The house lay empty for a month or two, and was gled of it to be honest... then wan day I see two women approaching the close, wan was very respectable wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase, she was holding keys in her haun , and also holding on to this wee totey wummin about sixty, with bushy thick fair wavy hair and bright red lipstick.... this was to be Pearl....back to my sitting on my hunkers postion in the lobby wance agian and doin ma peepin tom....the wee wummin looked awfy shy and awkward ,she kept lookin aw roon aboot her as if nervous and they bathe went in tae view the hoose, they wurnae in long when they toddled oot and the wummin wiz like writing a list, ah watched them walk doon the close and thote , this is wonderful , a wee aulder wummin, possible oan her own. my luck wiz changing or wiz it...... A few days later wee vans kept arriving wae bits and bobs, like second haun furniture and carpets. wan van turned up wae a twin tub washin machine, then ah saw the wee wummin keeking oot the door , she looked aw nervy so ah opened the door tae say hello and she gave me big smile..." Am Pearl "she said aw shy and stuttery, fixing her hair that wiz hinging ower her eyes. but she looked tidy in her wee granny frock with a glitter brooch oan the lapel.. "So is that you moving in the day then ?" ah enquired.... "Aye that s me, aw ma new stuffs arriving and a might get ma twins back"....alarm bells, wummin on 60 0dds hoping tae get her weans back, so noo ah wiz worried. but didnae want tae be nosey and offered to give her a haun to cerry in some stuff. ah wiz noo beginning to feel like a deliver man ad done this so many times noo... she thanked me and asked if ah wanted a cup o tea....efter an hour all the stuff wiz in and then it dawned oan me where the wee wummin wiz fae..... she kept referring to the ward and the doctor and ah thote oh dear shes oot Gartcosh mental hospital, and as it turned oot ah wiz right.... no matter she had a lovely way with her and seemed kind wee soul... she said the hospital was shutting doon and that they all had to go either to their own houses or another hospital but she said that she wiz much better noo but had been in Gartcosh for 12 years...she wiz talkin away and ah wiz helping her put a carpet doon wae ma man and then she said, wance ah get ma telly fur the room all get the twins. ah looked at ma man and he jist smiled .... "What age are the twins then Pearl" ah asked... "Oh am no sure noo" she said, coontin oan her fingers, they wur eleven when he took them aff me, ah looked at her wae the sweat breaking pulling this big carpet.... "Who took them aff you Pearl?" "Ma man , he said ah wiznae well and couldnae keep them" and he put me in ther fur maane good ye know, we used tae go oot oan a tandem..." all in the wan sentence, ah felt so sorry fur her. whit hid these wummin been thru in her time ah wondered, we finished putting doon her carpets and left...... Whatever this mob at the hospital were playing at ah dont know as it seemed shed be flung oot tae fend fur herself as no one that ah saw in the next few weeks came tae visit the wee wummin.. Aw went well fur a few months,she wiz fine, a bit aff at times but really kind and jist wanted a wee gab noo and then.... and she hid a joab in Queens st.bus station.... but then her nature started tae chinge, she wiz swearing a lot an making funny noises like grunting and repeating things she was whisperin under her breathe as if someone wiz telling the soul what to say, ah wiz scared, she started going out the front of the hoose at two and three in the moarning and chopping wid fur her fire,,, and putting wee notes through my door on her way to work , not asking but telling me what she wanted me and ma man tae dae in her hoose with a key to get into her hoose, she was actually expectiing me to get her messages , go in an lay lino , take out her rubbish, she had jist flipped, asked me to wait in tae get a telly shed ordered fur the weans coming , and ah did it, things came to a heid when she was spotted walking in the middle of the street holding a mop pail and a big window brush, her nylons were doon at her feet, that wiz it, ah phoned the hospital, ah said hiz anyone been oot too see Pearl ,,,,,"The woman didnt seem to know much but said shed send oot an ambulance when ah said whit wiz happening to the wee soul, ah dont think she wiz taking her medication, and had been just thrown out intae the big bad world to make it on her own..she d also been sacked from the cafe in the bus station tae, so things were bad..... An amblulance arrived hauf an hour later and ah felt awful , bit whit else could ah hiv done. she kept sayin tae me,,,, "Dont forget tae come and visit me" and waving... it wiz heartbreaking.....her hoose got gave up soon after , ah did visit her a few times but couldnae hack that hospital but did write tae her for a while then heard nothing .....what a sad wee wummin , what she must hiv gone through.....and to be honest the best wee neebor oot the lot up that close....ma wee jewel wee pearl...