Starlight (Book 1)

Chapter One

     Ro Harris had grown accustomed to the color white. White walls. White tile. White coats. It wasn't a calm color for her. She associated it with fear. She always felt cold and empty when she was in this place. She never knew what she would hear, but always hoped something good; even though it had been months. She had almost forgotten what it was like to have joy. Pure joy. It had been so long, but she still had moments. Simple moments that made her smile that she cherished deeply. She had yet to have a moment like that today, but she hoped to hear something that would change that when she saw the man in the all-too familiar white coat walking toward her.

     Ro took in a heavy sigh as she stood from her seat. Dr. James Turner approached her with a slight smile. But that smile slowly faded as he began to discuss her grandmother's failing health. It was hard to face the fact that her time with her was coming to an end. Grams' memory of her late husband Thomas was the first to go. She would walk by pictures of the two of them together in their home that she had shared with Ro for the past thirteen years. She would ask her granddaughter, 'Who is this man?.', and Ro would simply reply with a smile and tell her that it was a dear old friend of hers that had passed on several years ago. It was hard for Ro to accept the fact that something wasn't right with her grandmother, but after Dr. Turner confirmed that Alzheimer's was the cause of Ms. Smith's memory loss a little over a year ago, she didn't have a choice.

     "I'm sorry Ro, but I think it would be in her best interest, and yours, to put her into an assisted living facility at this point." Dr. Turner's voice was stern and more serious than Ro hoped it would be.

     Ro knew that eventually her grandmother would have to move into a nursing home, but she never thought it would be so soon. Ms. Smith's condition was more severe than other cases and Ro cursed that fact every time her grandmother's memory slipped up. It was hard to see her struggle and even worse to look at her sometimes and wonder if she even knew her own granddaughter. Ro looked away for a moment and then back again. The physician's eyes were still full of the sad truth that she didn't want to face.

     "I understand, Dr. Turner, and I plan on... doing that very soon. I would just like a little more time with her at home."

     Ro's voice was cracked, but it was understandable. She couldn't imagine a home without her grandmother there. The woman that had raised her since she was six years old was more of a mother to her than a grandparent. She dreaded the week coming up because she knew that she would have to start slowly packing the things that her grandmother would need when she left. She glanced at the closed door her grandmother waited behind. She wanted to see her. Ro hated having to wait in the hallway during her checkups, but it had been her grandmother's request.

     "I can understand that, but you don't need to wait too long to do it." Dr. Turner placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it slightly before turning on his heels and heading off to see other patients.

     As Ro watched the doctor leave she thought about how difficult his job must be to deal with tragedies like this on a daily basis. Her friend Leah had started her first year as a pre-med student at Baylor University. Ro wondered if she would be able to handle things like this. She had no doubts with Leah's book smarts, but counseling a grieving family member was something entirely different. Leah had never known loss which Ro was thankful for, but still she wondered how she was ever going to relate to people. Leah was blonde and slender and beautiful and had the world at her fingertips. Ro looked down at her hand as she curled it into a fist. Her world was slipping right through hers.

     Ro knocked slightly on her grandmother's door before she walked in. "Hey Grams." she said as she met the green eyes that matched her own. Ms. Smith beamed as her granddaughter entered the room. Her white hair was tied back in a bun with a few strands cupping around her slightly wrinkled cheeks and forehead. Even though her grandmother was in her eighties she looked so much younger which made the situation even harder to accept. "It's time to go home now."