11. Everybody Did It
I used to work in a nursing home where I cared for dementia patients. Every patient in the hall I worked on would steal spoons from dinner to give to “the kids” because “they like shiny things.” It got to the point where once a week I’d have to go through everyone’s room to take back the spoons. I asked the patients about the kids many times but never got a good answer. I’d hear things like “they just live here” “they stand outside in the snow and look in the windows” or “they’re my friends who visit.” Wouldn’t be so weird if they all didn’t do it, but it was everyone, the ones who were still capable of speaking anyways. One time at 3 am one of my patients started screaming so I ran into her room and found her laying in bed, seemingly fine. I asked what was wrong and she said “That boy is here again and won’t get out of my closet! I’m scared!” Like me too, Delores what the heck