It was just past three in the morning when the call came in. A “suspicious person” had been reported wandering the streets, aimless and alone. For Officer James, it was another routine dispatch in a night filled with quiet streets, occasional disturbances, and the eerie calm that only comes when most of the city is asleep. But when he arrived, he quickly realized this was no ordinary call.
Margaret, a woman in her late seventies, stood shivering on the sidewalk, her thin coat doing little to ward off the chill of the pre-dawn air. Her hands trembled as she clutched a worn handbag, and her eyes, wide with confusion, darted from shadow to shadow. She wasn’t dangerous. She wasn’t causing trouble. She was simply lost—completely, utterly lost.
James knelt beside her, feeling the cold seep through his uniform, but he barely noticed it. His focus was entirely on Margaret. “Hi there, I’m Officer James,” he said gently, his voice low and reassuring. “Can I sit with you for a moment?”
Margaret nodded faintly, her lips quivering. He guided her to a nearby bench, careful not to startle her, and waited patiently as her breathing began to steady. The night was quiet except for the occasional rustle of leaves and the distant hum of a streetlight. Every second felt elongated, as if time itself had slowed down to allow Margaret the space to breathe and gather herself.
“What’s your name, ma’am?” James asked softly.
“Margaret,” she whispered, her voice thin, almost lost in the dark.
James offered a comforting smile. “Margaret, we’re going to get you home,” he promised. But even as he said it, he sensed that the word “home” meant something distant, almost unreachable, for her. It wasn’t just that she didn’t know where she lived—it was that she couldn’t remember. A deep, disorienting fog had settled over her mind.
“Do you remember your address?” he asked carefully, like coaxing a shy bird from a nest.
Margaret squinted, straining to pull fragments of memory from the haze. “No… but I remember a garden. Roses… and lavender. My husband… he used to grow them for me.”
James nodded encouragingly. “That sounds beautiful. Let’s try to find those roses, okay?”