Resurrection Sunday 2

Resurrection Sunday 2 Daniel Whyte III with Meriqua Whyte

Copyright 2015. Torch Legacy Publications. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner,except for brief quotations included in a review of the book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Chapter 1 Prentiss Giamatti stood washing the batter off her hands in the kitchen sink of her mother’s house in Clearwater, Florida. Her sister, Gianna, was making taffy alongside her, and her mother, Patricia, was cutting out cookies. Prentiss glanced out the window to check on her two daughters playing outside among the orange trees. Her ten-year-old daughter, Pippa, was running frantically toward the house.

Prentiss smiled. Sunrise must be chasing her, she thought.

Her smile quickly turned into a frown as she heard the words coming from her daughter’s lips.

“Mommy! Mommy! Come quick!” Pippa said bursting through the back door leading into the kitchen.

Prentiss dropped the kitchen towel she was holding and swung around to face her daughter. Pippa grabbed her mother's hand and started pulling her toward the door.

“Honey, what’s the problem?” Prentiss asked.

“It's Sunrise! She's not moving!”

“What do you mean, she's not moving?”

As Pippa shoved the door open in front of her mother, her mother’s sister, Aunt Gianna, dropped the taffy she was making into the pot of boiling water and hurried out the door

after them. Her grandmother, Patricia, who was busy cutting out cookies hurried after her daughters.

“What happened?” Prentiss asked her daughter as they ran across the back yard and into the small orange grove.

“Sunrise fell out of the tree and now she's not moving,” Pippa said.

“Oh, my goodness! Call 9-1-1,” Prentiss yelled back to her sister. Then she saw her seven-year-old daughter's crumpled body on the ground a few yards ahead. “Sunrise!” she screamed. Prentiss fell to her knees and reached to scoop up her daughter when her mother, Patricia, yelled, “Don't move her! Don't move her!”

Sunrise's head was turned to the side at an odd angle, her legs bent underneath her body.

“Sunrise! Sunrise!” Prentiss yelled again and again.

“Call 9-1-1.” She felt for a pulse at Sunrise's neck and wrist.

Gianna ran back outside with the phone to her ear. “I believe she fell out of one of our orange trees,” she told the dispatcher. “She’s not moving at all.”

“Her pulse is very weak,” Prentiss said. “Her skin is pale.”

Patricia hugged Pippa who stood wide-eyed staring at her sister. “Just pray,” Patricia said calmly. “Just pray.”

“The ambulance is on its way,” Gianna said. She gave the phone to her sister. “The dispatcher wants you to stay on the line until the ambulance arrives. I'll go wait for them by the front gate. Come with me, Pippa.”

“You go on ahead,” Patricia said to Gianna as her grand-daughter hugged her tighter.

Within minutes, they heard the sound of the siren in the distance.

“Come on,” Patricia said to Pippa. “Let's go inside.”

Pippa did not budge. “No, Granny. I want to stay,” she said quietly laying her head against her grandmother's chest.

“Okay, Pumpkin.”

Thirty-one-year-old

Prentiss

Giamatti

and

her

daughters were spending the day at the home of her mother, Patricia Morgan, in Clearwater, Florida. Her smooth complexion, black wavy hair, and black eyes accentuated by long eyelashes showed her Italian ancestry. Prentiss and her daughters met at her mother's house each year on the day before Easter to put together Easter baskets for the children who rode the bus to their church, Cross of Calvary Bible Church, as well as for the kids at the children's home a few blocks away from their neighborhood. Patricia Morgan was a retired elementary school teacher. Gianna Morgan, Prentiss'

younger sister, lived with their mother and was a college professor. They resided in a beautiful Victorian house on a half acre of land.

Pippa and Sunrise liked to roam about in the orange orchard behind the house chasing butterflies and other insects.

There was a small man-made pond in the middle of the orchard filled with sunfish, bluegill, and bass. Both girls loved to sit on the edge of the pond and dangle their legs in the water giggling at the tickling sensation as the fish darted around their feet.

That year, they were baking cookies and making taffy to place in the baskets.

“This is my favorite time of the year,” Prentiss said for the third time.

“We know,” Gianna replied. “You've said that every year for the past seven years, and it ought to be. How can we ever forget the wild dash we made to the hospital so you could give birth to my niece on Easter Sunday of all days?

Here I was, looking forward to a great Easter egg hunt… but, no, baby Sunrise chose that day to make her entrance into the world.”

Patricia and Prentiss laughed. “And a beautiful grandbaby she turned out to be,” Patricia added.

Chapter 2 Gianna opened the wooden gate and directed the EMTs into the backyard. The ambulance driver skillfully maneuvered their vehicle between the trees as close as they could to where Sunrise lay on the ground. Prentiss stood next to her mother and hugged Pippa who was now quietly sobbing.

“What happened?” one of the EMTs, who introduced herself as Anna, asked as she and her partner, Blake, began to work on Sunrise.

“She fell out of a tree,” Prentiss said.

“Which branch did she fall from?” Anna asked.

“Tell her, honey,” Prentiss told Pippa.

Pippa pointed to the highest branch. “It's that big one at the very top. Will she be alright?”

“I can't say for sure. We're definitely going to have to get her to the hospital so the doctors can examine her more thoroughly,” Anna said with a reassuring smile. “At least she’s alive.”

The family watched as the EMTs worked quickly.

“Her vitals are very weak,” Anna said as she ran her hand up and down Sunrise's vertebra. Using both hands, Anna gently pressed various spots on Sunrise's neck.

“We're going to have to put her body in a brace,” Blake said to Anna as he looked on.

