They come rushing into her room. First Michael, then Gabriel Jr. and Christelle trying to beat each other through the door; then Geanna and Carmel rush through the door at the same time; Gabriel follows and closes the door after him.

“Mom, oh, Mom!”

“Welcome back, Mom! We’ve missed you!”

“I love you, Mama!”

“I missed you so much…”

They all begin talking at the same time. But Joyce interrupts them.

“Let me look at you.”

She looks at each one of them in turn, still not believing her eyes. In a way, they still look the same; yes, she sees grown-up adults but somehow she still sees the little children they used to be. She is looking at their faces and still seeing behind these faces the faces of her little children she left few hours ago in her time and twenty years ago in their time. She cannot stop gazing at them, amazed.

They stand around her bed, looking at her with love mixed with fear, fear of rejection. They wonder whether she will accept them, given she does not feel that she knows them anymore.

Joyce senses their concern: “I love you… I love you all… I should be the one to thank you for bringing me back. Gabriel, your gentle voice always reached me and brought me back. I sensed that you were always here next to me, and I felt safe.”

She shifts her gaze toward Michael: “Michael, just hearing your name awakened memories in my mind and opened the flow of many other memories.”

She turns to Gabriel Jr: “I heard your sweet voice reading to me one day; you read from my favorite book and helped me to remember that and many other things.”

She raises her hand to Christelle, who held it between her hands: “I heard you playing your violin for me; you played one of my two favorite pieces. You played beautifully, and your music carried me to far away memories, back to when you were six years old… Thank you.”

She holds out the other hand to Geanna, who in her turn holds it between her small delicate hands and kisses it: “You brought me flowers, and you prayed the rosary for me… I heard you, and I am very grateful.”

She looks with much love at her baby, Carmel, who is now a cute young lady. “I believe you were the one with the soft cool towel wiping my forehead.”

Carmel nods, tears in her eyes.

“You see, each one of you acted in a different, unique way than the others and awaken different and other parts of my memory. I am convinced that I needed all of you to be able to come back—all of you working together but separately awaken my sick and tired brain. Thank you and thank you God, for the wonderful family You have given me and for all that You did for us.”

“Mom, we barely gave you anything—not compared to what you gave us through the years…and still give,” Gabriel Jr replies.

Michael continues: “You taught me how to always trust and have hope, so I never lost hope and I always trusted that you would be back one day.”

“You taught me how to read, Mom. Then when you needed me, I came and read for you,” attests Gabriel Jr.

“You taught me patiently how to play the violin, and it became part of me. When you were sick, somehow I knew that my music was going to reach you wherever you were.” Christelle smiles.

“You taught us all how to pray. I am sure that you remember how many times over and over again you corrected my pronunciation and my prayers, sometimes I felt that you gave up on me but maybe you were enjoying my mispronounced words. You taught us how to love God and in your need, we prayed for you. You see, Mom, we only gave you what you’d already given us.” Geanna embraces her mother, who cannot help but cry tears of joy. “When we were sick, you barely slept. I remember waking at night with a fever and seeing you next to me, taking my temperature, giving me medicine, cooling my red hot face with a soft cool towel. I learned all that from you, Mom, because you served us so lovingly. We all were grateful to be able to serve you.” Carmel smiles.

“It is true, my darling,” adds Gabriel. “You taught us how to love each other by your example of loving us all so much. You served us all unceasingly, always with a smile, and then it was our turn to serve you for a brief moment. We still owe you a lot.”

“I have always tried to remember that God blesses those who serve; I merely tried to live my vocation as a wife and mother.” Joyce, her eyes shining full of tears, tears of joy, sat in her hospital bed looking at her family one by one, not able to satisfy her hungry eyes and her mother’s heart.

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