Nurse Mindy wheeled the squeaky hospital cart through the oncoming rush of concerned family members. Her job was restricted to delivering medicines. And she was glad about it. The things other nurses had to do. She had taken up nursing as a profession, but over the years she’d started hating the cries and wails of patients. She reached room 1618. The reports read:

Patient Number
2743
Severe Dementia; retreats into past life

As she entered, she saw an old man lying on the bed, with a letter in his hand. Beside his bed, was another bed on which lay a patient; an old lady.

As Mindy kept the brown bag of medicines on the over-bed table, the man turned to her and asked, “Nurse, would you be kind enough to read this letter for me? I really like this girl, you see. I’ve no way to express my feelings, thus I wrote a letter. Could you please give it a read? Oh, and could you please tell me who this lady is in that bed?”

Nurse Mindy took the letter from him. It read,

Dear Nancy,
I still remember the first time I saw you, sitting all by yourself reading a book. Yes, people call love at first sight infatuation, but what I felt right there in that moment, I don’t think I ever have or ever will.

I fell for you the moment you looked me in the eye, looking up from the book. My heart skipped a beat, my stomach lurched, blood rushed to my face and my mind was flooded with just one thought – am I good enough to ask this girl out?

I tried to muster enough courage to come and talk to you, however, words seemed lost on me every time I looked at you. You have left me spellbound. The only way I guess I can communicate is through this letter. I don’t think a day will pass with me not thinking about you. I really become melancholy when you skip class. We are just stardust. Born from it and returned to it. It’s just this little time in the middle that we get to work our magic. It’s taken me a long time to say this but Nancy all I want to ask you, will you come out to dinner this Friday with me?
Always and forever,
Joe.

Nurse Mindy looked up. Her eyes were misty. This was it. True love. Not the one advertised or glorified on the telly, but one rarely found in the world. She heard a sob from the corner, it was the old woman. She walked towards her and checked the monitor for any anomalies.
“All okay Ma’am?” she asked her.
The resting lady wiped her tears and asked, “Could you hand me the letter?”
Mindy replied, “But it’s not mine to part with”.

She then looked at the table by the lady’s bedside. There lay a stack of letters, all written in a similar handwriting.
Mindy was shocked. “Are you – ”
“Nancy. Yes,” replied the patient, “Silly fool doesn’t remember that we are married. His love still runs deep you see. He still doesn’t know that I liked him even before he sent the letter.”