Hurrying to the ambulance, Blake returned with a firm plywood-type board which they carefully but swiftly slipped under Sunrise's body. Anna slipped a soft cylinder-shaped pillow under her neck. Lifting Sunrise up by the plywood, they placed her on the stretcher, quickly secured her down with the straps, and then placed her in the ambulance.

“I'll ride with her,” Prentiss said climbing up into the back of the ambulance.

“We’ll follow in the car,” Gianna said as they hurried into the house to lock up and to retrieve her car keys.

“Kyle,” Prentiss sobbed as her husband answered the phone. “We're on the way to the hospital with Sunrise. She fell out of one of the trees. It doesn’t look good.”

Prentiss and Kyle Giamatti had been married for ten years. He was of Italian ancestry as well. His great grandparents had immigrated to the United States. He had inherited his father's real estate business, Giamatti Realtors, and was in another town conducting a real estate seminar.

“What do you mean she fell out of a tree?” Kyle asked.

“She and Pippa were playing outside in the orange grove like they always do. Mother, Gianna, and I were in the

kitchen getting everything ready for the Easter baskets and for Sunrise's birthday party on tomorrow. Pippa came running in telling us that she fell out of one of the trees,” Prentiss said.

“I have about three hours before this seminar ends. I'm the last speaker. I'll try to cut it short. Call me when you get to the hospital,” Kyle said before hanging up. His voice was tight and Prentiss thought he sounded angry.

Prentiss stroked her daughter's cheek with the back of her hand. Her face was ashen. The ambulance careened to a stop before the emergency entrance. Anna hopped out and helped Prentiss down. By the time they entered the double doors, there were four nurses and two doctors waiting for them. They wheeled Sunrise into an operating room. Patricia, Gianna, and Pippa soon joined Prentiss in the waiting room where she was anxiously pacing the floor.

Chapter 3 The only other occupant in the room was a middleaged lady, brown-skinned with black bobbed hair. “Hi,” she said pleasantly when Pippa sat down next to her. “Who are you visiting?”

“My sister. She fell out of a tree and isn’t moving. The ambulance had to bring her here.”

“I'm so sorry to hear that. I'll pray for her to get better.

I bet she's as pretty as you,” the lady said. “What's your name?”

“Pippa.”

“What’s your sister’s name?”

“Sunrise. Did you know she was born on Easter Sunday? That's why we named her Sunrise. Her birthday was going to be tomorrow, but—” Pippa fell silent.

Patricia placed an arm around her grand-daughter. She introduced herself and the rest of the family.

“My name's Abigail. I'm pleased to meet you,” the brown-skinned lady said. “I'll certainly be praying for your family.” She closed the Bible that was open on her lap and stood up. “If you all will excuse me, I have to leave now. It was a pleasure meeting you.”

“I like the way she talks,” Pippa said.

“Yes,” Patricia said. “Sounds like she’s from England.”

Quietness settled over them.

Kyle arrived at the hospital a little over two hours after speaking with his wife.

“This must be more serious than I thought. I can't believe they still have her in surgery,” he said to his family as he stood beside Prentiss’ seat. “I'm going to the nurses' station to see if they can tell me exactly what's going on.”

“Daddy, can I come with you?” Pippa asked.

“Sure,” her father said taking his daughter by the hand.

Prentiss walked with them to the nurses' station.

“Mr. Giamatti,” Nurse Steinberg said after typing in some information on Sunrise, “the EMT report states that your daughter has dislocated vertebrae and has suffered possible trauma to her spinal cord. If that is the case she'll be in surgery for a while longer. We have very capable doctors.”

“You mentioned her spinal cord. Are you talking loss of feeling?” Kyle asked. “Paralysis?”

Pippa listened. Sadness mixed with guilt came over her. It’s my fault. I should have stopped her from climbing the tree.

“The doctor will let you know as soon as they come out of surgery. I'm sure they won't be much longer. He'll go over everything with you,” Nurse Steinberg said.

They walked back to the waiting room where Gianna and Patricia met them with questioning eyes. The grim look on Kyle’s face did not dispel the fear within them.

“Tell me what happened?” Kyle said to his daughter.

Pippa's lips trembled as she recalled the events that brought them to the hospital. “We were playing tag when Sunrise stopped and kept looking up at one of the trees. I went to find out what she kept staring at. She told me she wanted to climb to the very top of the tree and just lay on the branch like those leopards in Africa.”

“I'll just lay up there and swing my legs. I wish I had a long tail like the leopards do,” Sunrise sighed.

“You may as well stop your wishing,” Pippa said.

“Daddy told us not to climb any of the trees, and if you do, I'm going to tell Mommy.”

“I’ll stick my head above the highest trees. I'll rule the world from there,” Sunrise continued.

“Queen Sunrise,” Pippa sighed, “you're going to have to rule the world from the ground. Come on. Count to twenty, then come and find me.” She tapped her sister on the arm and

then took off running looking for the perfect place to hide.

She crawled behind the hedge that ran alongside the wire fence surrounding the property. She'll never find me here.

Pippa listened. She did not hear the crackling of the twigs under her sister's feet. She did not hear her sister saying, 'Pippa, where are you?' hoping Pippa would answer and give herself away. Pippa peeked from her hiding place and glanced around. Where could she be? Concerned, she quietly retraced her steps to where they originally parted.

“Sunrise, where are you?” Pippa called out.

No answer.

“Sunrise, where are you?” she called out louder.

“Ruling the world,” her sister answered with a loud voice.

“Where are you? And stop playing around. I am the one who is supposed to be hiding.”

“I said I'm ruling the world … from way up here.”

Pippa looked up. Her mouth gaped open as she saw her sister perched on the highest branch.

“If you don't come down right now, I'm going to get Mommy,” Pippa said.

