Charming Room 628

This is a strange little story, although there are no particular twists or surprises. In fact, you may be able to guess the ending as soon as it begins. What is scary is that it is true; this really happened to me.
I was working as a dietitian in a long-term care and rehabilitation facility. It was full of the sick, severely injured, the elderly, and the dying. Many of the patients in the place were facing death; it was something I saw on a regular basis, and I was no stranger to death on that side of life. I had been at that facility for a number of years so I knew the staff well and had made friends with many of those that I cared for.
One of my main jobs was to assess new patients for any nutritional needs they had within a few days of them being admitted. It was a simple enough task and usually only took a few minutes. Some small talk, a bit of banter, and just a couple of questions on how their appetite was: if they had any difficulty eating, or special food needs. My visits were for the most part pleasant. After all, who doesn’t want to make friends with the person that can get them food and snacks?
I lay this out so that you understand that nothing was out of the ordinary the first time that I met him. I was walking down the hall when I bumped into a young lady and dropped some of my paperwork. “Oh, excuse me,†I said as I bent down to pick up my things.
“I didn’t see you. I was just visiting my grandfather and must have been lost in thought,†the woman replied. “Here, let me help you.â€
She gathered up a few of the papers and handed them to me before she hurried down the corridor. I noticed I had missed one sheet, which had slipped under a door. I went to retrieve it when I heard a man call out, “Excuse me, sir. I need a bit of help if you don’t mind.†The voice was weak and feeble, the words muffled. I believe if I hadn’t been facing the room I most likely wouldn’t have heard it at all.
I looked at the door placard, noticing there was no name assigned. That wasn’t unusual, even though it should have been. The establishment where I worked was in a small town and they ran a bare bones crew of nurses and aides so it could turn a profit.
“Yes, Mr…uh,†I stopped, hoping to prompt him to give me his name.
“Jacobson, Arty Jacobson.†He revealed with a genteel expression on his face. “The nurses seem awfully busy around here and haven’t answered me. I was wondering if you could get me some blankets for my bed, please? It’s getting cold in here.â€
I looked at his bed, realizing it was stripped bare. He was sitting in his chair so I assumed that his bed had been changed that day and the aides had not put new blankets on it. Again, it wasn’t unusual, although it should have been.
“Sure thing, Arty. I’ll just be a minute,†I said. I turned to leave and was about to pull the door closed behind me.
“Oh, please. Leave the door open a crack. I hate it when it is shut. I feel so left out of the real world if it is shut.â€
“No problem,†I replied and walked off to get his bedding. I returned in just a few minutes with the sheets. “Would you like me to make it for you?â€
“Oh no. I wouldn’t want to bother you. You don’t seem to be a nurse or an aide and I wouldn’t want you to have to do their job. I’m sure you are very busy.â€
“I kind of am,†I agreed, relieved that he had stopped me. Even though it wasn’t my job I always tried to make the patients happy. Besides, this poor man looked rough: there were bruises all over his body and his lips were dried and cracked. It appeared that he had been in some kind of accident.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you been here?†I normally didn’t ask patients this question. That’s because I usually see them within the first few days of admission, but I had no memory of this frail looking man. His condition warranted that he should have been brought to my attention immediately. In my professional opinion, he could clearly use a few good meals to help him mend.
“It feels like a long time, but I think it has only been a couple of days.â€
“It seems like everyone is in a hurry to go home as soon as they get here. Kind of makes the time feel slow. I can’t blame them though, there is no place like home after all.†I said trying to build up rapport.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get back there unfortunately. I think I may need to be here for quite a while.†His bruised face managed to form something resembling a smile.
“Our staff is very good at getting people back on their feet. I’m sure you’ll be out in no time. Now if you’ll excuse me I do need to be going. I’m the dietitian here and I’ll be back in few days to ask you some questions. I hope you begin to feel better,†I smiled as I reached out to shake his hand.
“I won’t be able to give you a shake. My hand is terribly beat up.â€
“I understand. I will see you later.â€
“I look forward to it,†he said as he watched me walk out.
It was later in the day when I had time to take a break. I was browsing the paper looking for the comic section; I often try to read them to give me something funny to think about since being around the sick, injured, and dying can leave one with dark thoughts sometimes. It was there on the third page of the paper that I happened to see a story of an elderly man, who had slipped on the edge of a cliff and plummeted to his death. There were no pictures, but the name Arthur Jacobson jumped out at me. I thought it was an odd coincidence that this man and the patient that I had talked to earlier shared the same name. The old man in the room had injuries consistent with a great fall; the bruising and the beat-up hands. There were no visible broken bones, but not all breaks are visible. Maybe I had just talked to a ghost, but why would a ghost have traveled to here of all places? Do they just haunt random locations, or do they stay in areas that they have a connection to?
