"It'll be over soon," Nan said softly as she patted my hand.

My heart dropped.

"What are you talking about?" I hissed back at her because I didn't want to disturb the other residents and because I didn't really want to know.

"Well, everything has to come an end eventually, my dear. That's life," Nan carried on in a gentle tone.

"I know that, Nan. But why are we talking about that now?"

"Because it'll be over soon. That's why," Nan said matter-of-factly. "And that's a good thing, too. It'll give you the chance to get away from this place and do as you please."

"Shut up, Sophie!" one of the other residents of the old people's receptacle that my grandmother had been supposed to call a home for the last six months grumbled.

"I'm just saying that it'll be over soon. And not a minute too soon, either, John," Nan shot back.

She had come a long way since her accident. She had tripped and broken her thigh, a fracture from which she never fully recovered. Now wheelchair-bound, she had decided to move into a home instead of in with me. She didn't want to be a burden, she had said. That was that. She had made up her mind and there was no changing it.

As homes go, this one wasn't the worst, but it wasn't a home, either. I knew Nan missed her little garden like crazy. In weather like today's, she would spend hours weeding, watering, mulching, feeding and planting her little vegetables. When Papa died, her garden became her sanctuary, her purpose in life. But all that was gone now. I couldn't even begin to understand how that felt.

"What's your problem, Soph?" John spat back at her. "You've got your lovely granddaughter here. Look around you! Most of us... We're here alone! You should count yourself lucky!"

"It's bloody pointless, is all I'm saying! I've got no idea what I'm doing here. We all know how it's going to end, don't we, John?" Nan practically shouted at the elderly man in jogging trousers and brown slippers.

I gasped. "Language, Nan!"

I had never heard any swear words escaping my sweet Nan's mouth. "Just be quiet and don't disturb the others! We can talk later, Nan."

Nan became agitated, fidgeting in her wheelchair.

I squeezed her hand softly. "It's okay, Nan. I am doing as I please. I want to be here with you. You know that, don't you? What would I do without you? Stop talking about the end, please. It rips my heart out!"

Nan looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

"Well, if it hurts you that much, what are we doing here still?"

My head swivelled towards her.

"What are you talking about now?" I shouted, not caring about the complaints of the other residents to keep the noise down anymore.

Nan gave me an odd look, then she started to search for something on the floor.

"What now, Nan?"

"I'm looking for the marbles that you quite clearly lost, but I can't seem to locate them," Nan deadpanned.

I just stared at her, utterly confused. Maybe she had developed Alzheimer's?

"This stupid film seems to last forever! What's the point in wasting my precious remaining life-time on this useless and poorly planned family event, when we all know how the bloody movie ends? The Titanic sinks!"