The Runner

My father spent eleven days in the hospital before he died. During those eleven days, a young woman from the next room kept leaving little notes on his bedside table. The first said, "I hope today is a better day." The second said, "Somebody out there is thinking about you." The third simply said, "Keep going." My father was too weak to ask who was leaving them, and the nurses didn't know. After the funeral, I returned to the hospital to collect the belongings we'd left behind. I found one final note tucked inside his Bible. It read, "Thank you for reminding me that I still have a reason to stay." I didn't understand it. My father had spent most of his time sleeping. He barely spoke to the other patients. I asked a nurse about the woman in the next room. She told me the woman had been admitted after a serious accident. She'd lost her husband and believed she had nothing left to live for. My father had apparently noticed her crying one afternoon. He'd asked the nurse to pass along a message.