“I’m just making stuff up,†I scolded myself. “Yet, he himself said that the staff hadn’t been responding to him. Maybe I’m the only one that can see him.†I decided to check for his medical record. A ghost certainly wouldn’t have brought this with them. He was in room 628. I went to look where his record should be and sure enough, nothing was there. I asked the nurse if 628 was empty and she confirmed that it was.
I casually walked back towards the room. I had never met a real ghost before and I was intrigued to know more about him and what the next world was like. So far death seemed pretty boring if all you did was go to a nursing home. I knocked on his door and I heard his weak and feeble voice say come in.
“Arty, it’s me again, the dietitian. May I ask you a few questions?â€
“Come in, come in,†He said. “I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.â€
“Well I wasn’t going to come back for a few days, but I just read a story in the paper and I was curious if there was a mistake.â€
“Ah, so you know. I was hoping it would take a bit more time, let you get to know me first. I suppose you don’t want to talk to a ghost, do you?†He asked sheepishly.
I glanced around and saw that the bed had been made. Some of the bruising on his face had even noticeably faded. I guessed a ghost could heal fast, though I had no idea how a ghost could even heal. It’s not like they have flesh and blood.
“Actually, I do want to talk to you. I’ve never talked to a ghost before. If you don’t mind, I would like to know what it’s like.â€
“What’s that?†He asked. “Do you want to know what it’s like being dead, or what it is like to die?â€
“Both, actually. Did dying hurt?â€
“It’s kind of like getting a shot at the doctors. There is an initial jolt of pain, but it’s over very quickly. Well, for me it was at least. Then again, I did have a big fall. I couldn’t even comprehend what had happened to me before it was over.†He said, his hands making a flattening gesture.
“My biggest fear is that it will hurt. To know that the process is over quickly is kind of reassuring actually.â€
“Well, if you’re going to go, falling is not so bad. You might not leave the best looking corpse behind, but what do you care? You’re dead.†He let out an eerie laugh. “As far as being dead,†he continued, “I’m not sure if I will get used to it. It is kind of lonely. Even though you are here, I’m the only one like me around as far as I can tell.â€
“It does make you different.†I agreed. “Why are you here? I mean this place. Out of all the places you could go, this seems like the least exciting.â€
“My wife passed away here a short time ago. I was hoping she might still be here. Obviously, she isn’t. I’m sticking around now because the man next door is about to pass. I’m wondering if when he does if he would like to keep me company.â€
“You can tell when people are going to die?â€
“I can sense it. Smell it actually. It’s an odd smell kind of like dried leaves, fresh rain, but also kind of sickly. I had never smelled anything like it while I was alive, I can tell you that.â€
We kept talking about this and that until I noticed that a couple hours had passed. I excused myself and told him that if I had time I would be by again, unless he had moved on by then. My work for the next few days kept me away from the 600 floor. It wasn’t until the man in 626 passed away that I remembered Arty again. I went by to see if he had found a friend and moved on yet.
I knocked on the door and heard his voice. This time it sounded a little more robust. I pushed the door further open and noticed that he was looking much better.
“I told you this place would have you feeling better again in no time,†I joked. “Did you not make friends with the man when he passed?â€
“He went straight up.†Arty replied with what appeared to be a scowl on his face.
“Up?†I asked and pointed toward the ceiling.
“Up.†He responded pointing toward the ceiling as well. His face was long and dejected.
“So not all ghosts stick around. Then why you?â€
“I don’t know. Maybe I ticked off the big man upstairs. Now if you don’t mind I don’t feel much like talking today.â€
“I understand.†Commiserating, I turned to leave when I was seized by a cough and put my hand on the door to steady myself.
“Don’t close it!†He said in a commanding voice much different than the sickly feeble one I had initially met him with.
I left the door open and exited, still in the clutches of a coughing fit. It wasn’t until I was well down the hall that it subsided. Two days passed before I went back to talk to Arty. This time he looked as good as new. There were no bruises and if he hadn’t been a ghost I would think he was fit as a fiddle.
“How is it going today?†I asked.
He smiled at me and answered. “Spectacular. I am feeling great. Maybe I just needed to recover before I moved on.â€
“That’s good to hear. I hope that you can find a happy ending to this journey.â€
“You don’t sound too good,†Arty observed with a hint of concern in his voice.
“It’s just a little cold. I’ve been a bit under the weather lately. Should recover soon though. I usually don’t stay sick very long.â€
“Ah, I hope that is all. The lady across the hall isn’t doing too well either. I can smell that smell again.†I couldn’t help but notice that he licked his lips when he said this.
“Oh no. I like Misses Norvac. She is such a nice lady,†I managed to say before I began to cough.
“Death comes to us all. I wish it didn’t but when it is your time, it is your time.†In between my coughs I thought I caught a flash of a baleful smile go across his face.
