Fairy Tale: Winter's Bite

Chapter 16: Departure from Reality (Part 1)

Simona impressed Joe and Chris by deftly ushering her children into the house of her mother-in-law, Mrs. Kai, and spinning out a story about urgently needing to visit her own mother at the hospital.

Once outside again, she conferred with the fairies on their next move. The small group decided it would be best for Cassie to wait with Ryan and Morgan in Mrs. Kai's garden while Simona took Chris and Joe with her in her purse.

Simona and the MacRae brothers then left for the Aloha State Care Center. After parking her car, Simona strolled along her usual route past doctors, employees, and visitors. She cradled her purse under her arm like a newborn baby and was vigilant in her effort to avoid bumping into anything.

While tapping her impatient foot, she waited for the slowest elevator ever built to arrive. When the doors opened, she walked inside with throngs of other people. Pushed against the wall, she stared at the changing floor numbers and had the uneasy feeling that all eyes were upon her.

On the fifth floor, she went to the security desk and signed the visitor logbook. The security guard buzzed her in. "Thanks, Paul."

"Have a good one," he replied.

Simona tucked her arm over her purse again and headed toward her mother's room. When she arrived, her mother, Mikala Jokura, was rapidly flipping through a magazine. She did not acknowledge Simona's entry.

"Hi, Mom!" Simona said with exaggerated cheer. "How are you feeling today?"

Mikala did not look up.

"What's wrong?" Simona knew to ask.

And that's when Mikala began to cry.

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Chris couldn't make out any words, so he propped up Simona's wallet and climbed on. Once he was closer to the zipper, he began to catch more of what they were saying, but it didn't matter. His former mother-in-law seemed to be obsessing about fictitious people and highly questionable events.

"How's it going out there?" Joe whispered.

The wallet started to wobble. Chris jumped down into a pile of loose items—a few coins, a gum wrapper, and a chapstick. "Not well. Her mom is crying."

"Yeah, I hear that. What's she saying?"

"Nothing solid yet. It sounds like Simona's about to mention her father."

"What's wrong with her mother anyway?"

Chris thought about it for a second. Alana would occasionally mention Mikala through a cloud of guilt and resentment. But he had dismissed or minimized much of it as a way to make her feel better—it was no longer her problem—and that was coming back to haunt him. "I really don't know. Why do you ask? Do you have any doctor tricks you could use?"

"No, I was just making conversation. It's sort of a hobby of mine to diagnose people. Like you, for example—"

"Shhhh!" Chris said suddenly, no desire to hear his own diagnosis—no one had time for that—and also because he legitimately needed to pay attention to something else for a second. "Joe, do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Chris attempted to prop up the wallet again, urgently this time. "How come no one can ever hear it but me? The buzzing . . . from wings!"

Joe climbed onto the pack of gum next to him. "I hear it now, too."

"Help me get out of here." Chris beckoned Joe closer with both hands. "Hold this for me."