Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 124341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Not only that, but other than their friends who suffered with the same condition, their doctors and nurses were the only ones who touched them. The tenderness of an embrace, the warmth of another hand in theirs, was deeply longed for but mostly nonexistent. Autumn and others who were well enough sometimes took day trips to museums and science centers in New York City and sometimes the movies. Autumn saw the way people looked at them with their oxygen tanks and wheelchairs and various other medical apparatus and shrunk away as if they might catch whatever they had with a mere brush of skin.
Salma sat down on the side of Autumn’s bed, taking her hands. Autumn gripped her. Salma’s hands were warm and soft. She turned Autumn’s arms over and gazed down worriedly at the scratches. “You haven’t suffered from rashes in months. What are you scratching yourself for?”
Autumn shrugged. “How do I know? I did it in my sleep.”
Salma pressed her lips together, her expression showing displeasure. But Autumn didn’t get the feeling Salma was displeased with her. Maybe just the situation. The unfairness of it all. “Do you want me to bandage you up so you won’t accidentally make it worse tonight?”
“No. I think it was just a one-time thing.”
Salma stared at Autumn’s arms for a few moments longer. “There seemed to be a lot of scratching going on last night,” she murmured before giving Autumn’s hands one final squeeze and letting go.
“What do you mean?”
But Salma shook her head. “Oh nothing. Just the full moon I guess.”
The full moon.
“Did you know that more babies are born during full moons?” Salma asked.
“No. Why is that?”
“No scientific reason, but it’s true even so. Not everything can be measured, at least not by us. My mother used to say that the full moon brings on all manner of strange behavior. It influences things.”
“Like dreams?” Now that Autumn thought about it, the dreams of running and the one of him had all come during the full moon. Is that why I made him of moonlight?
“Definitely dreams.” Salma leaned in conspiratorially. “If the moon is powerful enough to move the tides, just imagine what else it can sway.”
Can it bring dreams to life?
Autumn’s lips curved, but she didn’t speak of the boy with Salma. She’d been ruminating on it, and she wanted to clear it from her mind for at least a little while.
“Will you tell me about your mother, Salma?” If I can’t know my own, then let me know yours. Salma was so sweet—Autumn figured only someone good and kind could have raised a woman like Salma. “Did everyone love her?”
A wistful smile crossed Salma’s lips, and she let out a fluttery laugh. “Oh no. She wasn’t like you, sent here to tend to others’ hearts. She’d say it just like it was, whether it hurt your feelings or not.” But despite what sounded a bit like criticism, love was shining from her eyes.
“What’s better?” Autumn wondered. To forever be mindful of harsh words or overly honest opinions or to lay it out there, come what may?
Salma laughed. “Well, it’s best to be just who you were made to be. And my mother, God rest her soul, felt plenty comfortable sitting you straight down, looking you in the eye, and saying, ‘Girl, those pants don’t do a thing for you, and neither does that wreck of a boyfriend.’”
Autumn laughed. “Did she say that to you?”
“That and many other things.” Salma rolled her eyes but then smiled, the wistful one again. “But then she’d hug you so hard you’d know there was always a place for you in her arms. I miss her terribly. I miss that I always knew I could count on her to tell me exactly how she saw things. And then she’d accept it without judgment if I respectfully disagreed.” She smiled again. “Despite her brand of delivery, which wasn’t always appreciated, she was usually right in the end.” She paused. “She was fiercely loyal and passionately dedicated to truth. She always did the right thing, regardless of whether it made others like her and whether or not it was popular…or safe.” A worried frown tilted her mouth. “And she encouraged me to do the same.” Her eyes met Autumn’s, and then she looked away. She appeared troubled, thoughtful for a few moments.
Autumn yawned. Talking to Salma had served to ease her body and her mind. She glanced at the cup of meds. She’d always welcomed the absence of pain the medication provided, but now…now she had questions that would only be answered if she could pull herself from the dark depths of slumber where the medication delivered her. “Salma, do you think…do you think instead of bandaging my arms, I might cut down on the sleep medication?” She didn’t want to stop taking it completely. She suddenly wanted the dreams it brought. She just didn’t want to be practically comatose.