The last day.

Arthur knew in some sense that these were his final hours on earth. The morning light pushing through the slatted blinds told him the sun was rising on his final day. The crisp white sheets stretched tight over his withered body, the small window slightly open, letting in the distant drifting sounds of gulls on the wind, the apple green walls with the tasteful prints of seascapes all told him he was witnessing his final day in a place unfamiliar to the life he had once led.

Fragmented aspects of his life would on occasion push up through the fog into something resembling a memory of a life lived, but as quickly as the memory drifted to the surface it was lost again before he could grasp its meaning.

The sound of a door opening, a young lady in a pale blue uniform pushing a small trolly interrupts Arthur’s feeble attempts to lock onto an image of a small child looking up at him sitting on a freshly mown lawn on a hot summers day many years ago. Frustration at knowing the child on a deeply personal level but not having a coherent understanding of the deeper meaning of the memory brings him to tears.

The woman he now sees has black hair tied back in a ponytail and is talking to him in a foreign accent. He knows she has a lovely sounding name but he struggles to bring it to the surface. The girl opens the blinds and notices he is crying and sits on the edge of the bed holding his hand and talks in a soft gentle voice. She is very kind and helps prop him up making him comfortable. He then remembers her name is Katerina and she comes from Lithuania. Arthur speaks her name and she smiles at him as she pours his tea and butters his toast. Too soon and she is gone again gently closing the door behind her. Arthur sighs and settles back on the pillows, looking out the window at a perfect blue sky.

Arthur eventually falls asleep and dreams of a girl with auburn hair and green eyes with a soft Irish Accent. They are lying on a haystack watching the birds circle above them. The girl turns to face him her hand propped under her chin. She is laughing at something he has just said…Estelle

Then he is awake, it is early afternoon and the sun burns behind the blinds. It is as if he were still asleep, there is no sound apart from his shallow breaths. The door opens once again but Instead of the young woman, a man enters and approaches the bed. He is tall with long blonde hair that comes down to his shoulders. 

He looks down at Arthur and is telling him that it will soon be time to leave this life but he will be given a parting gift. a chance to review his life, with everything that has

 been forgotten once again brought back to memory. Arthur asks who the man is and how can he bring back what has been lost. And the man just smiles at Arthur. and tells him that everyone who has suffered from this illness is allowed to regain what has been lost in their final hours. He tells Arthur that some of the memories will be painful for him but others will bring him joy. The man looks at him and knows he has made his choice. He smiles at Arthur and leaves the room without looking back. Arthur thinks this must surely be another dream and once again closes his eyes.

Then Arthur opens his eyes and the world is full of music, laughter, and singing. He is looking down at a small room, A lady is playing the piano. Her hands are flying across the keys at a very fast tempo. little Arthur is sitting cross-legged on a rug in front of a roaring fireplace. He is clapping his hands in time to the music, laughing and smiling up at his mother as her fingers dance across the notes. A man is doing a jig around the room singing at the top of his voice. He pulls Arthur up off the floor and they twirl in circles about the room until they fall into a laughing heap on the floor, and Arthur’s mother just stops playing, smiling down at her husband and her little boy.

Then the scene changes. Arthur’s mother is pleading with his father. She is telling him not to do it. He is saying the war will be over by Christmas, every man must do his duty. Little Arthur hides behind the door to the hallway. He doesn’t understand, he only knows that his father is going away for a while and that his mother is in despair. The happy house a few months ago so filled with warmth and love now seems to have a cold dread that seems to seep from the walls.

The scene changes again. A man in uniform is standing at the door holding his hat, he has a letter in his hands. Arthur’s Mother turns to Arthur and quietly ushers him into the next room. Arthur hears the man leave and then hears a gentle sobbing through the walls.

We now see Arthur as a young man. He is dancing the jitterbug with a beautiful young woman, her name is Estelle, she is Irish and every man in the room looks on in envy for she is beautiful, with Auburn hair and green eyes, polite and disdainful in equal measure. Arthur is smitten. They spend their summer days on long walks, swimming in the lakes, rolling in the cornfields. They are young and nature takes its course.

The families say now the babe is coming they must get married, Estelle is catholic. Arthur is called up and like his father, he must go to war. He leaves his young pregnant wife and goes to fight the Germans. 

Arthur’s regiment has retreated to Dunkirk, the British people are sending a flotilla of small boats to rescue them. Arthur and his two mates, Reg and Tom run for the boats. Reg is cut down in a swarm of bullets, Tom hangs desperately to the side of the boat but Arthur manages to pull him in. Arthur dives back into the water to pull another injured comrade to safety.

The White Cliffs of Dover and England at last. Back home Arthur pushes open the front door of the little house, at first, his mother doesn’t see him, and then she turns from the sink looking at him in shock before she runs to him and holds him in her arms. The door to the back room opens and Estelle is standing there holding hands with a small child. She tells the boy that this is his daddy and he has come home to us.

Another child follows, a baby girl. The children are named George and Imelda and the days and weeks that follow are filled with joy. There are trips to the seaside, and Arthur receives a medal for bravery. Arthur goes to work in the steel factory. The post-war years are kind to them, life is good.

Time passes and Arthur and Estelle grow older. One day Estelle collapses and has a stroke. Arthur nurses her through her final years enjoying each other’s companionship as the years faded away. The children now married and with lives of their own come down for the funeral, bringing Arthur’s grandchildren with them.

The children plead with Arthur to come and live with them, to be nearer to the grandchildren. But Arthur is settled in the house he shared with his wife. One day Arthur forgets to turn the oven off, and then he leaves the taps running. The children are worried and take him to the doctor. The doctor is sympathetic and says with treatment dementia can be controlled for years.

The children are sitting down with Arthur holding his hand, telling him that oak pines is a lovely home and he’ll be well looked after, they’ll come to see him every week. Arthur nods wearily and reluctantly agrees to leave his home.

Arthur watches his life pass before his eyes for the last time. But he isn’t crying, he’s smiling and laughing. He thinks, who has lived a life so full of memories. He thinks I have loved and lost, I have laughed and cried. My parents didn’t have much but what they had they gave to me: love and laughter. I married an incredible and beautiful woman, I have wonderful children and grandchildren. He thinks I am wealthy because I have loved and been loved in return.

As the light fades from the day Arthur hears faint music, he hears his wife beckoning him. He smiles once more. He closes his eyes for the last time.