Backstage Writers - Think Hope Do

“Can you help me ?”  the old woman asks. She’s waiting at the elevator, leaning on her special walker. It is not obvious what kind of help she needs. “I want to go to my room. I have four children.”

As she seems greatly distressed, I agree to walk her to her room. Praise be to all higher powers, she knows where it is. Mystery reigns on arrival, however. The safety bar on her bed is up. How can this be?

“I want to lie down,” she says. I’m thinking a safety bar cannot be that complicated to undo. I try pulling the whole unit out. It doesn’t budge.  I look for a lever, knob, latch, catch.  I tug on the whole thing again. No luck.  I try sliding the main bar, nothing gives.

“I have four children!” the woman wails.

I can’t imagine how this fact could be so upsetting to her.  But what can I say? I take the disbelief angle. “Four, you say?”

“Yes, four!”

“How did you get out of bed?”  I ask.

She looks perplexed then wails again. “I moved here to have no worries!”

“Well, I am a bit stuck on this bar. I’m terribly sorry.”

“Four children!”

“I see.”

“There’s never anyone to help me.” She starts crying and I feel like a mechanical zero, not even capable of putting an old woman to bed.

“Four children,” she says. “And not one of them comes to see me.”