He smiled and returned to his task. While this was his first time working with Alberta, he had worked with enough elderly dementia patients to not be surprised by anything they said.

When he glanced up again, Alberta was still staring at him. Osteoporosis had left her spine twisted into a permanent hunched position. But despite this, she was doing her best to lean forward in her wheelchair, bringing her face closer to his. Her mouth was trembling and twitching, like she had to fight to get the words out. “There weren’t - always - dragons in the valley.”

Leo sat back on his heels. He wasn’t sure, but it seemed like there was a slight hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth. “Ok, uh, what kind of dragons?” he asked.

Alberta’s wrinkled hands gripped more tightly on the armrests of her chair, her eyes locked on his. The smirk was gone. Her brows came together in concentration. The muscles around her mouth were trembling, but this time her lips remained firmly pressed together. Then, she blinked. Her body relaxed and she leaned back in the chair with her eyes half closed.

Leo stared at her for a moment. Was that a seizure? He racked his brain. He hadn't seen anything about seizures in her file. And seizures didn't typically make people more verbal. He had worked the overnight shift, midnight until 8 a.m. Could the lack of sleep be messing with him? Maybe the chart didn’t fully capture her behaviors?

He glanced at his watch. The next shift would be in soon. He stood and began to gingerly brush Alberta’s long, silver hair. “I'm sorry, Alberta,” he said softly, as he struggled to pull her hair into a ponytail. “Hair isn't my specialty.” He knelt so they were face-to-face. “I don’t got much of that to worry about.” He smiled warmly as he rubbed his own short, dark hair.

Her eyes were still half closed, staring at nothing in particular. He examined her face carefully, looking for any of the animation he had seen earlier. “Anything more you want to tell me about . . . dragons?”

Her grey eyes popped open and darted to his dark eyes. He felt a shiver run through his body. They stared at one another for several moments, but then she blinked and sighed. Her gaze slid from his face. Leo realized he had been holding his breath.

He chuckled at himself. Maybe he was getting too old to stay up all night. He patted her hand as he stood. “Well, you let me know if you think of anything else. But in the meantime, let’s get some breakfast.”

Leo wheeled Alberta out of the marble-tiled bathroom and down a long, wood-paneled hallway. He had worked for the Horizon Home Health Agency for almost two years, but he had never been sent to a home like this. He preferred to work at homes that were closer to where he lived, but the agency had been desperate. They offered him time and a half if he would be willing to drive 45 minutes into the middle of nowhere to cover three overnight shifts.

The sprawling Victorian home was an odd mix of opulence and deterioration. It sat at the end of a long, gravel driveway, and was completely hidden from the main road by overgrown vegetation. The only clue that the driveway was anything more than a country road was the large, granite lighthouse that sat to one side. The 12-foot monolith served as the mailbox, as well as the only illumination for the street at night.

Inside, it appeared that many of the original features of the home had been preserved, but there had been several updates to accommodate its owner’s declining health. The bathroom, which had been a masterpiece of white marble, now had an awkward, plastic-lined, wheelchair-accessible shower slapped in the corner. Alberta’s bedroom had been set up in the first floor sitting room. Hospital beds and necessary medical equipment rarely compliment the design of a home, but it seemed particularly out of place here. The walls were covered in faded floral wallpaper. The vintage sofa and armchairs had been shoved to one side to make space for the stark hospital bed. A baby grand piano sat in front of several tall, grimy windows.

But the most interesting room to Leo was the cavernous entryway. The walls were almost entirely covered with art in heavy, gilded frames. Many of the paintings were a foot or two across and showed fantastical looking landscapes. A deep green mountain range, sliced by a dozen waterfalls. Red stone ruins shrouded in mist. A forest glen on a moonless night, lit only by multicolored, softly glowing flowers.

