By Jocelyne Ross

Word Count: 787

Rating: G

Summary: While Joyce lies comatose, she relives her life with her husband and family, as they try to wake her up.

Seconds, minutes, hours, days or maybe weeks later—Joyce has no idea how much time has passed when violin music reaches her and brings her back from far away.

I know this piece. It is one of my two favorite violin pieces. I began teaching a simplified version of this piece to Christelle one year ago when she was five. She always enjoyed her violin lessons but she also liked to have Mommy’s attention all to herself.

And Joyce let the beautiful sad violin music carry her away … away … Soon Joyce is carried away from the present, back to another memory of her lovely little daughter Christelle.

***

Joyce is sitting up in her bed reading a book when six-year-old Christelle enters the bedroom with a big proud smile on her face—and a small cup of coffee in her hand.

“I made you coffee, but I only brought a small cup because I know that you do not like to drink much coffee at night. And I picked the cup with the beautiful flowers because I know that you like flowers.” She puts the coffee on the nightstand and gives Joyce a hug.

“Thank you so much, Christelle. Wow, you made coffee all by yourself?!” Joyce asks, playing with her little girl’s long hair.

“Yes, I did,” Christelle assures her.

Joyce plays with her girl’s beautiful hair, braiding it with pink and green ribbons; afterward she holds her little hand and begins singing to her: “Once upon a time, a little girl with moonlight in her eyes put her hands in mine and said she loved me so… But that was once upon a time very long ago.” She stops singing to enjoy just holding her daughter. Soon the silence is interrupted: “When I marry, can I wear your wedding dress?”

Oh my goodness, that’s a big jump into the future; thought Joyce smiling to herself. “Of course you can wear it, but maybe when you are older, you will want to have a dress of your own choosing. Besides, how do you know that you like my wedding dress? It’s been packed away since before you were born.”

“Oh, it is so beautiful, Mommy. I’ve seen it in your wedding pictures!”

Joyce looks down at her daughter’s smiling face. “You lost another tooth today; this makes two altogether. That’s wonderful, Christelle! It means that you are growing.”

“I don’t want to grow up,” Christelle protests.

“And why not?”

“I want to stay your little girl,” she declares with a frown.

“You will always be my little girl, even when you are old and gray.”

And Joyce smiles to her daughter, thinking to herself, You can never predict children. One minute she is going to marry, and the other she wants to stay a little girl.

***

Suddenly the music stops. Seconds later a soft small hand touches hers, and Joyce hears a lovely young girl’s voice saying: “You taught me how to play violin many years ago, and you played for me for many years. Now it is my turn to play for you.” The girl’s voice trembles, and Joyce hears her cry. Then the sweet girl whispers softly but firmly: “Come back to us.”

Who is this young girl? Joyce has no idea, but she wants to thank this lovely young lady and let her know how grateful she is for her visit and how beautifully she played…very similar to how Joyce would have played this piece. Yet try as she might, Joyce cannot even utter one word. Then she hears that same voice saying: “I truly believe that she is trying to speak! Praise God!”

Joyce cries and cries, yet only two tears escape the corners of her closed eyes and roll down her cheeks. The young girl smiles, then begins to shed tears of her own.

***

Another week passes; everything is still the same… Joyce is still lying motionless, except for occasional tears or smiles. Gabriel is still there with her, in spite of the doctors insisting that he rest, take a break. He looks exhausted, but he is unmoved: “Whatever they say, I will never leave you alone here without me. In the past, you left everybody and everything to be with me, and now it is my turn to leave everybody and everything to be with you. I can never be happy without you and probably that is why we have always been together.”

But Joyce is not present to hear his heartwarming words. She is off somewhere calm and quiet. 　

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