You affect people all across the world. You steal their memories, their happiness, their love, their physical abilities. You take their mind and destroy it. You take their knowledge and experiences and erase it forever. You take and take and take until you've left us with someone loved more than they know, more than they will ever remember. You take everything but their lives and that's not fair.
Sometimes you take your time. You announce your presence early and slowly pluck away memory after memory. While other times you sneak up and hit them fast, swiping away as much as you can in one fell swoop. I'm not sure which one is worse. Knowing and fearing that the memories and functions of daily life are slowly slipping away or having it hit so fast they barely knew what hit them. Either way is terrible for the people you snare into your relentless grip and their loved ones.
What you might not know, is that you hurt the person whose mind you are erasing as much as the people that love them. We have to watch helplessly as you erase us from the mind of the person we love. We have to watch the frustration as they continue to fight to remember who we are and why our tears slowly fall down our cheeks when we think they aren't looking. We have to sit back while you dwindle their physical capabilities and age them far faster than they should. Our hearts ache beyond grief of physical loss, but of the loss of the person who shaped and molded us, who filled our hearts with love and laughter and whose unconditional love has left a mark on our lives forever.
Sometimes, I almost wish you could come erase my memories, taking the pain along with it. Then I remember why it hurts so much. It hurts so much because of how special those memories are. Through the pain and the tears, the loss of a person we loved our entire life, who cannot remember who we are or why we are they, those memories that I have are why you can't win. And you never will.
We keep and cherish those memories and pass them on. We will love and remember each and everything you erased from their mind. Who they were, will live on forever, through us. Each lesson they taught us, every smile and every tradition. They will live on.
You are a monster. But you don't win. We will not let you erase everything. We fight for them to remember and it is worth every second. When their eyes light up at a picture, when they squeeze our hands and look at us with such clarity, we know. We know they knew and will continue to know deep down inside how much we love them and how much we miss each and everything about them.
You will not win. So please, stop taking my loved ones away from me. Although they never leave, my heart can barely stand the pain you put my family through each time you ensnare one of us into your crippling grip.