Mimsy gasped and Ada shook her head. “It didn’t really occur to us. Do you think it’ll work?” she questioned Doc.
“Couldn’t hurt. At best, you might be able to get through to her. At worst, we’re stuck right where we are,” he replied, moving out of their way.
Lily and Lavender’s grandmother hesitated. “I don’t know if it’ll work. I’d hate to disappoint y’all.”
Ada grabbed Mimsy’s hand and pulled her over to the bed. “You’re much stronger than you think, Mims. You’ll have to do the heavy lifting, but I’ll be right here beside you to help if I can.”
Matt and I shifted to the bottom of the bed so we could get a better view of what was happening. Both women spoke to each other in low voices. Resigned to try, Mimsy rolled her shoulders back and closed her eyes. The atmosphere in the room shifted as they called their magic to life.
Nana’s cat, Loki, appeared out of nowhere and leaped onto the bed. I moved to shoo him away, but Matt held me back, pointing at the animal. Loki trampled around our grandmother’s figure until he set a tentative paw on her as if trying to shake her awake. With careful steps, he lay half of his body on top of Nana’s arm while his tail settled next to Mimsy’s leg, curling around it. Nana’s friend scratched the cat between his ears once before leaving her fingers on his head.
Placing her free hand on Nana’s forehead, Mimsy spoke out loud. “Vivi? Can you hear me? You need to wake up.” With no response, she pushed a little harder. “Vivian!”
Loki meowed as if echoing her call, and I swore I saw Nana’s hand twitch. I pointed and started to say something, but Matt stopped me with a shake of his head, holding his finger to his lips to shush me.
“It’s like there’s some force shrouding her to keep her hidden. An active fog that’s refusing to let me through,” admitted Mimsy, her hand trembling. “I can hear something very faint, but it’s hard to pick up.”
Loki hissed and growled as if he sensed whatever it was, too.
“What is it?” I asked, stepping closer. “Is Nana saying something?”
Mimsy’s face scrunched in confusion. “It’s not words. It’s music. Like someone’s humming.”
Ada reached out like she wanted to comfort her friend. “Come on, Mims. Push through.”
Nana’s psychic friend doubled her efforts, and I balled my hands tight, willing them to succeed.
Loki yowled and hissed one last time before breaking his contact with Nana. He bounded off the bed and skittered out of the room. Mimsy lifted her hand from my grandmother’s skin and flexed it. Doc touched Ada’s arm, insisting she let him attend her friend first.
“I can’t get through,” Mimsy admitted with an apologetic gaze to Matt and me, allowing Doc to lead her to a nearby chair to let her rest.
“You said you heard something,” Matt said. “What was it? Was it her?” He touched Nana’s foot hidden under her quilt, and I recognized our shared despair affecting him.
Mimsy shooed Doc away. “She didn’t talk to me, but whatever’s affecting her like this, I think she’s okay somewhere in there.” She tapped the side of her head. “Do you recognize this tune?”
After she hummed a few bars, I knew the song in an instant. “That’s our lullaby,” I said, tugging on Matt’s uniform sleeve.
“You sure?” he asked.
I hummed the beginning part and sang the rest about a bird way up high in an old oak tree. Once I added the lyrics, he joined and sang along.
“That sounds right,” Mimsy said. “So, Vivi’s in there, and she doesn’t seem to be in pain or anything. We just can’t get through to her.”
Matt and I hugged Nana’s best friends, thanking them for their efforts and care. He told them to go downstairs and grab some sweet tea to replenish their energy before insisting they both take a break.
The excitement of recognizing the lullaby dissipated when the gravity of Mimsy’s statement hit me. “If we can’t wake her up, what’ll we do?”
Doc Andrews gathered his medical bag. “I’ll go back to the office and get some supplies. I can set up an IV to make sure she stays hydrated and gets nutrients. Once that’s done, I’ll do some digging to see if there have been other cases like hers.”
“You’re saying there’s nothing we can do?” Matt held out his hand for me to hold.
“Not that I can see,” Doc said. “Keep her comfortable and safe. Those are the only things she needs at the moment.” He excused himself with a tip of his head. When he reached the doorway, he turned. “I promise, I won’t stop trying to fix this.”
With great care, I fussed over Nana, straightening the quilt and tucking her in much like she used to do with me when we lived in the house as children. As if unable to believe everything I’d heard and witnessed, I pressed the back of my hand against her forehead to check for a fever. Stroking her face with my fingers, I brushed a strand of silvery gray hair behind her ear and planted a kiss on her warm cheek.
When she didn’t even react to the mark of my affection, I gave in to my fears and broke down, collapsing on top of Nana. Between my sobs, I listened to her heart, still beating a steady rhythm under my ear. Matt rubbed my back in support, but I knew I couldn’t be selfish and act as if I were the only one hurting.
I stood and threw my arms around him. The two of us clung to each other until we ran out of tears. The dreaded silence returned, and I counted how many ticks of the clock it took until I regained my composure. I
