By Jocelyne Ross
Word Count: 429
Rating: G
Summary: While Joyce lies comatose, she relives her life with her husband and family, as they try to wake her up.
Early one morning, in the first week of March, Gabriel woke up startled. He was actually hearing his wife singing a lullaby song in her native language—a song he had heard many times over the years. The singing suddenly stopped. Gabriel was confused and unsure of what had just happened.
“Good morning, Gabriel. I hope you slept well,” said the doctor, as he hurried into the room and looked over Joyce’s file.
“Are you alright?” he added, as Gabriel’s dazed look caught his eye.
“I think I heard Joyce singing few minutes ago.”
“Singing? I didn’t hear anything.”
“Before you entered the room… I mean, just when you entered it… I don’t know what happened.”
“You are very tired, Gabriel; it has been a stressful period of time. You need to go home and rest.”
“No, I’m sure I heard her voice, surely I can still recognize my wife’s voice.”
“Look at her Gabriel, look. She hasn’t moved for almost two months. In her situation, I don’t think it’s likely she is capable any movement, let alone singing. I am sorry, Gabriel. I know that you are a believing man, and you believe that God can do miracles. But that is exactly what it would take for Joyce to suddenly begin to sing.”
“I do believe it is possible. Further, I am sure that she did.”
The doctor wags his head in disbelief and indifference at the same time. He sighed. “I was planning to meet with you this afternoon. Whenever you can, drop at my office after three o’clock, I’ll be available.
***
A few moments earlier, when Gabriel had been sure he’d heard her singing, Joyce is seeing herself in the den, resting in front of the blazing fire in the fireplace. It has been snowing for many days now, and Gabriel and the children are outside playing in the snow in a sled that he made them. She can hear their delighted screams and laughter.
She stayed inside with the baby. As she rests on the couch, her baby lying next to her, she sings a lullaby that she learned many years ago from her dad.
“ I love you little one, as much as the sea and its waves, as much as the bird and its songs, as much as the sky and its clouds…” She stops suddenly—she cannot remember any more of the words.