However, the obvious focal point of the collection was positioned directly across from the front door. The ten-foot canvas showed a stormfront moving across the open ocean. Dark clouds, crisscrossed with lightning, were overtaking a pale gold and rose-colored sky. The black water beneath the storm was advancing in a long ridge of whitecaps. And there, crashing directly into the storm surge, was a small, red ship. The white sails were furled tightly, but several sets of oars were propelling the ship directly into the fray.

Just off the entryway was the kitchen. Leo set Alberta at the small kitchen table. As he was reading the instructions on the box of instant oatmeal, he heard the front door creak open. A deep woman’s voice called out. “Mornin’, Heather! Mornin’, Miz Alberta!” Heavy, fast footsteps echoed through the entryway, and a large, middle-aged woman with short, brassy hair plodded into the kitchen. When she saw Leo, she looked surprised. “Oh, you're not Heather.”

Leo smiled. “No, I'm Leo. The agency sent me out to cover for Heather.”

“Oh, what happened to Heather?” She asked.

Leo shrugged. “I just go where they send me.”

The woman gave a weary sigh. “Well, I'm Tammy. How was the night?”

“Uneventful.” He popped a coffee pod into the Keurig. “Which is good. I never quite know what to expect when I pick up these random shifts.”

Tammy nodded and walked toward Alberta. “Yeah, that’s never easy. But Alberta is always an agreeable lady, aren’t you ma’am?” Tammy patted Alberta’s frail shoulder. Alberta shifted slightly in her chair to look at Tammy. She smacked her lips a few times, but no words came out.

“Have you worked here long?” Leo asked.

“Hmm, feels like forever.” She pulled a large, blue hand towel from a nearby drawer and tucked it into Alberta’s collar. “But I suppose time flies when you’re having fun, huh?”

Leo chuckled politely as he set the oatmeal and coffee in front of Alberta. “Yeah, Alberta started to tell me about some dragons this morning,” he said. “But she left me on a cliffhanger.”

Tammy’s head snapped around to look at him. “She said what now?”

“Something about how dragons are living somewhere. Or maybe it was that they don’t live somewhere anymore?” He shrugged and rubbed his eyes. “The overnight is interfering with my brain functions.”

Up to this point, Tammy’s expression had been pleasant, but at this news, her face darkened. She looked intently into Alberta’s face.

Leo wasn’t sure why, but he suddenly felt that he had said too much. “Is that not her usual banter?” he asked.

Tammy’s face shifted back to something more pleasant, and she began to spoon oatmeal into Alberta’s mouth. “I’ve ever heard her say anything like that before. Sometimes she says simple phrases, like ‘good morning’ and ‘thank you’ and the like.” She roughly wiped a dribble of oatmeal from Alberta’s chin with the corner of the hand towel. “You been holdin’ out on me, Ma’am?”

Leo laughed awkwardly. “I mean, you know how dementia is. Who knows what’s going on in their brains?”

“Yeah.” Tammy said slowly. “She does have a lot of dragon décor.”

“So that’s probably it. Maybe dragons were her favorite animal?” Leo hadn’t noticed that many dragons around, but there were so many embellished details around the home, he probably just missed them. He tried to think of a way to change the subject. “Do you know the story behind the tattoo on her back? I’ve worked with a lot of patients, but I’ve never seen anything quite like that.”

Tammy shrugged and helped Alberta sip her coffee. “No, I’m not sure.”

Leo nodded and began to rinse the few dirty dishes that were in the sink. “Well, any woman who’s pushing 100 years old and has two giant wings tattooed from shoulder to hips is bound to have some mysteries.”

Tammy chuckled. “I suppose so.” She leaned over so she could see more of Alberta’ss face. “Here I am, thinkin’ you was the strong, silent type, Ma’am. But I guess you got a few surprises in you still, huh?”

Alberta’s eyes slowly shifted to gaze at Tammy. “Ye-e-e-es,” she croaked softly.

Leo and Tammy both laughed. They moved on to talking about the typical shift change information. She told him that she had to take Alberta to an appointment the next morning, so he would need to have Alberta ready a bit earlier. He promised he would, said his goodbyes, and made his way out to his beat-up, white Kia Soul. The sky was overcast and it was just beginning to drizzle.