“You can't tell on the queen; she's in charge,” her sister replied.

“I'm going to tell.” Pippa headed in the direction of the house; her sister's scream stopped her in her tracks.

“Pippa! Help! Ahhhhgh!”

Pippa swung around to see her sister falling from the tree.

“Sunrise!” she screamed as she saw her sister's body hit one branch, then another, then another, before crashing to the ground in a crumpled heap. Pippa stared at her sister's still form hoping it was only a dream. She ran to her and shook her. “Sunrise! Sunrise!” Receiving no response, she dashed off to get her mother.

“Daddy, I told her not to climb the tree, but she did not listen,” Pippa said with tears streaming down her face.

Kyle hugged his daughter. Prentiss squeezed her hand.

Gianna wiped at her eyes before the tears had a chance to fall.

Patricia whispered a silent prayer.

Chapter 4 “Go with your grandmother,” Kyle told his daughter when Dr. Brumfield joined them in the waiting room. Dr. Brumfield appeared to be in his late forties. He had a sober look on his face.

“Mr. and Mrs. Giamatti,” Dr. Brumfield said, his grey eyes shining with compassion, “sorry to keep you waiting, but I hope that only alerted you as to the seriousness of your daughter's injuries. I wish I had some good news for you, but … Can you tell me exactly what happened?”

Kyle, not wanting to put his daughter through the stress of having to rehearse her sister’s fall again, relayed to the doctors the incident as Pippa had told them.

Dr. Brumfield shook his head. “It seems she hit the ground neck and shoulder first. Her neck and left shoulder blade are broken. Several of her vertebrae are severely damaged. On top of that, her skull has been fractured in several places. I'm afraid this might affect her memory and the proper functioning of her brain, but we're not sure about that yet. We'll have to wait and see.”

Prentiss grabbed her husband's arm. Patricia hugged Pippa a little tighter. Gianna listened aghast.

“She did show some signs of consciousness before we administered general anesthesia. We will have to wait until the anesthesia wears off before we see how conscious she is when she wakes up,” Dr. Brumfield said.

“After that, how long of a recovery time are we looking at?” Kyle asked.

The doctor sighed. “As it stands right now, your daughter may be paralyzed from the neck down. We have to wait to see if she regains consciousness...”

Prentiss gasped as she raised her hands to her mouth.

“If? That's not possible. She has to wake up,” she said with desperation as her husband tightened his arms around her shoulders.

“Yes,” Dr. Brumfield said. “But as I said, we will be running more tests on her so we can provide you with a more accurate assessment.”

The few seconds of silence weighed down on the Giamatti family like a ton of bricks.

“How soon before we will be able to see her?” Prentiss asked.

“In about another fifteen minutes,” Dr. Brumfield said.

“Don't be surprised at what you see when you enter the room.

She's in a neck brace and a body brace, and she's hooked up to other machines, and…” His voice trailed off as he looked

across at Pippa sitting on her grandmother's lap listening to them as they spoke. “I don't know how strong your other daughter is, so you might want to visit the room first, and then decide whether or not you want her to go into the room.

This kind of thing can be traumatic for kids.”

“We will,” Kyle answered.

“One other thing,” Dr. Brumfield said. “And this is up to you, but I'd like for you to come into my office so I can show you the x-rays we took. Viewing them will give you a better picture of what we are up against. If not, we can do it another time.”

Kyle looked at Prentiss.

“Yes,” his wife said.

“I'd like to go,” Gianna said.

“I'll stay with Pippa,” Patricia said. “I believe a walk outside and a candy bar would be a welcomed treat.”

“We'll look at the x-rays right now,” Kyle said to the doctor. “And thank you for everything, Dr. Brumfield.”

Turning to his mother-in-law, Kyle said, “We'll meet back here before stopping by Sunrise's room.”

Chapter 5 After getting two candy bars from the vending machine, Patricia and Pippa took a leisurely walk on the hospital grounds. The sun was setting.

“You know, sometimes God allows things in our lives to strengthen us, to draw us closer to Him, or to help us not take each other for granted,” Patricia said.

Receiving no response from Pippa, she continued.

“Whatever the situation, try to find some good out of it. Ask yourself: What can I learn from this?”

After about a minute of walking in silence, Patricia said, “This might be a little early to ask, but what do you think God would have you to learn from this?”

“I don't know, Granny,” Pippa said. “I haven't been taking Sunrise for granted. Well, I may have gotten mad at her a few times, but I love her.”

“I know you do,” Patricia said hugging her granddaughter.

“What's going to happen to Sunrise?” Pippa asked in a shaky voice.

“Only God knows,” Patricia said. “All we can do is pray for her healing, but most importantly, pray for God's will to be done.”

“But what if God does not heal her? The doctor said something about her being paralyzed and about her brain not working normally.”

“Yes. That is something to keep in mind as we pray for her,” Patricia said. “The question is: If God chooses not to bring about complete healing, will you accept it as His will for Sunrise without getting mad at God? Think about it.”

Pippa thought about her grandmother's words. “It would be hard not having a sister to run around with, or to go swimming with, or to go searching for Easter eggs with.”

“I know,” her grandmother said. “Now finish your candy bar.”

“It doesn't taste too good right now.”

“I know, but you still have to eat something. We can't have you getting sick too. We'll get you something more nutritious a little later.”

As they strolled around outside for a while longer, Pippa observed the people coming and going: one man was in a wheelchair; a couple others depended on a walker or a cane to move from one place to the other; quite a number were elderly folks who seemed to treasure every step they took and were thankful for every breath. One mother held a newborn in her arms as the proud father opened a car door to help her in.

A little boy had his arm in a cast. A lady in her late twenties

held her mother, who seemed to be in her seventies, by the arm as she aided her across the walkway en route to their car.

