#37 - a strange soundgreenthumbchickJune 1 2010, 04:01:56 UTC
Half-asleep to awake in an instant. From zero to mild panic. That is the pattern of her nights, lately.
In a hospital, it's never truly quiet -- there's always footsteps or a call bell or any one of a hundred other things. This was not one of those sounds.
Always the same fear -- Something has happened while she dozed in the chair, too tired to stay awake any longer. She has come to resent the time she spends asleep.
The sedated girl in the bed across from her never notices this. Dot sometimes resents her for that, for an instant.
It just takes a few words to express a sentiment perfectly. It takes two minutes and twenty seconds start to finish, to come to a realization that seems oh-so-obvious in hindsight. It takes a lot of nerve, at first, to sing along with this particular song, even by yourself. This song means more, somehow. It does get easier as time goes on. Having an appreciative audience helps! It will be with you forever after that. It will come to your lips for no reason at all.
"So long as you kiss me and the world around us shatters."
After the midway has been thoroughly explored, there's still plenty to do! (Even though the bear is as big is you are and makes it hard to see where you're going...) SO. MUCH. COTTON. CANDY! (So nice of Mom to hand hers over, wasn't it?) Everything you own is going in the laundry when we get home, young lady. Stay where we can see you, otherwise we'll have to have a little chat later on. Dad. DAD. FATHER. Can we go NOW? Alright, Sprout. Up we go! Wave to your mother!
"I didn't mean for it to happen. I was planting my marigolds. And then the DOG came by." "And she was going to trample ALL OVER THEM so I chased her away. And then we played fetch, and then she got thirsty." "So I dug a little hole and put some water in it for her, but she was still thirsty so I added more water" "And THEN she rolled around in it!" "And THEN she got too excited and jumped up on me! She knocked me over, right into the mud!" "Sorry I chased her into the house, Mom."
Comments 14
In a hospital, it's never truly quiet -- there's always footsteps or a call bell or any one of a hundred other things. This was not one of those sounds.
Always the same fear -- Something has happened while she dozed in the chair, too tired to stay awake any longer. She has come to resent the time she spends asleep.
The sedated girl in the bed across from her never notices this. Dot sometimes resents her for that, for an instant.
Reply
It takes two minutes and twenty seconds start to finish, to come to a realization that seems oh-so-obvious in hindsight.
It takes a lot of nerve, at first, to sing along with this particular song, even by yourself. This song means more, somehow. It does get easier as time goes on. Having an appreciative audience helps!
It will be with you forever after that. It will come to your lips for no reason at all.
"So long as you kiss me and the world around us shatters."
Reply
(Even though the bear is as big is you are and makes it hard to see where you're going...)
SO. MUCH. COTTON. CANDY! (So nice of Mom to hand hers over, wasn't it?)
Everything you own is going in the laundry when we get home, young lady.
Stay where we can see you, otherwise we'll have to have a little chat later on.
Dad. DAD. FATHER. Can we go NOW?
Alright, Sprout. Up we go! Wave to your mother!
Are we close enough to touch the fireworks now?
Reply
"I didn't mean for it to happen. I was planting my marigolds. And then the DOG came by."
"And she was going to trample ALL OVER THEM so I chased her away. And then we played fetch, and then she got thirsty."
"So I dug a little hole and put some water in it for her, but she was still thirsty so I added more water"
"And THEN she rolled around in it!"
"And THEN she got too excited and jumped up on me! She knocked me over, right into the mud!"
"Sorry I chased her into the house, Mom."
Reply
Subletting the house was a good idea, even though settling back in after almost a year away is taking some getting used to.
The town hasn't changed much -- the fireworks are still the send-off to a day full of music and food in one of the bigger city parks.
Last summer was too much of a blur, with packing and getting everything ready to move out to California. No time to watch the fireworks then.
There they are! Like a personal welcome home.
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