Leo started the car but he sat staring at the house for a moment. He had worked a few summers at a roofing company, and he noticed this roof was in particularly rough shape. The house had an inordinate amount of roof lines. There were multiple peaks, two towers, and several dormers, all jutting out wherever they felt like. It was almost like the roof was as overgrown as the rest of the property. There were patches of missing shingles everywhere. Half the peaks were topped with metal ornaments in the shapes of animals, but the other half looked like their ornaments had been snapped off through the years. In all of the odd angles on the roof there were piles of loose shingles, sticks, and leaves. As Leo pulled away, he made a mental note not to park too close to the home in case a stiff breeze caused the rubble to rain down on his car.

***

Upon entering his apartment, Leo almost tripped over a large cardboard box on the floor. “Hey, man!” Nathan, Leo’s roommate, greeted him around a mouthful of Captain Crunch. He was sitting on a battered leather couch in the living room, bowl in hand and an open box of cereal and gallon of milk on the floor next to him. He swallowed and gestured at the package. “That came for you today.”

“Oo, I bet it’s the camping stove I ordered.” Leo picked up the box and joined Nathan on the couch.

“One step closer to your glorified homelessness, huh?” Nathan smiled.

Leo grinned as he torn into the box. “Laugh all you want, but ‘van life’ is all the rage these days.”

“Yes, VAN life. No one aspires to live in a Kia freaking Soul.” Nathan poured himself another bowl of cereal. “And you’re like 6’ 2”. Where are you even sleeping in that shoebox?”

“You know, your doubt only confirms I’m making the right choice, right?” Leo chuckled. “Not all of us can be satisfied with cubicle life and student loans.”

“But most people CAN get on board with regular pay checks and indoor plumbing.”

Leo shrugged. “I don’t know, man. I just can’t. There’s got to be more. I feel like the longer I sit around here the walls just start closing in on me.”

“Sooo, your solution to this metaphorical claustrophobia is to move into a literally claustrophobic environment?” Nathan stared at Leo and slurped the milk from his bowl.

Leo put his hand on Nathan’s shoulder and smiled. “Exactly.”

Nathan smirked. “As long as you’re happy, I guess. But when you inevitably find yourself in need of financial assistance…” he also reached out and put his hand on Leo’s shoulder, “I’ll always be here to say ‘I told you so.”

Leo shoved Nathan. Leo’s laughter quickly transitioned to a loud yawn. “All right, dude, I got to crash.” He collected the camping stove and kicked the empty box and foam packaging at Nathan. “Clean that up, won’t you?”

“Your wish is my command!” Nathan responded around another mouthful of cereal.

Leo kicked his bedroom door shut behind him. He knew the closet was already filled to overflowing, so he stashed the camping stove under his Casio keyboard. He then had just enough energy to pull off his clothes before collapsing into bed.

***

Leo arrived for his second overnight just before midnight. He chatted with the aide who had done the evening shift, a soft-spoken woman named Mary. She informed him it had been a quiet night, and Alberta had been sleeping soundly since about 9 p.m.

Leo read through some of the documentation and checked his email before going to Alberta’s room to do the first of several mandatory checks. He always felt bad having to interrupt a patient’s sleep, so he did his best to slip in and out without their notice. All of Alberta’ss checks the previous night had gone smoothly, so he was confident as he soundlessly opened her door. The room was dimly lit by several wall sconces, which gave just enough light for him to work.

Alberta was propped up in bed, her white blanket tucked under her chin. He tiptoed over to her. He watched her chest slowly rise and fall to count her respirations. The next part required some skill. He delicately peeled the blanket back to expose one of her arthritic hands. He glanced up at her face to be sure she was still asleep before gingerly trying to slip a pulse oximeter over her finger.