Pippa’s thoughts shifted to her sister. “Granny, why do people get sick?” Whenever she had any questions she deemed serious, she always asked her grandmother. Granny always talks to me like I'm a grown-up, and that makes me feel special, she remembered telling Sunrise one day. Mommy picks and chooses her words when I ask her anything. I think she thinks we can't understand grown-up things.

“Pippa, it started way back in the garden of Eden,” Patricia said. “God had created a perfect earth—one free of sickness and sin. But Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and ate the fruit He had told them not to eat. The key word here is 'chose.' Whatever we do—good or bad—we choose to do it,” her grandmother said.

Pippa nodded. “Yes, ma'am.”

“Come on. Let's head on inside,” Patricia said taking her by the hand. “After Adam and Eve sinned, our perfect world became an imperfect one. Sickness only serves to remind us of our sinful state, and sin leads to death. We can die in one of two states: we can die having accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and spend eternity in Heaven, or we can die without Jesus Christ and spend eternity in hell. You've heard that before.”

“Yes, ma'am. I've heard Pastor Chester preach about it before. He said that Adam and Eve's sin brought about physical death so that's why we die, and it also brought about spiritual death and that's why we don't have a good relationship with God,” Pippa said.

“Wonderful! I can tell you've been listening to Pastor Chester's preaching,” Patricia said giving her a hug as they walked by the vending machines.

“Granny, may I please have some fruit juice?”

“Sure,” Patricia said. As she punched the buttons to release the boxed juices, she said, “Remember that even though sin came into the world by one man—Adam; sin has been eradicated by one Man—Jesus Christ.”

“I can quote that verse,” Pippa said. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

“Well done. I see Awana is paying off,” Patricia said as she handed Pippa her fruit juice.

Although Kyle and Prentiss did not attend church regularly, they allowed Pippa and Sunrise to spend many weekends with their grandmother and they would attend not only Sunday morning services with her and their aunt Gianna, but they also participated in the Awana youth program where the memorization of the Word of God was emphasized.

“I love going to your church. I wish Mommy and Daddy would come more often,” Pippa shared with her grandmother.

“We can continue to pray for that to happen,” Patricia said. “Like I told you earlier, sometimes God allows bad things to happen in our lives to get our attention.”

As they turned the corner to the hallway leading into the waiting room, Patricia said, “While your sister is healing, ask God to show you what He would have you to learn from this, and also to use you to be a help. Okay?”

“I will,” Pippa said.

“Do you feel better now?”

“A little,” Pippa said. “Thank you, Granny.”

Chapter 6 They entered the waiting room to find the other family members already seated.

“Do you feel better?” Prentiss asked her daughter.

“Yes, Mommy,” she replied “I went to check Sunrise's room out. It is not set up like your typical hospital room,” Kyle said. “Pippa, I think you should wait here with Granny.”

“No, Daddy,” Pippa said firmly. “I want to go.”

Sensing the determination in her voice, Kyle said, “Okay.” Pippa was oblivious to the other rooms and people they passed on their way to her sister's room, No. 345. She tightened her grip on her grandmother's hand as they entered the room.

Nurse Averline smiled as they quietly filed in. “She's asleep right now; it will be a few hours before the anesthesia begins to wear off. In the meantime, I can answer any questions you may have,” she said. She checked and adjusted the flow of the medication through the IV. Although she never shifted her eyes off her sister, Pippa felt good knowing her sister had such a nice nurse to take care of her. Not only did she notice the IV attached to her sister's body, but she also noticed a plastic tube directing

oxygen into her sister's nostrils. Pippa followed the tubing with her eyes and saw it ended at an oxygen tank hooked up into the wall behind Sunrise's bed. Another machine that beeped every now and then produced two never-ending lines going up and down on a black screen. Pippa found out later this monitored her sister's heartbeat. She reached over to touch her sister's arm, but quickly withdrew her hand.

“That's okay; you can touch her,” Nurse Averline said reaching over to rub Sunrise's arm herself. “You can even talk to her.”

Pippa reached over the bed rail and gently rubbed her sister's arm. It felt warm. The rest of the family talked in low tones as they decided who would spend the night with Sunrise, and how to handle her birthday party scheduled for the next day.

“I think we should leave her in the care of the nurses tonight,” Kyle finally decided. “I'm sure they'll be coming in and out quite a bit; besides, she's still under the anesthesia and there's absolutely nothing we can do for her tonight. Let's all go home, get a good night's sleep, and come back tomorrow.”

Pippa hated to go. She felt better when all four adults left their cell phone numbers with Nurse Averline. “I'll add the numbers to her file, and we'll definitely give you a call should anything come up,” she assured them.

“Prentiss, you go ahead on home with Kyle and Pippa,” Patricia said as they parted ways at the hospital entrance. “Gianna and I will finish the Easter baskets for Sunday.”

“Mommy,” Pippa asked breaking the silence on the drive home, “are we going to church tomorrow?”

“I was planning on spending the day at the hospital,” Prentiss replied.

“Well, can we still go to church?”

“Sure. If that's what you really want to do,” Prentiss said.

“Mommy,” Pippa said after riding in silence a while longer, “are we still going to have Sunrise's birthday party?”

Both of her parents were quiet.

“Well… we can't really have a birthday party without the birthday girl being there, now can we?” Prentiss replied.

“I'm sure Sunrise would want us to have it as planned.

She was really looking forward to it. You know Easter Sunday is her favorite day of the year, and — ” “Now, Pippa, like your mother said, it’s really no use if the person for whom the birthday is for isn’t going to be there,” her father said.

