2 posts tagged with "aging"

Old Zhou felt he was living like a potted plant. Not the meticulously pruned, zen-like kind, but one simply stuck in soil, placed on a windowsill, given a bit of water regularly, and nothing more. The "soil" was the Sunshine Nursing Home, the "water" was the three daily meals of mush, pills, and the occasional smile from a caregiver. Outside the windowsill was, theoretically, the world. But separated by a layer of smudged glass and a gleaming stainless steel railing, that world became like a landscape painting on TV – distant and unreal.

The railings were installed uniformly last year, supposedly for safety. The director spent an hour spitting saliva at the all-residents meeting, the main theme being: this thing will prevent you from falling. Old Zhou, dozing off below, thought, falling? From this third-floor height, not too high, not too low, falling would most likely just mean breaking a few bones, then lying in bed, becoming an even more standard potted plant. What really irked him was that the gleaming railing, like prison bars, constantly reminded him: you are penned in.

Old Wang felt light and airy, like a falling autumn leaf, gently swirling. He "saw" himself lying on the cold floor, his body stiff. The wall clock in the living room had stopped at 2:15, the time of his last walk two days ago, in the afternoon.

"Strange, how am I here?" Old Wang wondered. He tried hard to remember, but could only recall walking slowly in the neighborhood as usual, breathing in the air filled with the scent of sweet osmanthus, watching children play in the square.