Dusky skies took only moments to turn the world into a dark space following sunset. The night enveloped like black curtains being drawn towards one’s self. The damp smell of the rain still lingered in the air around. I made my way through the busy streets while pulling my hoodie over the front to cover my face so that I’d be unrecognized. The modern-day neon lights of billboards flashed onto my eyes occasionally. The world at night was completely different from the day. From vehicles honking, people chatting, to the noisy street shops, all this life in an artificial light made by man, thanks to electricity. I checked my phone to see any reply. My message of ‘Please send the location soon’ was left unread. I looked past my shoulder and still saw the two men who were trying to follow me, all dressed in black. Pulled my mask closer to my face and swiftly turned into an alley where the chatter of night was overtaken by mere whispers. I could hear my breath, so loud now.
Straight down the dark alley, at the very end, lay a cranky-looking door made of metal. Without hesitation, I turned its wheel around in an absurd pattern. One that I knew like my own hand, for I’ve been coming down here for the past five years. I was soon directed towards another door, which had to be opened from inside. I knocked. Once, twice, and then repeatedly.
“Who is it?” shouted a voice from within. “Maria here! Open the door! Now!” Before long, the door opened, making a creaking noise. Clearly, the hinges weren’t oiled in ages. “What took you so long? Besides, you haven’t seen my message, which I sent like 48 hours ago!” My immediate response after seeing an astonished, pretty lady, with beautiful brown eyes, was to spurt out these words. I knew my tone was not what she expected, and I definitely did not have the patience to get things straight after some smooth, cozy talk.
“Maria, just come in”, she replied as quietly as possible, taking her eyes away from me. The room sure did feel comfortable. Izzy had lit up a big fire, and I could see a steaming cup of hot chocolate lying next to an open book. Izzy immediately closed the book and kept it on the shelf, not giving me an opportunity to take a look. I threw myself onto a bean bag and looked at Izzy with inquiring eyes. She gave me some of the chocolate she made and seated herself on the chair beside me.
“So, Maria, I’m absolutely sorry for not responding to your messages. I had some work to do…”
“What do you mean by work? Don’t we work together on the same thing? Look, I had to hastily make my way here because Norman’s men were trying to trace me, and the bunk was the only safe place I could get to in time. This is not the only reason, Izzy. I wanted to check on you. You’re different now and clearly hiding a lot from me… We’re so close to finishing our project, and in no time, will be able to crack the case of obesity in kids. Norman’s fast food is definitely using the prohibited ingredients, creating all the havoc on earth, and he sure knows we’ll reveal him. No wonder he’s after us. Amidst all the chaos, you decide to ignore my calls and messages, and I never thought you out of everyone, would want to do that in a time we need each other the most!”
“Because I can’t remember! okay!” Izzy burst out and was soon in tears.
I hadn’t realized she was tearing the entire time I made my talk, because I was so focused on myself. Her voice sounded as familiar as I ever knew it, but it reached me, deep in my heart. “What are you saying, Izzy?” My voice softened, and my gaze was fixed on her face. Tension lines throughout and a new scar, near her hairline, over the forehead. Since when have I become so spaced apart from her, to not have noticed all this?
“I…I’m diagnosed with Alzheimer’s” she whispered under her breath.
“Alzheimer’s? As in dementia? Where you will forget things? But aren’t you too young for it!?” I knew my voice was breaking as I said this.
“Yes, Maria. Where I forget things. It’s an early stage and will progress to the worst nightmare. You can’t be surprised. If diabetes and obesity strike small children, why can’t this come to me early? Aren’t all of us eating the same thing? Haven’t we all been lazier recently? At least if my grandma were here, she would’ve fed me with things she grew with her own hands, but destiny says this and guess I should follow it”. She smiled lightly.
This was too much. I never really understood the depths of the current situation of the world until it hit my very own. Memories from the recent past flashed before my eyes. I remembered seeing notes pinned on her refrigerator, on her bedside table and details of her family, written down, including a simple note as to how many brothers she had. It never occurred to me that all this was merely because she was losing her memory. Little by little, in no time, she wouldn’t even recognize me. We’ve been friends since as early as I remembered, and Izzy would always stick up for me whenever I was teased by other kids for wearing braces. She would come over to my house almost every evening, and we would play in my tree house, pretending to be spies. Not much of what we played was a lie, because we were now closest to being spies, and my mom would bring us cookies. Peanut butter flavored was her favorite.
