Miss Julie...

The old lady sat there peering at me with her pale eyes, till I began to feel uneasy... 

Her hair looked as if, it hadn't been brushed in years.
"What'd you say your name was?" she asked, then reached down and picked up the butt of a cigar lighting it, puffing to get it lit. 

I hadn't even spoken a word to her; but I was not going to be rude, so I told her my name and she said,
"Nice to meet you Susan. My names Miss Julie," she said.
"I had a sister named Susan, she was a pretty lady like you," she said thoughtfully...  

I smiled and said thank you, Miss Julie. Then turned back to my sister, with whom I was trying to engage in conversation, to get her out of her own fantasy world. 

When the old lady spoke up again, saying that she wished she still had a sister to visit with her, as I was doing with mine.
"Your sister, she's a real sweet lady," Miss Julie said. 
"Yes Ma'am, she is," I agreed, turning again back to my sister.

Miss Julie, though lonely for conversation again spoke up and this time my sister joined in, if only for a moment or two, till she again drifted back into her own fantasy world. 

Miss Julie, looked sadly at me as she said. 
"You know, sometimes all that medicine, just don't help you know..." 
I agreed, that no it didn't. 

We sat and talked off and on, for the remainder of my visit with my sister, and as I was getting ready to leave, she said. 
"It was nice talking to you, Susan." 
I smiled and said, "It was nice talking to you too, Miss Julie" and I meant it. 

As I was in my car driving away, I had to pass by, where she and my sister were still sitting in the gazebo. As I looked over toward them, they both smiled and waved goodbye...

This was a sad; but good day, and although Miss Julie manipulated most of my visit with my sister, I was thankful for the opportunity to meet Miss Julie. 
She may be just another human, that has slipped through the cracks and has been forgotten by those that she cared about; but she gave me a reason to smile today as I drove away... 

Afterword:

Schizophrenia affects millions of families, we are not alone and we have nothing to be ashamed of!

schizophrenia (skt's-o-frn-ne-a)
Noun
1. a psychotic disorder characterized by withdrawal from reality, hallucinations, or emotional instability
2. Informal behaviour that seems to be motivated by contradictory or conflicting principles

[Greek skhizein to split + phrēn mind]
schizophrenic adjn

Feb 14,  2009 © Susan Beck aka Justplainolme
All Rights Reserved. No republication of this
material, in any form or medium, is permitted
without express permission of the author.