The Truth Against the World by Sarah Jamila Stevenson

Author:Sarah Jamila Stevenson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: teen, teen lit, teenlit, teen fiction, teen novel, ya, ya fiction, ya novel, young adult, young adult fiction, young adult novel, welsh, wales, paranormal, haunting
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2014-05-12T16:00:00+00:00

15

Gwr dieithr yw yfory.

Tomorrow is a stranger.

Welsh proverb

The car careened up the narrow country lane. Mom’s face was pale, her lips pressed tightly together, and I was clutching my sweaty hands together in my lap. Despite our speed, it felt like we were never going to get there. We would arrive when it was too late. Maybe it was already too late.

Mom pulled the Ford into the gravel parking lot, not even bothering to lock the doors as we scrambled out. I stopped for a moment in front of the door to the cottage and wiped the sheen of sweat off my forehead, steeling myself to go in.

Muffled voices came from the back bedroom, Dad’s baritone murmur and the nurse’s sympathetic, lilting reassurances. I didn’t hear Gee Gee. My skin went cold and clammy, and I walked slowly toward the back room.

Gee Gee lay ashen-faced and brittle in the hospital bed, her eyes closed. She was breathing, but shallowly. Dad and the nurse were holding a quiet conversation near the window. I let out a shaky breath, and they both looked over at me.

“Dad,” I said quietly. Words fought to get out of my mouth: I’m sorry; I should have been here; I should never have left the house. In the end, nothing came out.

Dad was saying something, but I couldn’t seem to parse it out into words. Meanwhile, Gee Gee just kept on sleeping. I wondered if she could hear us. If she could see us in her dreams.

And if it wasn’t us she was seeing and hearing, then who was it?

The tiny bedroom began to feel choked with people. I backed into the front room, sat heavily on the couch, and dropped my head between my knees. I stayed there for what felt like a long time, staring at the sea-green carpet fibers, until I saw Dad’s white Reeboks out of the corner of my eye and felt him sit down next to me.

Sparse, dark stubble patches made Dad’s face seem even more tired and old.

“Hey, Wynnie.” He sounded exhausted.

“How is she?” My voice was barely above a whisper. “How much longer?”

“Well, she’s stable for now,” he said. “But she’s been in and out of consciousness. Not very alert.” He swallowed audibly. “She didn’t recognize me when I came in to bring her lunch. She … looked at me like I was a stranger, and then she called me John. She thought I was Granddad.” Dad stared off into the distance, his eyes shining.

“Listen, Wynnie,” he continued. “It probably won’t happen today, or tomorrow, but we’re thinking that sometime this week … ” He ducked his head for a moment, then looked at me. “You know, you’ve always been her favorite. It’s good you’re here. She may not have long, but just the fact that she knows you’re around … Well, anyway.” He gave me a quick hug.

I tried to stay composed, but my thoughts turned to Olwen. If the other Olwen had been Gee Gee’s daughter …

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