“But, Daddy,” Pippa said, “I believe Sunrise would love for us to have the party so her friends could enjoy themselves. She always wants others to have a good time and I'm sure she'd hate to disappoint them. They have been looking forward to coming to her party. Besides —” “Pippa,” her father said interrupting her again. His wife squeezed his arm as a sign for him to keep quiet. They exchanged glances as their daughter continued speaking.

“We've never missed celebrating her birthday on Easter Sunday,” Pippa said. “It won’t be good to call our friends and tell them it’s been canceled. I'm sure they have bought her gifts already.”

Prentiss looked across at her husband. He shrugged his shoulders. “You have a point there,” Kyle finally said to his daughter.

Chapter 7 Once they arrived home, Kyle immediately went to sleep. Prentiss helped her daughter get ready for bed. As Prentiss turned to leave the room, Pippa asked, “Can we pray for Sunrise?”

Prentiss immediately felt guilty—guilty that her tenyear-old had to remind her to pray… and praying was exactly what she needed to do at this critical time. Prentiss had never professed to be as deeply spiritual as her mother. Yes, she loved God. She remembered asking Jesus to save her when she was nine years old. She loved going to church. But shortly after she got married, she had stopped going as frequently. Kyle didn’t see the need to attend church every Sunday, and he could never understand why one had to go to church on Wednesday nights after spending eight plus hours on the job. To him, evenings after work were a time to rest and relax.

Prentiss' parents had taught her and her sister the Bible as best they could but had often told them, “You can't rest on our salvation or on our faith; you have to find Jesus for yourself. But rest assured, if you search for Him with all your heart, you will find Him.”

Prentiss prayed what she felt was a feeble prayer.

Pippa sounded like she had more confidence in God than she did.

“Good night, sweetie.” She gave her daughter a hug then retired to the living room to give her mother a call.

“How's everything coming along?” she asked her mother.

“The taffy turned out a little hard, and one batch of cookies was over-baked, but we'll have more than enough,” Patricia said. “How's Pippa?”

“She's asleep,” Prentiss said. “She still wants to go to church and have Sunrise’s party tomorrow. What do you think?”

“I think you should go ahead on to services as planned, as well as continue on with the birthday party,” her mother said.

“It just does not make sense to me,” Prentiss said.

“Oh, a lot of things children do and say do not make sense. But I have learned to pay attention because their hearts are much purer than us grown folks’, and I believe their hearts are closer to God.” “Oh, I was not referring to that,” Prentiss said. “From the way the doctors were talking, it might be at least a month before she will be able to come home. Dr. Brumfield was

very frank with us, and I appreciate that. They did not want to mention anything too negative in front of Pippa. Anyway, they said she may never walk again and that she will require twenty-four hour care.”

“Yes. Gianna told me that much,” Patricia said.

“I got really worried when he said we might need counseling,” Prentiss said. “Seems like we have a rough road ahead.”

“The road may be rough, but you can get through it if you let Jesus walk with you along the way.”

Prentiss sighed. Not wanting to get her mother going off on a religious lecture, she changed the subject. “What do you want me to do? I feel badly that I'm not helping you get things ready for tomorrow.”

“Don't worry about a thing. Gianna and I have it under control. You just get here in time for Pippa to put her Easter dress on and to pick up her basket. We'll leave her at the church with Kyle to take part in the Easter egg hunt while we bake the birthday cake and fix the meal and decorate the house and have everything ready to go by five—just as planned.”

“Alright. Good night, Mother.”

“Good night. I love you.”

Chapter 8 “Everything's still on for the birthday party,” Patricia reported to Gianna after hanging up the phone. “Pippa insists on having it for her sister. She says that's what Sunrise would want. I don't know of two sisters who are not twins who know each other like Pippa and Sunrise know each other.”

“I know. No one knows a sister like a sister,” Gianna said.

Both of them worked steadily to fill one hundred Easter baskets with goodies. Sixty of the baskets they would deliver to the children's home; the other forty would be given to the children who rode the bus to the church, many who would not have the privilege of getting such a gift during this time.

At 5:30 A.M., on Easter Sunday, Kyle, Prentiss, and Pippa arrived at Patricia's house. It was a family tradition going as far back as Patricia could remember, to gather at one of the family member's homes, have the children put on their new Easter clothes, and from there, drive to the church as a family. Pippa got dressed in her white laced satin dress with a pink sash. A similar dress was hanging in the closet for Sunrise; her's had a lavender sash, Sunrise's favorite color.

“Sunrise is going to love her dress when I show it to her

later,” Pippa said giggling as she danced around holding her sister's dress against her before hanging it back in the closet.

“We are still going to visit her, aren't we, Mommy?”

“Sure,” Prentiss said.

The Easter morning service was a blessing. Pastor Chester reminded the congregants about the reason for Jesus dying on the cross.

“Without the shedding of blood there can be no remission, no forgiveness, for our sins. Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, became the sacrifice for our sins. All you have to do now is accept that sacrifice. The Bible says, 'That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.' See, folks, this is not just a normal service; this is a Resurrection Sunday service because Jesus Christ rose from the dead.”

Pippa listened intently to the sermon.

“The story is told,” Pastor Chester continued, “of a Methodist minister who dreamed he died and went to Heaven.

When he arrived at Heaven's gate the angels told him he could not enter. The minister was shocked and proceeded to argue his case with the angels. 'Tell God I am Rev. So-andSo. I believe there has been a mistake.'

“The angels delivered the message to God but came back with a similar message: 'We cannot let you in. The Master says not to.'

“No matter how much the minister begged, the angels would not budge. Realizing the seriousness of the matter, he told the angels his life story. He told them how he got saved as a teenager by believing that Jesus Christ died for his sins.

He told them how he started preaching the Gospel soon after he got saved to everyone who crossed his path, and oftentimes to his discomfort.

