SHORT STORY: "Aging True Distress" by Shanice Skyers

"Aging True Distress"
By Shanice Skyers

     ‘Welcome to Aging True’ the sign read, the building looked appealing, but of course there must be some positive aspect to this building of the soon dead. The building was located in the middle of the nowhere, with rich green grass, an automatic gate and a gushing water fountain that highlighted the light blue paint on the well manicured walls and clean reflective glass.
     "See Jeanie, this place isn't so bad, your grandmother would love it here; look how pretty the building is and how nice the people look," Claire commented as the greeters approached them with perfect, plastic smiles.
     "Ma I don't think we should leave Grandma here, this place creeps me out, first it's in the middle of nowhere, and second, I don't like the way those people are always smiling; It looks superficial, as if it took years of practice," Jeanie said.
     "Oh don't be ridiculous, this place is top notch and your grandmother is going to love it here, she has to love it here, because your father doesn't want her living with us anymore, he said it's either us or her, and frankly we need a place to live," Claire said.
     "He's not my father, he's your husband and..."
     “Welcome to Aging True, where the elderly are treasured and loved,” interrupted the owner, Mrs. Tanya Parks, as she outstretched her hand. She of course approached with a smile, but hers seemed more rehearsed, more believable. She wore a dark blue suit that accentuated her dark blue eyes and a sleek bun that exuded professionalism.
     “Thank you it’s a pleasure to be here, I’ve heard that ‘Aging True’ is one of the finest facilities in Ocala, Florida for the elderly,” Claire said
     “I’m sure you have, each day we work to maintain that reputation. I hope you choose to retire your loved one at Aging True, because we truly do look after them to the best of our abilities, with all our nurses and doctors being certified and trained to excellence. Well come inside and look around,” Mrs. Parks said.
     Jeanie and her mother Claire followed the woman as she walked uniformly towards the beautiful building.
     The inside tried harder to feel welcoming: the floors were spotless; the employees had fake, polished, smiles at all times and spoke to each elder in hushed condescending tones. Aging True seemed to be the home away from home, but then there was the ghastly look each person wore. Each look told bitter stories of regret, it seemed as though each was waiting for death and was disappointed with the fact that, each morning as they woke, death seemed so close, but, yet so far away.


       "Ma we can't leave Grandma here, look how sad and depressed everyone looks, we need to leave," Jeanie said as she urged her mother from the building.
     “Jeanie stop being rude the nice lady might hear you, these people are old anyways, they’ve already lived their lives, of course they’re sad, all they can do in this place is remember the past that they can’t change,” Claire answered.
     Before Claire could finish her thought, both she and Jeanie’s attention were directed to the sobs of an old woman who sat in the corner trembling. She trembled as if her soul was made of ice, and her body was fighting to keep warm, fighting to keep her heart pumping. She cried tears that only the lonely and wretched cry, but she uttered not a word. She just sat and cried for seemingly ever hour of the day. Tears seemed to travel a continuous journey down her pale grey face and fall to her ugly green and grey nightgown, ultimately leaving the gown drenched and sagged.
     Jeanie then intuitively tried to move towards the lady, to ask what the cause of her never ending tears was, but before she could reach, she was abruptly drawn to the expression of an old man who sat in a chair closest to the door. He wore dark khaki pants with a brown over worn shirt that had stains and drool etched into its seams. He did not cry as the old lady had, but he wore the look of exhaustion. His eyes drooped and his body sagged as he sat in the chair, he seemed not mentally aware of his surrounding as if Aging True was his means of captivity and his only path to freedom was his own tormented mind. He laughed then, a demented laugh, a laugh of the mentally insane, but everyone seemed to ignore him as if he had not made a startling laughter, as if they too busy to sympathize with this man, that seemed to lose, what little sanity he had, each day.
     The lovely employees paid no attention to the grieving woman or the man thoroughly enticed by his daydreams, they continued to work, voluntarily zoning out the distressed people, and slowly walked around in spotless white dresses and black shoes, with a fake smile plastered on their faces.
      It wasn’t hard then for Claire and Jeanie to notice that the employees were also distressed and lost, and that over time, each had chosen specific ways of coping with the captivity, as the insane man and the crying woman had.
     At the sight of both the old woman and the old man Jeanie rushed back to the side of her mother and said: “Ma, it’s like they’re caged animals who have been tortured and are waiting to die, we can’t put grandma in here, you can’t be that cruel, the nurses don’t even care to ask what is wrong with the woman, or try to bring the poor old man back to reality.”
     “Jeanie, it’s what we have to do, it’s either her or us, and we need a place to stay, think of our well being,” Claire said.
     Before Jeanie could retort, the owner's voice interrupted her: “Please come along, we have to finish our tour.”
     It was as if she never witnessed the scene of the old woman and the old man. Claire and Jeanie followed her then, bothered by the the scene they had just witnessed. Mrs. Parks, showed them the very impressive cafeteria, the spotless room, the nutrition room, and the large backyard which should have exuded life, but did the opposite.
     "Mrs. Parks, didn't you notice the crying woman and the old man?" Jeanie inquired "you just stood there and acted as if everything was fine." 
     "This facility aims to care for the elderly, this is a building where people bring the 'loved ones' that seem too much of a burden, for them to care for. Their health is our priority, we are not therapists and we do not aim to become therapists." Mrs. Parks answered. 
     With this the tour ended abruptly and Jeanie and Claire, went home to the old woman, they no longer wanted the company of. Claire thought about what Mrs. Parks had said, and felt a pang of guilt, but she pushed this away for the dilemma was set in stone: it was either her and her daughter, or her mother.  
(c) 2013 Shanice Skyers