(The Kind Elderly Man)

*April 23rd, 1943*

*1:10 pm*

*Margaret Hospital School*

Anya sat on a bench on the outside quad of the hospital, reading a book as she enjoyed the quiet scenery.

"It's so peaceful here. I'm glad I can partake in such a good time." Anya spoke to herself while she continued to read her book in peace; however, this was soon to be interrupted by Neville.

Of course, Neville visited the hospital in hopes of getting with Anya; however, she was dating Calvin which sadly he didn't accept.

"Hey, beautiful. Whatcha reading? May I join?" Neville greeted Anya, sitting next to her while this disgusted Anya.

"Leave me alone, Neville. I'm not going to be your girlfriend so better luck next time, and why are you even here anyway?" Anya responded, feeling irritated at Neville's advances as she quickly got up from the boy.

"Come on! Calvin isn't even here right now! He's away at some stupid war, dying for nothing. Just trust in me, Babe." Neville responded, feeling rather annoyed yet needy towards Anya.

Soon after, Anya looked at him with a disgusted look before finally telling him off.

"Look, leave me alone, okay?! Don't call me babe and don't insult Calvin like that, got it?! If you have nothing important to do here, please leave!" Anya scolded Neville before quickly getting up and walking away from the scene, leaving Neville to himself.

After hearing this, Neville scoffed at Anya before speaking once more.

"Stupid bitch. You will be mine, and you will understand my feelings for you, but for now, I'll withdraw for today. " Neville snarled under his breath before walking away in defeat.

*Hospital Garden*

Anya walked across the beautiful garden, looking at the beautiful scenery, a scene that she needed after her confrontation with Neville.

"That Neville is so annoying! He has no respect for women or anyone for that matter. I swear, he's going to mess with the wrong person, and It's going to be quite bad for him." Anya spoke to herself in annoyance before hearing an elderly voice calling out to her.

"Youngsters these days, am I right, ma'am? No respect for their fellow peers, It's quite sad." The elderly man spoke to Anya, smiling warmly at her.

The elderly man's name was Malcolm and he was a ninety-five-year-old African American man who was bound to a wheelchair.

"Good Afternoon, Sir. And you're right. Some people are just rude. My name is Anya, you?" Anya greeted the gentleman in a police voice before walking over to sit on the bench next to him.

"What a wonderful name and I'm Malcolm. It seems you work here, correct?" Malcolm responded in a gentle yet frail voice while Anya shook her head.

"No, I'm only a student here, well, only on certain days. My supervisor is Frankie, so she oversees my progress." Anya responded while Malcom nodded understandably.

"I see. That's certainly wonderful. Are you aiming to be a nurse, hm? I believe you'll make a great nurse." Malcolm responded with a mind voice while Anya smiled warmly at the compliment.

"Thank you, and I'm aiming to be a nurse. I want to save lives or at the least, better lives. It's been a dream of mine since I was a kid." Anya responded politely to the compliment.

After hearing this, Malcolm smiled at what he heard before speaking.

"You're welcome, young lady. I also like your explanation. I see that you have a good heart. In a world where good character is slowly fading, It's refreshing to meet someone like yourself." Malcolm responded warmly while Anya nodded in agreement.

"Tell me about it. I've met my fair share of awful people; however, like you said. Once you meet that one kind person then it's truly refreshing indeed." Anya responded, chuckling warmly at Malcolm while the elderly man chuckled as well.

"You know, I love your hair. Was it inspired by Clara Bow? I remember watching some of her pictures twenty years ago." Malcolm curiously asked Anya before his answer was met with the young girl nodding her head in confirmation.

"Yup! My short hair is quite beautiful, right? Anywho, one of my aunties modeled it from Clara Bow since I was a huge fan." Anya responded with a smile, showing more of her hair to the elderly man. Malcolm smiled at what he heard before speaking.

"Such beautiful hair. I hope you can keep it forever.." Malcolm complimented Anya while this made her smile.

"Aww, and don't worry. I intend to do that. I feel like my hairstyle is already part of my identity so changing it wouldn't do me any good." Anya responded with a smile, feeling the cool wind breeze against her and Malcolm.

Soon after, Anya took a few moments to partake in the cool air that was breezing through her until a voice called out to them, It was Frankie.

"Anya, there you are! I was getting worried about you." Frankie spoke to Anya before turning her attention to Malcolm.

"And Mr Jefferson. Please don't wander off again, okay? I don't want anything bad happening to you." Frankie spoke to Malcolm next while she walked over toward his wheelchair.

After the small talk, Anya observed what was going on before finally speaking.

"My apologies, It was Neville again, so I had to calm down but I've met and talked to Malcolm during my time here and he seems quite nice." Anya responded to Frankie, smiling warmly at her.

"It's okay, and Oh yeah, he's incredibly rude and quite misogynistic. I'm surprised he's even made it far in life." Frankie responded with a mixture of curiosity due to Neville's behavior and relief due to knowing Anya was okay.

After the response, Frankie gently began to push Malcom's wheelchair away from the garden.

"Well, I have nothing else for you at this hour so you're free to do whatever you want, and if you need me, I'll be at my office once I'm finished taking care of Mr Jefferson, okay?" Frankie advised Anya once more before walking further away from the site while Anya nodded.

"Don't worry, I will, and thanks for always being there for me. Also, tell Malcolm I said bye and that it was wonderful chatting with him!" Anya responded gratefully before sitting back down on the bench, enjoying more of the view.

Meanwhile, Frankie heard what her friend said to her before leaning over to speak to Malcolm.

"Anya said that she was happy to speak and get to know you. She also wishes that you and she can have another conversation in the future." Frankie told Malcolm, making the old man smile warmly due to the good news.

"Well, I'm glad to hear this. Anya seems to be a polite and sweet young girl." Malcolm responded, still smiling warmly at the news while Frankie smiled as well, feeling glad to see the elderly man smile.

"Well, I'm glad to hear!" Frankie responded for the final time before continuing to push Malcolm towards their destination.

Meanwhile, at the gardens, Anya continued to sit on the bench, enjoying the beautiful view of the garden while feeling more comfortable than she did during her encounter with Neville, and she knew nobody couldn't take that good feeling away from her.