Part 2 (1/2)
A middle-aged nurse wearing a yellow smock walked in and smiled. She thrust a k.n.o.bby hand toward Mara's face, sticking a digital thermometer into her mouth. After a few seconds, the nurse plucked it out and lifted her black eyegla.s.ses to see the results.
”Do you have a headache? Are you dizzy?” the nurse said.
”No. I'm a little confused.”
”That's to be expected,” she said, bending over Mara and pulling her right eyelid up with a thumb. The nurse flashed a penlight into Mara's eyeball, did the same with the left eye, straightened and held up three fingers. ”How many fingers do you see?”
”Three,” Mara said, squinting.
”Excellent. The doctor should be around to see you later this afternoon. You can drink some water if you're thirsty,” she said. ”You'll have to wait for the doctor to give the okay before you can eat solids.” She smiled again, turned and walked out the door.
”Very efficient. Not very holistic, but to the point, I guess,” Diana said. ”I put a small amethyst under your pillow. I hope that doesn't get you bent out of shape.”
”The cinnamon stone, how'd it get here?”
”A woman named Maggie saw your name in the newspaper and brought it by a little while ago. Said she was sorry she took it from you.” Diana fussed with the covers. ”You should have checked the bag. It would have made the flight.”
”A magic stone couldn't fix the plane, Mom.” Concentrating was taking an effort.
”So you remember the crash?”
”It crashed? I thought, I a.s.sumed it landed.” Her tongue stuck to her lips and the inside of her mouth.
Diana grabbed a plastic cup from the nightstand and held it to her.
”No, Mara, the plane crashed into the Columbia River when it tried to make an emergency landing.”
Mara coughed. ”All those people. How many?”
”Everyone survived. Every one of them either swam to the bank or was fished out of the river. No one died. They're calling it a miracle. No one was seriously hurt. You are the only one still in the hospital.”
Mara shuddered, felt panic rising. Her eyes fluttered, threatened to roll into the back of her head. She envisioned drowning, not able to help herself, the current pus.h.i.+ng her under. She held her breath, closed her eyes, trying-but hoping she failed-to remember what happened. Nothing. She could recall nothing, especially being in water.
The fear drained her. Her eyelids drooped.
”Who pulled me out of the river?” She pushed back against the drowsiness.
”The EMTs said a couple joggers found you on a boat ramp, of all things. They said you had already dried out before they got to you, but you had a nasty blow to the head.”
”I wonder how I got there.”
”I don't know. I'm just glad you did,” she said, patting Mara's leg.
”How long have I been here, Mom?”
”Four days. Today's Thursday. They kept you sedated to make sure you were all right. You got a good knock on the head,” she said. ”I think you better get some rest. We can talk again later.”
Mara was already asleep.
The following morning, Mara awoke with a start. She sat up in bed, getting her bearings. She was in the hospital.
The curtain had been pulled back to reveal a second bed next to Mara's. Beyond the unoccupied bed, bands of daylight streamed through vertical blinds in a narrow window that ran the height of the room. A bouquet of pink lilies sat on a table in the corner. Not so beige here today.
Mara turned to the nightstand. The crystal was there, the one from the security screener at the airport. Mara touched her left temple; her hand snapped back as it touched a tender spot. Rotating her head to detect any wooziness, she decided she was good to go.
As she got out of bed, her mother walked into the room.
”Where do you think you're going?” As the industrial-size door hissed closed behind her, Diana ran a finger over her right ear, pus.h.i.+ng her graying brown hair behind it, a gesture she always did when preparing for a confrontation. Despite her Birkenstocks and burlap Earth Mother exterior, she was no pushover.
”There was a plane crash?” Mara asked. ”Everyone survived?”
”Yes, now get back in bed.”
She crawled back under the covers. ”That's hard to believe. A plane crashes into the river and everyone survives,” she said. ”Did the pilot land it on the water like the one in New York a few years ago?”
”No, Mara. The plane was destroyed. It was not a smooth glide onto the water,” Diana said, clipping her words in the way she did when she didn't want to talk about something.
”Your father was here for a couple days to check on you. He had to go back for a patient yesterday morning, but he put your doctors through the wringer, did his own examination and asked that you call when you are up and about.”
”I bet he did. Have you heard from Bruce or Mr. Mason? I hope everything is okay at the shop.”
”The shop is fine. Bruce called to see how you were. He and his grandfather sent you those flowers. Remember, you were going out of town, so everyone planned for you to be gone anyway. Nothing to worry about.”
Diana sat in a chair on the side of the bed, opened a magazine.
”So what caused the crash?” Mara asked.
Diana didn't answer immediately; obviously she debated whether to discuss the accident. ”I don't think they know yet. They are still investigating.”
”Did something happen in the back of the plane?”
”What do you mean?”
”Like an explosion.”
”Do you remember an explosion in the back of the plane?” Diana put down her magazine.
”Was there one?”
”The news said witnesses saw a big hole in the back of the plane. What do you remember?”
”The flight had just taken off,” Mara said. ”There was something going on in the cabin, strange lights. And I saw this boy. Someone was chasing him. He had something she wanted.”
”Someone was chasing him in the plane?” Diana said. ”Who was chasing him?
”I was.”
”You were what, chasing the boy? Why would you do that?”