"Not You" | After Midnight

Long before she had an experience of her own, she'd heard other nurses talk about the back wing of the nursing home.

The stories were never exactly the same.

One nurse would hear footsteps after everyone else had gone home.

Another swore she watched someone walk into a resident's room only to find it empty seconds later.

Every so often, someone mentioned a call light coming on for no apparent reason or hearing voices in an empty hallway during the middle of the night.

Most people didn't spend much time talking about those stories.

They simply accepted that the oldest part of the building seemed to have more than its share of strange moments, especially during the overnight shift.

When she first started working there, she listened politely but never gave those stories much thought.

She had gone into nursing because she believed in routines, procedures, and practical explanations.

Elderly patients sometimes became confused.

Old buildings settled and creaked.

After enough overnight shifts, even experienced caregivers could convince themselves they had heard or seen something that wasn't really there.

There was almost always a logical explanation if you looked hard enough.

As the years passed, she became one of the veteran nurses herself.

She learned that every long-term care facility had its own personality.

Some felt bright and welcoming no matter the hour.

Others seemed to grow quieter after midnight in a way that was difficult to describe unless you had worked nights yourself.