Just as he was about to put it on, Alberta’ss eyes snapped open, and her hand clamped onto his wrist. Leo yelled in shock. He instinctively tried to pull away, but she held on. Her eyes were wide as she gasped, “There weren’t - always dragons - in the valley!” She dropped his wrist and Leo staggered back a few steps.

“Alberta!” he shouted. “What – Why?!” He bent over, his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. When he looked back up, she was staring at him again. Those gray eyes, the color of a stormy sea, bore into him. “Alberta, you nearly killed me!” He took another deep breath and stood up straight.

Alberta continued to stare, unblinking, but her body was trembling. He realized she was struggling to sit up in the bed. She said again more softly, “There weren’t always dragons in the valley.”

“Ma’am, I – I’m sorry. I don’t understand. Do you need something from me?”

Her eyes seemed to light up. She struggled to slowly raise her chin before swiftly dropping it in a nod.

“Ok, you need . . . a dragon?”

Alberta’s face showed a slight smile. She whispered, “In the valley.” Then she shut her eyes and fell back into bed. Within a moment, she was snoring.

Leo stood motionless, his heart still pounding in his ears. He tentatively backed up a few more steps before turning and hustling from the room.

Leo retreated to the study next to Alberta’ss room. The room was lined with tall, elaborately carved bookcases and was the office and hangout area for the aides. It had a small sofa, a TV, and a portable video monitor that offered a grainy view of Alberta sleeping soundly. Leo paced back and forth, staring at the monitor. Was he going crazy? He had had dementia patients tell him rambling stories that had no point. Others had asked him to clear nonexistent creatures from their rooms. He even had one mistake him for her long-dead husband. Those events could easily be chalked up to their illness, but this? The look on her face clung to his mind. While those patients seemed to be sinking deeper into their mental haze, Alberta seemed to be struggling to wrench herself from it.

He stood still, hands on his hips, his fingers tapping quickly against his jeans. He glanced around the room, then back to the monitor, then around the room again. He moved to the nearest bookcase and began running his finger along the spines. Many of the books were in languages he didn’t understand. He was about to look at the next shelf, when he noticed the small head of a dragon carved into the top edge of the bookcase. He touched it, then tried to move it, but it didn’t budge. He glanced around the room. Each bookcase had at least one dragon carved into it. He examined each in turn. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary about them. And none of them were in any type of valley.

Leo picked up the video monitor and stepped into the entryway. He went to each painting he could reach. None had dragons, but many had mountains. He gently lifted them away from the wall and looked behind them. He ran his hands around the edge of the frames. Still nothing.

Leo spent the rest of his shift searching room to room. Tammy was right, there were a lot of dragons in the house. Some were carved into the woodwork. Some were embroidered into the carpets. Some were even molded into light fixtures. But none of them could be moved without some level of destruction and while he wanted to help, property damage seemed a bit too far. He had returned to check on Alberta three more times throughout the night. Each time, he steeled himself in case she tried to pounce on him again. But she slept soundly, never registering his presence.

As the sun slowly began to rise, Leo gently tapped Alberta’s shoulder to wake her. Her eyes slowly opened, and she yawned loudly. “Good morning, Alberta.” He said softly. His voice seemed to jolt her fully awake, and she craned her head to stare at him. Though she was silent, her familiar gaze spoke volumes.

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I’ve looked all over but I can’t seem to find what you’re looking for.”

She sighed and raised her eyes to the ceiling. He thought she was attempting to roll her eyes at him.

“Yeah, I’m disappointed too,” he said “I will say though, you aren’t making it easy. Any chance you can give me a hint?”

Alberta rolled her eyes upward again. Her mouth twitched several times, but she didn’t manage to wrestle out any words.

Leo smiled again. “That’s okay, ma’am. I have tomorrow night yet. And when I do find it, the victory will be all the sweeter knowing I did it on my own.”

Alberta smirked at him.

