It was like wandering into some other world ─ some great, quiet world set far away from one’s usual surroundings. Time did not exist there, although the sun would set as the sky would become painted with the intense colors of red and orange. Sitting at a nearby bench, a tall quiet girl with short brown hair sat with a paintbrush in her hand and a canvas by her side. Half-painted, the canvas sky was darker than what she was observing. It seemed as though she was conflicted, as if the mind and the hand were battling in some epic fight, resulting in chaotic strokes on the canvas.

Giving up, Adeline Collins put down her brush in defeat and her eyes moved towards the desolate town. Her eyes, moving back and forth ─ faster than a professional runner ─ suddenly stopping to gaze at a very frail grandfather who, adjusting his hat, was walking with no set destination. Being that he was the only other person in this town, this sparked her interest and she wondered where he was going and if he was alright. Leaving the rejected canvas on the bench, she felt as though she had to follow him. So she did.

Her long brown hair flowing behind her as the wind pushed it back, she kept her distance. At twenty, Adeline was quite independent and mature. She was an artist, well, a struggling artist who did not know where to go and what to do after finishing college. But for now, she was just a girl in an isolated town following an elderly man.

A loud thump traveled in the air, spreading throughout the entire town, but she was the only one to hear it. Blinking is an involuntary action, and yet at this moment all she could do was keep her eyes wide open. The sight before her was obvious: the elderly man was on the floor, sprawled out on the pavement, clutching his heart. Fumbling for her phone, while trying to run to him, the girl was thrust into a position that she had never prepared for. It felt like hours had passed before her screams for help were drowned out by the sirens. The ambulance arrived in a blur of red as Adeline flailed her hands. She felt as though it was the only thing that she could to help.

“Please help him,” she pleaded to the first responders. “He just collapsed!”

The rest was a blur as the paramedics repeated orders to the old man, seeing if he would respond, before carefully placing him on the stretcher. Thinking that she was his granddaughter, the paramedics ushered Adeline into the awaiting ambulance where they immediately took off for the hospital. When Adeline was a young girl she had always imagined what would happen in an ambulance: if it would be quiet or loud, fast-paced or calm. The metallic smell from the stainless steel grab rail forcefully cut through this notion and the girl was brought back to real-time. She began to study the inside of the small space, looking at all of the equipment in an attempt to distract herself from staring at the paramedics as they worked.

“Miss.” Adeline looked up. “Do you know this man?”

She shook her head. The male paramedic then extended his hand towards her and she soon realized that she was clutching his wallet in her hands. The color in her knuckles automatically returned as she handed him the worn leather case. Inspecting the inside, the paramedic soon found what he was looking for: identification.

“Jerome Johnson,” he said. It sounded like a question, but there was no response. “We’re pulling up to the hospital right now. Everything is going to be okay. Okay, on my count. Three . . . Two . . . One.”

The ambulance doors opened and the old man was given to the awaiting doctors. Adeline looked around, hoping for some guidance as to where to go. The paramedic approached the girl after a few minutes, saying, “I trust you’ll give this to his family.” Adeline nodded, thanking him and his partner for their quick response.

There was a dull ache in Adeline’s chest as she wandered through the hospital waiting room before sitting down in the corner. Holding onto the wallet, she studied its contents, specifically a picture of the man, Jerome, with a woman. Thinking that it was most likely his wife, Adeline kept her eyes open and observed every person who entered the waiting room. Most were calm as they walked through those sliding doors, but some had tears that managed to push past the barriers of their puffy eyes.

Hours had passed before Adeline found herself at the front desk, asking if anyone from the Johnson family had arrived for Jerome. Although private information, the receptionist informed her that no one had shown up yet.

“May I see him?” she asked. “I still have his wallet.”

“I’ll send out a nurse to the waiting room. She’ll let you know if you can.”

Thanking the receptionist, Adeline returned to her corner spot and waited for confirmation that she could visit the man. Being that no family members were tracked down, Jerome’s nurse allowed the girl to come back for some time as he was awake and alert. The sound of wheelchairs squeaking against the floor filled the hallway as Adeline followed the nurse to Jerome’s room.

“Here you are,” the nurse motioned, holding the door open for Adeline.

Adeline cautiously moved into the monochromatic hospital room and cleared her throat, gaining the attention of Jerome. He looked smaller in the bed as if he shrunk into a child’s height to ensure that he had a longer lifespan.

“Jerome?”

He smiled. “Oh please, call me Jerry. My mother called me Jerome.”

“Jerry, this belongs to you,” Adeline placed the wallet on the nightstand. “I’m so relieved to see that you’re okay. You scared me back there!”

Jerry’s voice, which sounded tired and worn, confided to her that he had had a heart attack before. “But no need to fret over me. I appreciate you calling the paramedics.”

Her eyes moved back to the wallet and she asked, “Is there anyone that I can call for you? Any family members?”

“Oh, Debbie at the bookstore, but she’s visiting her family for the holidays. No, no . . . I’ll be fine by myself.”

At this moment Adeline realized that he had no family and that is why nobody was by his side. “If you would like, I would love to stay.”

“Really? I would love your company. But please, if you have somewhere else to go, don’t feel obligated to stay.”

It sounded like the word stay was echoing in the room over and over again, but it was because it was the last word spoken before the two entered the deafening silence. Out of curiosity, and to end the quietness, Adeline felt the need to ask where Jerry was going when he fell into the street.

“My childhood house. I was trying to visit my childhood house. Please, all I could ask of you is to make sure that somehow I get there if you do not mind.”

She nodded in agreement. Weeks passed as the girl went on with her daily life, going to school, then home, and then back to the hospital, watching the man who had no family by his side. She felt as if she had some responsibility to be there for him and of course, she felt obligated to be the one to help him.

By the time that the elderly man was ready to leave the hospital, the girl was there, ready to push his wheelchair. At the advice of the doctor, the old man would not be able to walk for some time. The old man said he was merely going home and, in a way, he was. So the pair set off, leaving the hospital behind. The sun’s rays warmed their skin and gave the girl much needed energy to complete this journey.

“So,” Adeline said. “What is the house like?”

Jerry inhaled deeply and smiled. “Oh . . . it’s just wonderful. It’s a small little house, but it was perfect for my family. I remember it so vividly . . . the outside brick, the white exterior, the beige walls. The garden that my mother loved. The kitchen was where we had the most fun, trying the foods before a meal. My sister loved tasting everything that my mother made. Oh and my sister! We loved playing on the tire swing outside. It was so much fun.”

It was surprising, being that as Jerry described his old house Adeline realized that it had only taken them a few minutes to re-enter the town where it all started.

The old man was not wandering without a set destination; he was trying to make it to his childhood home for whatever reason. The last time he had seen it was almost seventy long years ago when its exterior was a pure and innocent white. Yet, as the two diverged off of the dirt path they found themselves before a dilapidated place with darkened wood that appeared to be falling in places.

“Is this the place, Jerry?”

“Of course, can’t you see it?” He was still smiling. Perhaps what he saw was what was there seventy years ago. Perhaps he saw french doors opening as a slight breeze entered the house, with his mother and father greeting him on the porch. Perhaps he was already walking to his old room or was in the kitchen tasting something for dinner. He was back home, reviving the memory of his family and their past. Adeline knew at this moment that her confusion and struggle – her own inner turmoil – allowed her to save a man from death and bring him to this house.

Without hesitating, Adeline said, “Yes, I can.”