Spoon-Fed Memories - Finish the Story Edition #36

       Below is my entry for the 36th editon of the Finish the Story Contest which is now hosted by the benevolent @Bananafish.

       This week's script was written by @Calluna, who weaves worlds with words that wrap around you through the end of her stories. Check out her blog and treat yourself to her fiction and poetry. While you're there, try your hand at her Tell A Story To Me contest!

_{Image via pixabay}

Spoon-fed Memories

story beginning by @Calluna

“When I was your age, I was quite the wild one. Ahhh that look, that ‘sure granny’ look, well if you don’t believe me.”

The underpaid nurse attempting to spoon-feed the elderly lady sat, heaped spoon waiting for a pause between words.

“I had quite the adventure, back when I was twenty-two, I never told your mam about this one”

Susie suppressed a sigh, every resident took her as a different relative. They used a warm, familiar tone with her, looking into her eyes, and seeing those of another. She’d given up correcting them, not one of them could remember her name.

“It was during the war, your grandpa worked intelligence out of one of those top-secret northern bunkers, that’s where he got that compass you used to love playing with.”

There was something about never been seen as herself that was starting to eat at Susie. At first, she’d pitied them, unable to see things for what they were, but as time went by, every word spoken to her, meant for another, began to cut.

“It’s been two months since I'd had a letter from him, and well, you can imagine what I thought when a man in uniform knocked at the door.”

Finally catching a pause in the residents flow, Susie swooped in with a spoon full of buttery mash, beaded with peas. For loud, sloppy moments the lady chewed, and trying to draw on her compassion, Susie smiled, scooping up another spoonful.

“Well my heart dropped and I nearly fainted before he could speak. That awkward young officer grabbed my hands, looking me firm in the eyes, ‘He’s not dead Mrs Ellerton, he’s fine, I just need you to come with me’. I’ve never packed a bag so fast in my life!”

Susie quickly exploited the dramatic moment, dropped another spoon of mash, this time laked with stewed beef and gravy, into the open mouth. She used to hate herself for finding those too far gone to chatter away easier, avoiding the talkers, but despite her best evasions, she’d got stuck with conversational Mrs Ellerton today.

“We sped down those country roads, whizzing up north, in hours. He told me nothing on the way, offering only that Nick would tell me when we got there. I’d had no idea what to bring, and had frantically thrown everything I could think of into my bag, as we drove up I began to realise all the things I’d not thought of, but there was no turning back, I could tell by the way that officer gripped the wheel we were in a hurry!”

Mrs Ellerton wasn’t letting up, Susie glanced at the clock, her shift was due to finish in ten minutes, but she couldn’t go anywhere until the old bag wrapped it up. Putting the spoon down, she tried to fight the rising anger, and decided to try and get Mrs Ellerton to cut to the chase.

“So why had your husband had you brought there?”

My entry

Eyeing the door as she leaned closer to Susie, the woman whispered, “For a mission.” Then she settled herself against her pillow and waited for a reaction to her dramatic reveal.

The beige tray in Susie’s hand began to tremble as her grip on it tightened in frustration. At this rate, she’d be stuck listening through the third shift! Forcing interest into her tone, she asked the expected question. "What kind of mission?"

"You see, the location of the bunker had been compromised. My Nick and a few others had orders to abandon the facility. They were relocating the families to another location so that we couldn't be used against the intelligence agents. Our mission was to slip into fake identities and blend in. Once there we'd mmpph..."

Another spoonful of squishy mush cut off the ridiculous story Mrs. Ellerton was spinning. The end of her shift was so close and she wasn't in the mood for a Saturday afternoon war drama!

Through the smacking sounds of chewing, the old woman spoke around her food, "I had been sent to live in a circus and there was this elephant..."

Susie's hold on her thread thin patience was about to slip when a cheerful voice filled the room.

"Good evening, Mrs. Ellerton!" Doctor Conners tilted his head to Susie in greeting, adding in "And nurse!" His dark eyes took in the half eaten meal then gave Susie an understanding wink. Turning to his patient he asked, "Why don't I take over here and you can finish telling me your story, Moira?"

A frown began to form on the old bag's face as Susie leapt to her feet. Grateful for the lifeline the balding doctor had thrown her, she handed him the tray. This time, the enthusiasm in her voice was real. "Thank you, doctor! Great timing!" Her voice lowered a bit as she gave him a bit of warning. "She was just getting to the part about the elephants."

His eyebrows shot up and she knew that he was holding back a laugh. The man was a saint. Susie gave her farewells and fled from the room, pretending not to hear the plea of "Come back tomorrow, Sarah!" from the bed.

---

Doctor Conners shook his head at the fleeing nurse as he placed the tray of mush on the table. "You were right," he said as the old woman threw back the blanket and stood. "Her reconditioning is almost complete."

'Mrs. Ellerton' stretched and winced. Lying in bed all day to test the effectiveness of Langston's brainwashing was hell on her back! Giving Conners a glare she snipped, "Of course I'm right! How many years have we been doing this?" She made her way to the bathroom and her toothbrush. The disgusting film from the peas and potatoes in her mouth had to go.

"Did she show any response to the name of her fellow agent?"

'Mrs. Ellerton' spat the water and toothpaste into the sink. "Does disinterest and a desire to smother me with my pillow count? The mentions of Nick, the bunker and the compass didn't elicit a response." Her voice took on a proud tone. "I give it less than a week before nurse Susie decides to quit." She strode past Conners and slipped on her robe. "Will there be jobs waiting for her?"

He adjusted his glasses and smiled. "There are several wonderful opportunities waiting for the former Miss Sarah."

'Mrs. Ellerton' gave him a teasing look of confusion. "I don't know who you're talking about, dear. There's only Susie, now."

Follow the Bananafish Trail!	Art by @PegasusPhysics
Join in the #haikucontest fun!	Thank you @Omra-sky!