Grandpa was in this nursing home when he was dying. It was close to the train tracks. Every room was either a dusty teal or dusty pink. More than anything else, I think I remember this big cage with all kinds of birds, in the lobby. Blue and yellow finches on fake branches, hopping around. There was a fake background behind them that had trees and flowers and a red barn on it. So melancholy, depressing. And I think of this glass case, and of the birds, at the strangest times.
Oh, and I left you there. To die. And there was nothing I could do.
