I giggled. “Like a prince in a fairy tale?” The idea sounded so familiar. “I can be Princess Charming again.”
My grandmother sighed. “One of these days, you and I are going to live a peaceful life without any shenanigans. But until then, you’re just gonna have to forgive me.”
“For what?” I asked.
She kissed my cheek and leaned back. “For this.”
Nana raised her hand and swung it at my face, smacking it hard enough to hurt. Stars exploded in front of me until the murky haze lifted away.
“Ow!” I rubbed the sting of my cheek.
“She’s awake,” Matt called out. “Birdy, can you hear me?”
I swatted away his hand that was shaking my shoulder. “Of course I can. You’re shouting, aren’t you?”
Finding myself lying down in bed, I struggled to sit up. Several people rushed to help, and I grumbled at their attention. Fluffy pillows made their way behind me, and I glanced at all the people staring at me.
“What’s everybody doing in my room? Why am I in bed fully clothed?” I touched my cheek again, glaring at my brother. “Why did you smack me?”
Doc Andrews inserted himself between my brother and me, placing a hand on my forehead. “Doesn’t seem to be a fever.” He took out an instrument that looked like a pen. A sharp light blinded my eyes as he waved it back and forth. “Pupil reaction seems normal.”
“Okay, somebody start talking to me, not about me,” I insisted.
Big Willie held his hat in his hand and stepped forward. “What’s the last thing you can remember?”
The act of accessing my memories made my head ache, and I tried to recall who I’d just been talking to. “Nana,” I muttered.
“Oh, no. She’s forgotten everything,” Ada exclaimed in horror.
Matt scooted closer to me on the bed. “Nana’s been sick, Birdy.”
I shook my head. “No, she’s not. I was just talking to her.”
My brother glanced with worry at Doc. “You can’t have been. She’s on her bed in her room across the hall like she’s been for over a week now.”
I took in my surroundings, realizing I rested in the room of my childhood, not in my own home. “Why am I here?”
“So I could watch over both patients,” Doc Andrews explained. He attempted a reassuring grin. “Makes it easier on an old man like me.”
Nothing they said sounded easy. “But I was just talking to her.”
“Who, honey?” Mimsy asked.
“Nana,” I pressed. “She said…something. I can’t quite…I swear, she was right here.”
The sheriff cleared his throat. “Maybe she needs some time to recover.”
“She has been out for nearly three days since we found her,” Ada added.
Frustrated at everyone still talking as if I weren’t here, I slapped my hands on the bed. “Someone please tell me what’s going on!”
Matt rubbed his thumb on the back of my hand as he held onto it. “Ms. Ada and Ms. Mimsy found you on the front porch, sitting in one of the rocking chairs.”
I tried to recall being there but couldn’t. “Why is that making y’all worried like you’re seeing a ghost when you stare at me?”
“Because you weren’t just sitting there, rocking.” My brother swallowed hard to control his emotions. “Birdy, the way you were laying there. They thought you were dead.”
“Oh.” The one-syllable word was all I could manage.
“I heard the call when it came in and rushed over here as fast as I could,” my brother explained. “By then, they’d figured out you were in the same state as Nana, but still…”
I covered his hand with mine. “You thought the worst.”
The tears Matt fought fell with a sudden sob. “I can’t lose you, too, Charli. You and Nana…I just can’t.”
Throwing my arms around my brother, I comforted him as best as I could. It would take time to chase away his deepest fears, but for now, I did my best imitation of our grandmother and whispered soothing things to calm him down.
The longer we clung to each other, the more it reminded me of a very similar recent event. “I don’t think we’re going to lose Nana. At least, not yet.”
Matt sniffed and dashed away the tears staining his cheeks. “I know, we’ve got to keep up our hope.”
“No, that’s not it.” I squeezed my eyes tight, holding onto the last thread of my memory. “She was here with me.”
“No, we’ve been watching over you,” my brother clarified. “Nana’s in her room.”
I slapped his arm. “Just listen. Maybe it was real and maybe it wasn’t, but I know I just saw Nana. She talked to me and told me something.” Pausing, I tried to remember what she’d said.
Matt glared at me with worry. “You sure she’s okay, Doc?”
The healer stepped back into view. “I’d like to check her out more thoroughly to be sure. But I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss what she’s saying.”
“But she couldn’t have talked to our grandmother,” my brother insisted.
“Not in the conventional way, no,” Doc continued, “but since Charli’s symptoms were much like your grandmother’s, it might be possible that they connected on some metaphysical level.”
With great effort, I scrambled to my feet. “Will y’all stop talking and listen to me?” The room spun and the doctor insisted I get back into bed against my protests.
Once they got me settled and propped up against the pillows, my brother agreed to hear me out. My annoyance with them stoked the fires of an inner anger and burned off more of the confusion surrounding my memories.
“I know I was with Nana.” My hand went to the cheek where she’d slapped me. “She woke me up.”
“Can you recall anything she said to you while you were under?” Doc Andrews pushed.
I nodded. “It’s fuzzy, but I think she said that there was someone I was supposed to stop. No, not just someone. Her. I’m supposed to stop her.”
“Stop who from doing what?” Matt asked. “This all sounds like you had
