In the quiet corner of the Britteny Care nursing home, Nana Shawls sat like a ghost of herself; small, brittle, and sunken into the soft cushions of a high-backed chair that now cradled her like a coffin.
The television was on and the clipped voice of a news presenter relayed the recent capture and arrest of a notorious criminal alongside other fugitives of the law, following Matt Shawl's public confessions.
'Matt.' Nana Shawl's son's name echoed like the sound of a fading, ringing bell in her heart.
Her gaze remained fixed on the window, though she never seemed to see the garden beyond it. Her mind was far away, trapped in the ruins of a reality too cruel to accept.
It has been over three weeks since her eldest son brought her to this quiet place of comfort after she was discharged from the hospital. He ensured she never lacked anything, hiring only the best nurse to take care of her.
