The hallway was stark and smelt of antiseptic cleaners. Its spartan white walls were complimented with spartan white floors. Both spotless, revealing nothing. The bright overhead lights only reinforced the lonely concepts. Everything was in order and nothing changed. The rooms were numbered, evens on the left, odd on the right, nurse’s stations in the middle, everything else on another wing. No music played and no voices spoke, both unwritten, yet obeyed laws, no tv interupted either.

Walking down the hallways, doors were closed, only gold door letters told you of where you were. Room 216, 218, 220,... it didn’t matter what number, it was still a lonely nightmare. Kriner Home for the Elderly, why did he let his father talk him into this? Peter sighed, remembering how it was that brought him. His father had come to visit him in at the precinct, and had asked if he could take him to visit a friend who lived outside of town. Outside of town and in a nursing home.

The building had looked nice from the outside, neat and well maintained, stretching out in two large wings. On going inside, his father had told him his friend was in room 223 in the Reisner Wing. The two of them studied the visitors map before venturing down the various twists and turns. It had been a very depressing walk, older men and women just sat in wheelchairs along the hallway, waiting for a friend who never shows up or out of boredom. What got to Peter the most was the look of hopelessness and lonelyness in their eyes. None of the people had even noticed their passing.

When they had made it Resiner Wing, the people in the halls disappeared and a different kind of hopelessness filled the air. The scent of forgotteness and death filled Peter’s nostrils as he followed his father to the room. Upon entering it, very little change from the depressing atmosphere of the rest building lived inside of it. Peter wondered if anyone could live inside of the room, then he saw the figure on the bed move. Coming closer, he noticed an old man. His father’s friend. His father had already gone over to the man and had gently awoken him. The man smiled at the visitors.

“Hello Caine, what brings you to see me today?” the strange man’s voice cracked from disuse and age, Peter wasn’t sure which had more of an effect.

Peter watched his father take the man’s wrist, checking his chi and overall health. “It has been awhile since I have last seen you, thought I would come and say hi.”

The man smiled and nodded, “is that your son with you?”

“Yes, Tom, this is my son Peter. Peter, this is Tom Greenspan.”

Peter nodded, “pleased to meet you.”

“Same to you. Your father tells me much about you. I was a police officer for a number of years when I was in the army. Didn’t really like it that much, too much paperwork.”

Peter laughed, he agreed with that. But what was he supposed to do?

“Been a while since I’ve thought about that. It gets lonely in here. But Peter, its a good name. Chepheas, rock, it means you are a rock to others who love you.”

The mans now strengthening voice belied the man’s condition. Fragile and brittle, the man lied upon the bed as if he couldn’t fight to stand or sit up. Beyond his wrinkled face, Peter could see a sharp intelligence in his eyes.

The two talked easily until a white-startched nurse came into the room, announcing visiting hours were over. Peter glanced at his watch, it was only four o’clock. He hadn’t realized how long he had been there.

“Thank you for visiting me Caine, and thank you Peter for coming. The days just drag when you’re depressed. Your visit has brightened my week already.”

“Take care Tom.” said Peter.

“Next time you visit, I’ll tell you who the greatest baseball players are. Take care of yourselves. Bye.”

The spartan nurse just glanced at their leaving. Out in the hall, Peter began to feel the same drepression coming in, begin again. Only worse, because now he knew someone who had to live with this all the time. The Caines quickly hurried out, observing some of the same hall watchers as before. Boredome dulling their minds.

Once in the car and on the highway, did Peter finally speak. “You know, I kinda feel sorry for all those people in there, nothing to do all day but sit and wait. No one to care or really love them.”

His father remained silent, looking at the scene in front of them, the approching city.

“Must be an awful way to live, not being needed by anyone.”

After a couple minutes of silence, his father finally spoke. “Peter, I want you to make me a promise.”

“Yeah Pop.”

“Promise me that when I am older, you will not put me in a place like we just left.”

Peter turned and saw the seriousness, and slight fear, in his father’s eyes. This was a side to his father that Peter hadn’t seen before, a side that realized that he couldn’t be independant forever.

“I promise ya Pop, I’ll take care of you. Besides,” Peter added with a laugh, “I hope to have tons of kids, so I’ll need someone to help watch them. Knowing my luck, they’ll be just like me.”

Caine laughed, “one of you was hard enough raising, and it still is hard today.”

“Ok, I get your point, but I know how you secretly wish to be a grandfather, so don’t deny it. Hey, I have an idea, maybe, we’ll move out to the country and have one big Caine farm? or maybe...”

Caine leaned back into the seat and listened to his son rattle on, enjoying the presence of his son and knowing that he would not be forgotten.

The End