Leo got Alberta freshened up and dressed. He googled a video on how to braid hair and after a few tries, managed to give her a semi-presentable plait. By the time Tammy stomped into the house, Leo had Alberta ready and waiting for her by the front door.

“Well, don’t you look nice, Mz. Alberta!” Tammy said with a smile as she ran her hand over the braid. “Leo really went above and beyond!” She looked up at him. “How’d the night go?”

Leo was about to tell her about the night’s events, but Alberta caught his eye. She was staring intently at him. It might have just been an old-age induced tremor, but he thought that she ever so slightly shook her head side to side. He looked back to Tammy and smiled. “It was . . . quiet. I, watched about 10 episodes of The Office.”

Tammy laughed. “That’s a good show.” Her mouth was smiling, but it didn’t quite make it to her eyes. “So, no other outbursts about dragons or other mythical creatures?”

Leo shook his head “Nope, she slept like a rock.”

Tammy nodded. “That’s good to hear. I was gonna mention what happened to her doctor today. It’s so important to keep a good record of these kinds of events.”

“Of course.” Leo handed her Alberta’s medical binder. “Documentation is at least 80% of this job.

Tammy took the binder. “Do you happen to remember exactly what she said to you? Just, you know, out of curiosity.”

Leo raised his eyebrows and frowned slightly, “Uh, well, like I said, I was really tired yesterday. It was something about, well, dragons obviously. And, uh…” Tammy was staring at him almost as intently as Alberta was. “I, I think she said something about a river? Yeah, that was it. There were dragons in the river.”

Tammy’s smile finally reached her eyes. “Very good. I’ll be sure to let the doctor know.”

After a bit more small talk, Leo collected his things and they left the house together. He helped load Alberta into the wheelchair van and waved goodbye as they pulled down the driveway.

He slowly walked over to his car, enjoying the feel of the cool morning air and the warm sun. He should go home and sleep, but he could still feel the way Alberta had clamped onto his wrist. He turned to look at the grounds, but nothing stood out to him there. He looked back to the house. There were some delicate carvings on the trim and around the windows. He began to walk around the home, checking the grounds and the house itself.

As he rounded the back of the home, he started to feel ridiculous. What was he doing? Alberta was crazy. Not even in a rude way – in a diagnosable way. She was probably operating on a memory from decades ago. Maybe she didn’t like Tammy, and that’s why Tammy had never heard her say much. Leo could understand that. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was certainly something unpleasant about the woman. He should just go home, he was tired. There was no sense in chasing the ramblings of an ill mind.

He was about to give up as he came around to the front of the house, when suddenly the sun reflected off of something metallic on the roof. He paused and squinted upwards. Nestled between two of the tallest peaks of the roof, was a large pile of debris. Amongst the broken sticks and loose shingles, there was something shiny. He noticed one of the peaks was missing its animal-themed ornament.

Leo’s heart began to race. He sprinted into the house and up to the attic. The attic was mostly empty. The dingy plaster walls were crumbling, and some had large patches of mold on them from where the roof was leaking. The creaking floorboards were covered in so much dirt and dust, Leo’s New Balance sneakers were leaving clear footprints.

It took him a moment to orientate which angle of the roof was holding the shiny object, but he eventually walked to one of the dormer windows. It took several attempts and all of his strength to open the grimy window enough for him to look out. To the right of the window, maybe 5 or 6 feet away, he could see the object glittering. But much to his frustration, he still couldn’t make out what it was.

Leo looked down at the three-story drop, then back at the roof. He took a few deep breaths and carefully climbed out the window, making a point not to look down again. The shingles on the roof were soft underfoot, and he didn’t trust them enough to stand upright. Instead, he sat on the roof and cautiously scooted over to the debris. Once he was close enough, he moved the garbage aside and there it was. This roof ornament was about a foot long and was fashioned into a long, silver dragon.

***

When Leo arrived for his final overnight he could hardly for Mary to leave. As soon as he saw her taillights disappear down the driveway, he rushed into Alberta’s room. She was again snoring softly. But as soon as he touched her shoulder and said her name, her eyes popped open.

