A very old man -George- who had been placed in a nursing home by his family was a sad case - nobody ever came to see him. One day he stopped talking and refused to leave his room. He was cooperative enough with the staff and fuctional enough to take care of himself. He continued to eat and bathe. But he became a mute recluse, sitting alone in his room in his rocking chair all day staring out the window. The staff decided he had a right to live as he wished, so they let him be.

A woman resident -Maggie- had taken an interest in George, and when he disappeared whse went in to visit with him. He didn't seem to mind, but he didn't respond either. She had started working on a quilt and over time she moved her handiwork little by little into his room. She spent her days sewing and telling her life story, while he sat staring out the window. She had been in vaudeville. She had a million stories and was very ahppy to have someone listen to her. Nobody knew what he thought. He sat and stared. She talked. Months went by.

When Maggie finished the quilt it was put on display in the main lobby of the nursing home. Everyone said it was one of the most beautiful quilts they ever saw. She was especially proud since it was the only quilt she had ever made.

The same week the quilt was finished, George passed away.

In the drawer of his nightstand the staff found an envelope marked, "To be opened when I die." The note inside said only, "Tell Maggie I love her." When they told her, she cried as if her heart would break. She had loved him too. She had made the quilt just for him.

And thats why George was buried wrapped in Maggie's quilt.

As taken from "True Love" by Robert Gulghum