“I think I best be leaving now. I will come back and check on you later. I hope you feel better by then. Maybe Misses Norvac will keep you company until I return.â€
“Perhaps, perhaps,†he said. I moved to exit, making sure to leave the door open.
It happened later that night that Misses Norvac breathed her last. I went back the next day, even though I was feeling very ill by this point. The coughing hadn’t let up and my head was a continual dull ache. Still, I wanted to know if Arty had moved on yet.
I didn’t even bother to knock, pushing right in. Arty was on the bed, sitting with feet crossed. He appeared to be deep in thought.
“No Misses Norvac?â€
“She went straight up.â€
“Again, huh. Well you’re looking a hundred times better. Maybe you’ll finally go up as well,†I tried to be reassuring.
“I think I figured it out.†He blurted. “When I died I left behind a charm that my wife gave me before she passed. I think that is what I need to move on. I’m not ready to leave this world without the memory of her to guide me.†The excitement was visible on his face. When I had first met him, he looked like an eighty-year-old man. Now he was filled with the vigor of youth.
“That certainly sounds reasonable,†I agreed in between coughs.
“The only problem is, is that I can’t leave this place. I know it is a huge favor to ask, but would you go to the canyon where I was hiking and retrieve it? I’m sure it is still there. I dropped it before I fell. In fact, I remember looking at it in the sunset. I was remembering when she had first given it to me; actually, it was on that same walking trail. Anyways, I dropped it in a bush at the edge of the cliff. When I bent over to pick it up I slipped on some loose rocks. That’s when I fell. It is probably still in that bush hidden from sight.â€
I don’t know why I agreed to do this for him, feeling as ill as I did. Maybe I felt sorry for him for not being able to move on, or maybe I wasn’t thinking straight due to being sick. Either way, I said I would. He drew me a map of the area he had been to the best of his ability and recollection. Then he gave me directions to the cliff and shook my hand before I left. “Do you promise to go tonight?†He asked.
“Well, I do have some things I need to take care of.â€
“It has to be tonight, before the sun sets. My chance may soon be over, I can feel it. Then I will have to remain here.â€
“Don’t want that, do we?†I quipped. There was something that was beginning to be a bit off putting about Arty. “I will take care of those other things later. I can go tonight.†I would have rather gone to bed to sleep off the sickness, yet the sooner I did this, the sooner he would be gone.
“Good. I have your word that you will go there in my place to look for the charm.†His hand was still clutching mine. He drew me closer and put the other hand on my shoulder. It seemed… it seemed almost menacing.
“I will go. You have my word,†is all I offered.
It was an hour drive to the site. It was part of a national park so there were trails all over the mountain. Finding the precipice he had fallen from was easy. I looked around for the sickly little scrub brush indicated on his crude drawing. Once I had made out one land mark it was easy to find the rest. I plunged my hand into the tangle of branches, fishing for the charm. The needles on it poked my hand and drew some blood. It was difficult to make anything out as the sun hung low in the sky. In the remaining light of dusk, there was no sparkle of any charm. I must have had my hand in that infernal bush for about fifteen minutes. Being bent over that long my head had started to throb and the mucus in my throat threatened to come up. I was about to surrender when my fingers finally touched metal.
I clasped it tightly and attempted to pull my hand free from the bush, but my fist was too wide to pass through some of the brambles. I attempted to hold the charm between my fingers, but then the bush would snap back and knock the trinket free. I had no choice but to yank my hand out hard while clutching the charm tightly. The upward force of my motion pushed the ball of snot that had lodged in my throat violently down.
I began into another coughing fit that drove me backwards. My feet slipped on the shaky rocks underneath and my hand flew up as I went in the opposite direction. The charm flew in the air: I could see a set of sterling wings twinkle in the final rays of the sun as I fell down. Arty was right; it was over quickly after the initial pain, just like when you get a shot.
When I woke up I was in room 628. There was a young man standing above me. My body was beaten up badly and I could hardly move. It felt like I was eighty years old.
“Thank you.†The young man said. “Your visits made all the difference. I feel like a new me. I’ll leave the door open before I go so you won’t be stuck in here.†Arty smiled at me one last time before he left, walking out the door. I heard a high-pitched yelp.
“Oh, excuse me,†I heard him say. “I didn’t see you walking. I was just visiting my grandfather and must have been lost in thought.â€
“That’s ok. You just startled me.†I heard a young woman reply. I never saw Arthur Jacobson again.
You may be wondering what the message is in all of this. It’s quite simple really: never talk to a ghost. That’s just my bit of advice to you. Thank you for visiting me though. I am starting to feel a little better. Now, if you’ll excuse me I smell the sickly sent of dried leaves and the rain coming. I may have to visit the room next door. Just be kind and leave the door open when you go.


Source.

Heeeee