“The angels, moved by his story, went back into Heaven. They returned a few minutes later and opened the gates inviting the minister in. 'God wants you to come before His throne and plead your case.'

“As the minister entered the presence of God, he was in awe. Everything was so pure, so clean, so holy that he began to feel unworthy to be in the presence of the Almighty.

He felt he had made a mistake entering into the glory of the Father. He could not look upon God. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw the Savior seated at the right hand of the Father.

“Just then, God spoke. 'Tell me, why should I let you enter into my Holy Heaven to live with Me forever?'

“The minister was so overcome at his worthlessness that he began to weep. He realized that he would never be good enough to enter Heaven. He realized that all the good he ever did was not enough; he realized that all the prayers he ever prayed could not even begin to touch Heaven's portals; he realized the sacrifices he thought he had made would never merit his entering into Heaven for all eternity. 'My God! My Savior and my Lord!' was all he could utter as he realized his own sinfulness.

“Unable to look up into the face of the Holy One, he fell to his knees and confessed, 'Only the blood! Only the blood! It is all because of the blood of Jesus!'

“He felt a hand on his trembling shoulder and a voice like still waters say, 'Father, he is one of mine. You can let him in.'

“The minister awakened from his dream a changed man. He realized he could never enter into God's holy Heaven because of any merit of his; it all had to be because of the blood of Jesus Christ.

“Ladies and gentlemen, can you say the same? Will you be able to say the same when you stand before the throne of our Holy God? Do you belong to Jesus? Are you resting on the blood of Jesus Christ to take you into Heaven, or are you resting on how much money you are giving to the church?

How much good you have done for others? How much of a good father or mother you are? Have you asked Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior? If not, let today be that day. The Bible says, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.’ Only believe and you shall be saved.

Please pray this prayer with me if you want to be saved today: “Holy Father God, I come before your throne of grace asking You to forgive me of all my sins for they have been many and they are grievous in Your sight. I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins, shedding His blood on the cross, was buried, and rose from the dead. I also believe that the only way I can be in right standing with God is by accepting Jesus' shed blood on the cross. Lord, I believe. Please come into my heart and save my soul from sin and from the punishment of sin. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and change my life so that I may live for You from this day forth. Amen.”

Chapter 9 “Such a blessed day,” Patricia said to one of the ladies, Karlene, as they helped serve breakfast to those who stayed behind not only to partake of the church's traditional Easter meal consisting mainly of fish or lamb with vegetables and dinner rolls, but to fellowship as well. “Ten people raised their hands saying they asked Jesus to save them.”

“It sure is a blessed day,” Karlene said. “I see Miss Pippa chomping down on her fish. Where's her sister? I haven't seen her around.”

“We had an emergency yesterday. She fell out of one of the trees in my backyard. She's at the hospital. We're going to visit her soon. I'll tell you about it later.”

“I'll certainly be praying for her. She's been a blessing since her birth.”

The family hung around for the eight o'clock service as well as for the eleven o'clock service helping out wherever they could and making sure all the bus children had a basket in their hand to take home with them.

Shortly after the eleven o'clock service ended, Patricia, Prentiss, and Gianna left. They gathered the other sixty baskets from Patricia's home and took them down to the children's home.

“It just brings tears to my eyes to see the smiles on those children's faces as they dug into their baskets,” Patricia said as they drove home to get things ready for the birthday party.

Pippa remained behind with her father as she would join the other children in the big Easter egg hunt the church held each year. The children from two smaller churches nearby joined them and took part in the fun-filled day.

“Here, Daddy,” Pippa said handing her father an empty basket. “I'll need your help; that basket is for Sunrise.”

Kyle started to protest, but took the basket anyway and said, “Okay. Where shall we begin?”

“Just follow me,” Pippa said running off to join the other excited children.

Her father hurried after her.

“Under this bush, Daddy,” Pippa said stretching her arm as far as she could between the leaves.

“My hand can reach farther than yours,” her father said getting down on all fours. “Plus, we don't want you to mess up your white dress.” Kyle reached under and came up with several eggs. At his daughter's request, he split it evenly between the two baskets as they did all the eggs they found.

Before they left the church to go to his mother-in-law's house, Kyle had a short meeting with Pastor Chester. He told him of the tragedy that had befallen the family.

“Why didn't you call me yesterday? I could have stopped by,” Pastor Chester said.

“Pastor, I did not even think to give you a call until my mother-in-law reminded me to. I know this is a busy day for you, so I decided to wait until after everything was over at the church before letting you know.”

“I do thank you for letting me know. I'll begin to pray for her and I'll be sure to get her name on the prayer list,” Pastor Chester said. “My family and I will stop by the hospital on our way home. Please give me her room number.”

“I appreciate it. But you might want to wait until tomorrow; she's still out of it from all of the medication and everything,” Kyle said.

“She doesn't have to be awake for me to lay hands on her,” Pastor Chester said. “I remember the day she was born.

It seems like yesterday. I guess she got tired of hearing me preach from the womb and decided to disrupt the services.”

Both men chuckled.

After praying with Pastor Chester, Kyle and Pippa headed for Grandmother Patricia's house.

“Did you have fun?” Kyle asked Pippa.

“Yes, Daddy. I sure did. Wait till Sunrise sees all the candy we got her. That's going to put a big smile on her face,” Pippa said cheerfully.

Kyle did everything in his power not to tell his daughter that her sister may never recover; that she may never be the same; that she may never be able to take part in the fun activities they were used to doing together; or that she may never be able to eat candy again. He quietly listened to her chatter.

“I can't wait to show her the Easter dress Granny bought her and all her birthday presents...”