“It’s okay, Izzy. We’ll get through it together. You don’t have to deal with everything all by yourself. If not for being here for you, why would my existence in your life even matter?” I held her hand tight.
“It’s okay, Izzy. We’ll get through it together. You don’t have to deal with everything all by yourself. If not for being here for you, why would my existence in your life even matter?” I held her hand tight.“If we are working on a cure for early obesity, I’m sure we can do something about this too. Jace and his crew would be more than happy to help. Maybe we can’t cure it, but at least we can slow it down…”
Izzy looked much calmer now. She kept her eyes closed, probably because that made her feel better. “I hope so….” she sighed.
That quickly took me back to our graduation day. “Maria! Oh my! How come your hat is a perfect fit, and mine is not?” She quirked her mouth, and I broke into a wild laughter. “Your hat doesn’t need to be perfect, Izzy. Besides, it’s not even noticeable unless you keep on saying that to everyone you meet.”
I didn’t realize I was smiling, and Izzy was looking at me, her eyes still filled with some tears. “What’s up, Maria?” “Doesn’t matter,” I replied with a smile.
Now that Izzy had revealed the truth, it was much easier to carry on with our work. The next few days were tough, challenging and an extremely new experience for I didn’t have to work with a friend who kept forgetting her contact number, before. Nevertheless, I made it a point to never mention the fact that she has dementia. Even if she did forget, I would kindly remind her, though it annoys me to the maximum, because I wasn’t a patient and calm person. I felt this was changing everything about me as well. I did feel my heart heavy and an intense pang of guilt for the past few days, because I felt that I should’ve figured out things even before Izzy had to admit them. I started my day, each time, with the intention that we would find a cure and bring my friend back, one whom I knew as how the moon knew the stars.
Fifteen years later……
Spring was around the corner. Sunlight bathed everything in its reach. The smell of new blossoms and fresh sprouting leaves clung to the air around. A little bell, hung over the door of a small cafe placed quite a few miles away from the big city, rang as I entered the place.
“Two cupcakes, please…” a lady, dressed in a white frock with lace going around its edges over her arm, was standing at the counter. I removed my sunglasses and hooked them through my trouser pockets. As I got closer to the counter, I noticed it was beautifully painted in pink and white vertical stripes with a crystal lampshade suspended above it, elegance at its best, I must say. The lady turned around, and her eyes immediately scanned me. She smiled politely and moved aside so I could make my way to place my order. Disappointment hit me like it never did before.
“One lime juice…” I paid for it and was soon seated by the window, through which light beamed inside the cafe. I kept looking at the lady sitting across me.
“Nice day, isn’t it?” she said.
“Yes, it definitely is.” I continued, “Where do you live, by the way?”
“Oh, I’m at Allen Street. Very close to this amazing cafe. I do live by myself, so I happen to come here quite often, at least for some little entertainment.” She looked very delighted to be spoken to.
“Any friends around here?” I inquired
“Not that I know of”, she giggled. “But you can come over to my place sometime, you look familiar and remind me of someone very dear, though I can’t quite place who. If you’re free, that is,” she giggled again.
“Of course, I would love to come to your house and spend some time”, I replied, trying to hide the pain in my tone.
Izzy and I were able to discover some drugs, with the immense support of Jace, to slow Alzheimer’s down. She would still forget a lot, but through all the years, I was always by her side. Exactly a month ago and she failed to recognize me. Jace explained to me, the drug allowed her memory to wipe away, only part by part. She could still remember her day-to-day routines but my face had slipped away. Though this put me into an extreme state of depression, I had to overcome it, just for the sake of Izzy, so I could still be there for her, though she didn’t know me. I was still grateful, because we managed more than a decade until this disaster struck. I would manage her expenses and keep a close eye on her. I would even prepare her meals. In such a way, things changed drastically for me, again.
Norman was remanded, and his company had to shut down. I heard he moved to a distant country after he was released, but we never encountered any problems with him afterwards which proved to be a huge relief.
“What were you thinking, dear?” Izzy looked into my eyes as she said this, “Doesn’t matter…”
I sighed and managed to pull off a smile. “Why don’t we get going to your house, so we can spend some more time, I suppose.”
“Definitely, let’s go…. I hope I have my keys,” she fished into her tote bag. Meanwhile I watched her in silence, though I knew I myself had a spare. “Ah, there it is, nothing to worry about”, and we made our way towards the house on Allen Street, one that I’ve been going to for more than forty years.
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