An eight-year-old girl sleeps alone, but every morning she says her bed feels “too small.” When her mother checks the security camera at 2 a.m., she breaks down in silent tears…

THE QUIET ILLNESS OF AGE

In recent years, we noticed changes.

— Once, she got lost and cried in a park until midnight.
— Once, during dinner, she suddenly looked up and asked,
“Who are you?”
— Sometimes she called me by her late husband’s first wife’s name.

We took her to the doctor.

He spoke gently.

—Early-stage Alzheimer’s.

But we never imagined she would wander the house at night.

And we never imagined…

She would end up in her granddaughter’s bed.