A very old man Clarence-who had been placed in a nursing home. by his family, was a sad case. Nobody ever came to see him. One day he stopped talking and refused to leave his room. He was cooperative enough with the staff and functional enough to take care of himself.
He continued to eat and bathe. but he became a mute recluse, sitting alone in his room in his rocking chair all day, staring out the window. The staff decided he had a right to live as he wished so they let him be.
A Woman resident-Mae had taken an interest in Clarence, and when he disappeared, she went in to vist with him. He didn't seem to mind, but he didn't respond ethier. She started working on a quilt and overtime, she moved her handwork little by little into his room.
She spent her days sewing and telling her life story while he sat staring out the window she had been in London. She had a million stories and was very happy to have someone to listen to her. Nobody knew what he thought. He sat and stared, she talked, months went by.
When Mae finished the quilt, it was put on display in the main lobby of the nursing home. People said it was one of the most beautiful quilts they had ever seen. She was especially proud since it was the only quilt she had ever made.
The same week the quilt was finished, Clarence passed away. In the drawer of his nightstand, the staff found an envelope marked, "To be opened when I die" The note inside said "Tell Mae I love her." When they told her, she cried as if her heart would break. She had loved him too.
She had made the quilt just for him. And that is why Clarence was buried wrapped in Mae's quilt.
Copyright 2007 all rights reserved
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