“Ma’am, you won’t believe it!” he said as he pulled the heavy dragon out of his backpack. “It was on the roof! Is this what you wanted me to find?”

Alberta eyes sparkled and her mouth stretched into a broad, close-lipped smile. She held out her trembling hands.

Leo gently gave her the dragon. “I can’t believe I found it! It was crazy. It is a pretty thing, but why did you want it so bad?” Leo had taken time to inspect the dragon at home. There weren’t any markings on it to show why this particular dragon was anything more valuable than the other items in the home. Leo studied her face as she inspected the dragon. She looked up at him, joyful tears welling in her eyes, before gazing back at the dragon. She slowly lifted it up over her head; maybe to watch the light shimmer on its scales. Leo felt his heart swell. It didn’t matter that he didn’t see the value in the dragon, it was enough that she did.

Alberta’s joyful eyes looked at his once more, just as she threw the dragon to the ground. Leo heard it shatter on the far side of the bed. He stood frozen, both hands over his mouth. He was sure Alberta hadn’t dropped it. She had deliberately thrown it. He looked at her. “Wha – what?”

Alberta was staring right at him, still smiling from ear to ear. Leo rubbed his forehead and sighed. This confirmed it. She was crazy. He had spent hours and risked his life for a crazy woman’s errand. He trudged around the bed. He could feel Alberta’s gleeful stare follow him.

The figure had broken into 6 or 7 large pieces. Leo didn’t even understand how something metal could shatter like that. As he picked them up, he noticed a yellowed piece of paper was folded up inside of the head. He looked back up at Alberta. She was peering at him over the edge of the bed, her eyes crackling. He unfolded the paper and saw that it was several lines of hand-written music notes. He looked back up at her. She looked at him, then her eyes darted to the piano across the room.

Leo quickly moved to the piano. None of this made any sense, but he was ready to embrace the crazy. He hadn’t played in several years, and he always struggled a bit with sight-reading, but he had to try. There were several puffs of dust as he sat on the piano bench and opened the lid to expose the keys. Alberta excitedly leaned forward as much as she could He studied the music for several minutes, tentatively plinking out the melody. The old piano was surprisingly in tune for how neglected it looked. Finally, he placed both hands on the keys and began to play. It was a simple, haunting tune in a minor key, not exactly sad, but not entirely happy either. Alberta closed her eyes and leaned back onto her pillows, still smiling. Leo felt a shiver run up his arms and down his back as the last note faded away and they sat in silence.

Without any type of warning, Alberta gasped loudly and clutched at her chest. Leo shot up. “Alberta! Are you okay?” He moved towards her as she began to writhe in the bed. Was this an actual seizure now? She was contorting so violently, it seemed like her twisted spine was actually lengthening. As he reached the side of her bed, his mind racing to remember is medical training. But suddenly, he was shoved back by a brilliant flash of light.

Leo’s back hit the wood floor with a thud. His vision was nothing but bursts of white light as he scrambled to sit up. Had some circuit blown? He thought he might have a concussion, because he thought he heard Alberta giggling. “I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I KNEW it”

Leo squinted hard at the bed. “Alberta, are you okay?” He managed to make out her outline on the bed. But then she sat up in bed far too easily. He rubbed his eyes and looked back. The person standing up from the bed was not Alberta. She had the same long silver hair, and the same storm-gray eyes. She was even wearing Alberta’s pale pink pajamas. But walking toward him now was a tall, strong looking woman, no more than 25 years old.

The woman smiled broadly and offered her hand. “Oh, Leo! You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you!”

Leo swatted her hand away. He tried to speak, but could only sputter.

The woman laughed. “I’m sorry! It feels so good to be free from those old bones, I forgot this is probably a shock for you!” She skipped back a few steps and took a deep bow. “My name is Amalie,” she looked up at him with a familiar smirk, “And I, am your albatross.”