The Chime of Bluebells

9

Wednesday morning, five days after my arrival at Queen Margaret's Hospital, I checked out of the Children's Advanced Healthcare unit with bags packed and a smiling family welcoming me home with open arms. The only person a little grumpy was of course Quinn who didn't get to ride shotgun on the way home. I'd smiled deviously at her, knowing it irritated the hell out of her, but during the drowsy ride back to Greenwood Lake my mind suddenly realised I hadn't gotten to take farewell with a specific cocky boy. How could I've been so stupid? What was wrong with me? What was wrong with my memory? It had been off for a few days, just like Noah had indicated mockingly so many times. It was doubtless caused by the small trauma my body had experienced, but for how long would it hold? And what kind of things were I to forget?

"Can we make a U turn?"

Behind the wheel, Dad's relieved expression faltered and he scowled. "Why? Is something wrong? Should we call Doctor Doroweigh?"

"No. No, I'm fine," I reassured them. "I just...forgot to do something."

"What? Use the bathroom?" Quinn's brow raised in the rear mirror.

"Is it important?" Dad asked.

Was it? "Not between life and death, no-"

"Then it can wait. Mom is going back to Aleensburg the day after tomorrow and you can go with her if there's something you forgot. I can make a call when we get home. What was it that you left behind?"

A person.

"I...I just forgot to say goodbye." As three pair of eyes turned on me, I cleared my throat: "I just didn't want to leave without a word, is all."

Mom smiled proudly. "No worries, Noli," she said and put a hand on my arm. "We can go back Friday. We can even bake a little cake and bring with us. What do you say?"

Yeah, what do I say?

I smiled hastily. "I'd like that."

"Then we can stop by the store and get some ingredients."

"Now?" Dad asked. "You don't think we can do that in the morning?"

"No," Mom furrowed her brows. "I need some flour to make scones for breakfast."

"What's the occasion?"

"First family breakfast in a long time."

It wasn't unusual for us to eat at seperate times in the mornings, since we all had our own schedules. However, somehow mom had made sure to clear it for a family breakfast by the grand dinner table.

I smiled back at her. "Perhaps we could buy some chocolate pudding too."

🌸

Home. When I saw our dark mahogany half tile- half wooden house with the two giant pine trees in the small front yard at the end of Redpine Lane, a feeling of homesickness overwhelmed me. Finally, I was home. I'd been away longer than a week before but with the circumstances, it had been more blatant. I missed the smell of—surprise, surprise—pinewood and freshly pressed parchment from my small shed—I always brought the sheets inside and the smell of course always followed. It made our house smell lovely and many neighbouring kids liked coming by just to fill their nostrils with the unfamiliar scent. Even though William didn't like unwelcome guests that hadn't been notified to him, Eli Langner never turned them down. He loved kids and how they brought joy to a household. Although he had me and Quinn, smaller children were of course something entirely different. They were so innocent and—best off all—they were terrible liars. Mom would always offer them some freshly made cinnamon buns with cardamom or chokladsnittar—my favorites: thin chocolate cookies with sprinkled pearl sugar on top. They were even better if they were a little chewy in the middle—yum!