Lord, please don't let her get her hopes up too high only to have them shattered, Kyle thought.

The tantalizing smell of red velvet cake baking in the oven met them as they entered the front door of Patricia’s house. The dining room and the living room were beautifully decorated with lavender and white streamers and balloons of all shapes and sizes. Other birthday decorations hung from the ceiling and from the walls. A heart-shaped pinata hung from the tree closest to the house. A folding table was placed next to the dining room table. Both were decorated with a lavender table cloth, party cups, plates, forks, and napkins.

Gianna was placing more homemade chicken fajitas— Sunrise's favorite—on a tray that was already half filled.

“We have another hour to go,” Prentiss said to her daughter. “After you eat some of Granny's roast with vegetables, you are going to take a nap.”

Pippa complied and fell off to sleep thinking about her sister.

“How'd everything go?” Prentiss asked her husband.

“Fine,” Kyle said looking tired. “She filled up a basket for Sunrise as well?”

“I know she's acting like nothing is wrong with Sunrise,” Prentiss said, “but I’m trying to decide whether I should sit down and have a frank talk with her about her sister's condition.” Prentiss shook her head. “Right now, I'm focusing on getting through this day.”

“I think she's in denial,” Kyle said.

“Well, Mother says to let her be. It's her way of handling the situation. We just need to be there to walk her through it.”

“She has to face reality and the sooner the better,” Kyle said.

“Remember, Mother is not only a retired school teacher, but she also has a degree in child psychology and counseling,” Prentiss said.

“You have a point there. I'm going to take a nap before the other kids get here. I didn’t sleep well last night,” Kyle said.

“You do that,” Prentiss said. “By the way, I called out to the hospital and they told me that the drugs are starting to wear off. We should be there when she wakes up.”

Chapter 10 Parents soon started dropping off their children for the birthday party.

“Where's Sunrise?” some of them asked.

Patricia, Gianna, and Prentiss alternated telling the parents of Sunrise's accident. “She would have wanted us to keep the party as though she were here.”

The birthday party ended with all twenty children drawing get-well cards for Sunrise. After cleaning up, the family prepared to go to the hospital. Pippa wanted to take all of Sunrise's gifts to her.

“I don't think that's feasible,” Kyle said. “Why don't we just leave everything here until Sunrise gets better.”

“Your daddy's right, Pippa. I don't think the hospital would allow us to bring all these gifts in there,” Prentiss said.

“Granny can make it happen,” Pippa said with confidence looking earnestly at her grandmother.

Not wanting to disappoint her granddaughter, Patricia excused herself. When she returned, she had a smile on her face. “It's all settled. Nurse Averline says not only can we bring in some of her gifts and leave them, but we can also tack her birthday cards on the walls. She says it will help to

brighten up the room, but more importantly, we hope it will brighten up her spirits.”

“Yes!” Pippa said as she skipped off to gather some of the gifts for her sister.

When they got to the hospital, most of the medication had worn off. Even though she was still groggy, Sunrise was looking around as far as her peripheral vision would allow.

Her neck brace allowed no other movement.

Nurse Averline who had walked in the room with them said, “Try to keep her as quiet and still as possible; do not encourage her to talk that much.” Turning to Pippa, she said, “You are free to decorate the room as you want along these three walls; do not go by the wall behind her bed. Okay, sweetie?”

“Sunrise, if you need anything just blink as fast as you can and your parents will come get me. Okay?” she said to Sunrise before exiting the room.

Sunrise blinked rapidly accompanying it with a faint smile. Pippa paid close attention to everything. As soon as Nurse Averline left, Pippa started to pull Sunrise's gifts out of the bags. In a flurry of chatter, she described each gift to Sunrise telling her who gave it to her and holding it up for her to see.

“Everyone misses you, Sunrise. See all the things you were given. I think this is your best birthday gift.” Pippa hugged a huge stuffed bear her father had been holding in his arms. “Where do you want it? Over there?” Pippa said pointing her finger as she followed the direction in which Sunrise's eyes went. “Okay, Daddy, we'll place it in that corner so it will be the first thing she sees when she wakes up in the mornings. How long will she be here, Daddy?”

“She'll be here for a while longer.” Kyle sighed, relieved that Pippa did not ask more about her sister's condition.

“That's the big bear we saw in that catalog we were looking through with Aunt Gianna; the one where you can sit in its lap and pull its arms around you in a big bear hug.

Remember: Hug-A-Lot Bear? No one's sat on her lap yet; we want you to be the first one,” Pippa said to her sister.

Pippa showed her sister her white laced satin Easter dress. “I'll hang it right here in the closet. Maybe you can wear it on the day you come home.”

Pippa placed Sunrise's Easter basket filled to the top with candy on her bed next to her. “Daddy helped me hunt for your candy. Here, you can suck on one.”

Kyle started to protest as Pippa unwrapped a fruit candy and held it toward Sunrise's lips. Patricia signaled for

him to let them be. The family watched as Pippa interacted with her sister.

“Doesn't it taste good?” Pippa said as Sunrise started to lick the candy. She patiently held the candy while the adults talked. “Want another one?” she asked reaching in the basket.

“Pippa, I think she's had enough,” Prentiss said. “We should check with Nurse Averline first to see how much she is allowed to eat. Why don't you get ready to help me put the birthday cards on the walls? You can tell us where to place each one.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Pippa said. “But first let me read each card to her.”

The rest of the family listened as Pippa read each card to her sister before giving it to their mother for her to put on the wall. Patricia beamed at how maturely her granddaughter was carrying herself. Thank You, Lord, for answering my prayers. I'm proud of the fine young lady she's turning out to be.

Prentiss smiled. Thank You, Lord, for Pippa’s encouraging spirit.

