Phoebe’s light-fused journey was over almost as quickly as it began. In what seemed like a nanosecond, she felt the earth firm beneath her feet and looking around her, the whereabouts of her familiar surroundings slowly dawned on her – Phoebe was back on the plains of Africa!
“How can this be?” marvelled Phoebe. “I must be dreaming! Yes, that’s what this is, just a dream.”
She pinched her arm, and again, harder this time. “Ouch!” Yes, she definitely felt that. As she surveyed the landscape around her, she was suddenly very aware of the midday African sun on her back, and peeled off her jacket. There was no doubt, Phoebe was back in the land she had been brought up in for the last ten years – but how? She surveyed the dusty plains in front of her; the rusty coloured ground, the baobab and cotton trees, the dirt tracks and rows of hut-like homes – all so familiar and yet as she stood now, so surreal and illogical.
“Phoebe! Hey, Phoebe!”
Phoebe’s reverie was interrupted and she spun around in the direction of the voice calling her name. She was still unsure what was happening to her, and was reluctant to trust what seemed so obvious.
“Phoebe! Come on, Bird! What are you waiting for?”
Phoebe instantly recognised the voice. There was only one person who referred to her as ‘Bird’ – it was the endearing nickname given to her by Demetrius Kwanga, a sixteen year old boy from the nearby village of Wemmer, and her best friend throughout the ten years she and her parents had lived in Africa. Demetrius had said that ‘Wren’ was the perfect surname for Phoebe because that’s what she was – a little bird. She could scarcely believe her eyes when she turned to find Demetrius’s perpetually smiling face just a few feet from where she stood.
“Demetrius!” Phoebe cried, kicking up an impressive dust storm as she raced towards him and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh Demetrius, I’m so happy to see you!”
Demetrius hugged his friend back, obviously bemused. “Ehh… I’m happy to see you too Phoebe, it’s been what? A whole three minutes?”
“Three minutes? Demetrius, what do you mean?” Phoebe loosened her vice like grip on her best friend and took a step back, screwing up her face as she searched his for some hint of a joke. She found none.
Slowly, realisation began to dawn on Phoebe, and she hesitated before she asked the next question, desperate to hear the answer, and yet afraid of its implications – “What’s the date, Demetrius?”
“Seriously Phoebe? You want to be silly? Okay – its July 14th. Can you remember the year, or shall I help you with that? It’s 2010, Bird”. Demetrius grinned at his friend; funny silly Phoebe who loved to joke around and have fun.
“July 14th? But that means… Demetrius, that means… Where are my parents? Please, you’ve got to tell me where they are!”
“Phoebe, are you okay? I know you can be crazy sometimes, but what’s with the drama? You’re starting to freak me out a little bit.” Demetrius’s amusement had faded into concern as he realised that Phoebe seemed genuinely agitated about her parents’ whereabouts.
“It’s okay, Bird, they’re at the hospital. They’re both on duty and my Aunt said you could stay with us until this evening. Remember? You said you’d love to spend the afternoon with us, considering that you’re…” Demetrius’s face fell. “Well, you’re leaving tomorrow…”
Tomorrow. The word hit Phoebe like a tonne of bricks as the full realisation of where and, more importantly, when she was dawned on Phoebe. Demetrius’s voice had trailed off and Phoebe could see the sadness in his brown eyes at the prospect of losing his best friend to a land so far away and inaccessible to him. Phoebe and Demetrius were as close as she and Ella were but in Demetrius, Phoebe also had the big brother she had always secretly hoped for. He was kind and thoughtful, maybe even a bit over protective – she would never have admitted it to him, but she loved that about him, she loved that he fussed over her and needed to know every detail about where she was, with whom, and how long she would be out. Phoebe used to jokingly tell Demetrius that he was more like her dad than her Dad was, and would simply laugh mischievously at him when he tried to protest.
Phoebe gathered her jumbled thoughts as best she could, mentally reaching inside her head and grabbing them as they zoomed around in the most disorderly manner. She had no idea how or why this bizarre twist of fate had happened, and she could not even begin to make sense of it, but for now she wanted to grab this incredible gift with both hands – if this was not a dream, then she had just been handed a second chance, and she did not intend to waste it.
“Can we call at the hospital please? Just quickly. I’ve, um, forgotten to check where Mum packed my iPod.”
Phoebe tried to sound casual, like this was just a typical day, but given the circumstances that was no mean feat. She trusted Demetrius with her life, and fully intended to tell him the entire story in all its weirdness, but she needed to see her parents first, to make absolutely sure that she wasn’t dreaming.
“Sure thing, whatever you need Phoebe,” Demetrius said, and the two of them did a sharp turnaround and headed briskly in the direction of Medical Miracles Hospital.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Demetrius enquired as they walked, squinting his eyes as he peered sideways at his friend.
“Oh, uh, yeah… Yes, I’m fine… I’m just a bit, uh, well I’m nervous about tomorrow. It’s a big move we’re making.” Phoebe worked hard to sound normal. ‘Nervous about tomorrow’ – given the happenings of the last few weeks that was definitely an understatement!
Phoebe and Demetrius made the short trip to the hospital where Jack and Eva Wren were finishing their last shifts as surgeons with Medical Miracles. They passed through the automatic glass doors, and Phoebe followed the painted yellow line on the ground that lead to her parents’ office on the third floor. ‘My own yellow brick road’ she mused silently, and a wry smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. As the two friends rounded the corner on to the corridor that housed the Wrens’ office, Eva was just pulling the door shut behind her. She was dabbing a little at her eyes, obviously moved and tearful to have just finished her last surgery in Africa.
“Mum!” Phoebe yelled as she broke into a gallop down the dusky pink painted corridor. “Mum!” Phoebe flung herself into Eva’s arms, catching her mother completely off guard and almost knocking her over.
“I’m so happy to see you Mum! I thought I would never…” Phoebe was desperately fighting back tears, and clinging to her mother as though she might never let go.
Eva Wren was bemused. “Hello sweetie,” she laughed. “Well, you definitely know how to cheer me up after my final surgery. Hey Dem.” She waved a casual hand at Demetrius, who was surveying the encounter with puzzled curiosity.
“Hello Mrs. Wren,” Demetrius smiled at Eva. Jack and Eva were like surrogate parents to Demetrius, who had lost his own parents in a tragic accident several years ago. He felt entirely at ease with the Wrens, and had always appreciated their total acceptance of him as their ‘adopted’ son.
Phoebe checked herself before her peculiar behaviour aroused too much suspicion – of course her mother couldn’t possibly fathom the overwhelming joy behind this reunion. As far as Eva was concerned, she had left her daughter with Demetrius and his aunt earlier that morning to spend a final day with them before the Wrens returned to Ireland. If Phoebe told her about the last five weeks of her life as an orphan, her mum would think she was making the whole thing up.
“Where’s Dad?” asked Phoebe, regaining her composure and working hard at coming across as if nothing odd was happening.
“Dad’s still in theatre, Love. He’ll be another couple of hours. I’ve got some goodbyes to say, so I’ll see you at home this evening, okay?”
“Yep, that’s okay Mum. I’ll see you then.”
Phoebe turned to leave, and remembered her thoughts from – when? – this morning probably. “I love you, Mum,” she said. “A lot.”
“Aww, thank you sweetheart,” Eva smiled lovingly at her beloved girl. “I love you too, Phoebe. You know that, right?”
“I do, Mamma. I really do.”