Gianna handed the cards to Pippa one by one. You're going to come through this tough time just fine if you continue like this, she thought.

I hope she's not setting herself up to be disappointed, Kyle thought.

Pippa's laughter interrupted his thoughts. “That was a funny card Tommy made.”

When Nurse Averline checked in on Sunrise, she stopped in her tracks. “Wow! You all have totally transformed this room into a true birthday girl's room. It's beautiful. How has she been doing?”

“Just great,” Prentiss answered.

The family visited for a while longer until Sunrise's eyes started to close as sleep took over her body. Pippa wanted to spend the night with her aunt Gianna who volunteered to stay the night with Sunrise, but her parents denied her that wish. “I'll save all of your candy for you,” she said as she hugged her sister good bye.

As soon as they got home, she immediately went to the refrigerator and started rearranging things on the top rack.

“Are you looking for something?” her mother asked.

“No. Just trying to make room for Sunrise's Easter basket for when she comes home.”

Chapter 11 That week was a stressful one for the family as they made the necessary adjustment to their schedule to accommodate their daughter's stay in the hospital. She underwent two more operations to straighten her vertebral column. The damaged bones would need some time to heal.

Kyle kept up his work schedule as though the accident had never happened.

Prentiss stuck to her regular forty-plus work hours in addition to making frequent visits to the hospital and spending many nights with her daughter. She was finding it increasingly impossible to do both. During the nearly two months Sunrise stayed in the hospital, the nurses trained Prentiss in the proper care of their daughter once she was released to return home.

“This is a full-time job,” Prentiss said to one of the nurses who was showing her how to remove the waste bag.

“Yes. You have to be dedicated to it,” the nurse agreed.

Prentiss was amazed at how well Pippa seemed to be taking her sister’s condition. “She acts almost as though nothing has happened,” Prentiss shared with her mother one

evening when she made a quick stop at her house to drop Pippa off for the weekend.

“Could it be that she has more faith in God?” Patricia replied.

Prentiss looked at her mother questioningly. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“Just what I said. Maybe Pippa is believing God to heal her sister,” Patricia said with a firmness in her voice.

“Mother, the doctors have already told us she will be paralyzed from her neck down, and not only that, but she will probably suffer some brain damage as well,” Prentiss said. “I mean, what's there to pray for when you already know what the diagnosis is.”

“Don't you believe God can still work miracles?”

Patricia asked.

“It's not that I don't believe God can still work miracles; it's just that I don’t want Pippa to get disappointed when a miracle doesn’t happen.”

“Faith is faith no matter who exercises it because it is the same God,” Patricia said. “Hold on a minute. I'll be right back.”

Her mother returned to the room flipping through the pages of her old worn out Bible—the Bible she'd owned since Prentiss was a little girl.

Oh, no, Prentiss groaned. I'm not in the mood for a Bible lesson.

“Remember when the mothers were bringing their little children to Jesus for Him to bless them and the disciples objected? What does it say in the Bible?” Not waiting for an answer, Patricia continued. “In Mark 19:14, Jesus said, 'Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.' Children are innocent and full of faith—not only faith in their parents, but also faith in God.” “Right, Mother. I got you.”

“You had strong faith when you were little, but you've allowed the humanistic mentality and the worldly beliefs of your friends to cause your faith to wane.”

“I still believe in God,” Prentiss hastily replied.

“Yes, the devil also believes in God and trembles. The question is: Do you believe enough in God to trust Him to perform miracles for you? Do you believe God can and will heal Sunrise?”

“Mother, I don't like the direction you are going with this,” Prentiss said.

“Why? Is it because my statement is true?” her mother said quietly. “I've been trying to talk you into going back to church regularly. And I know you haven't been praying as

you should, nor have you been reading your Bible as you should. I just hope you have not allowed yourself to turn away from your faith.”

“No, Mother. I still believe in God; if I didn't I would not be letting my daughters spend the weekends with you knowing that they will be in church on Sundays,” Prentiss said defensively. “I remember very well the day I asked Jesus to save me.”

“I'm glad you have not forgotten that day because sometimes we all need to look back on the day of our salvation to get encouragement,” her mother said with a smile. “Now God wants you to serve Him everyday and to exercise faith in Him.” “Okay, Mother,” Prentiss said rising from her seat. She reached for her car keys. “I’ve got to get going. I don't want Kyle to get worried.”

Patricia smiled. “Just one other thing. Don't discourage Pippa from the faith she's showing at this time.”

Chapter 12 One Saturday, Kyle and Pippa were on their way to the hospital. Prentiss had two in-house appointments and was unable to make it with them. Sunrise had been in the hospital for close to a month and it had not been easy on the family.

Tensions got high more often now between Kyle and Prentiss.

“Daddy, can we stop by the bookstore and pick up a new book so I can read to Sunrise?”

“Sure,” her father said.

After purchasing the book, Kyle asked his daughter, “What would you do if your sister never walks again? As you already know, that's what the doctors told us.”

“Oh, she's going to walk again,” Pippa said confidently.

“How do you know that?”

“God told me.”

Kyle almost stopped the car in the middle of the road.

“When did God tell you that?”

“When we were at the hospital on Easter.”

“Don't you think you may have imagined that? God does not audibly speak to people nowadays. Sometimes you can get to thinking something will happen and because you

want it to happen so badly, you imagine it happening and then you can't separate reality from something you perceive.”

“I know. But I did not imagine it,” Pippa said looking at her father. “I do think about the fun times we've had. And I do think about the plans we've made to do things together.

And I know she may never walk again, and I miss having her around. But I believe she is going to walk again – soon. That's why I'm still going on as though she was here. That's what I believe she would want me to do – ” “But – ” “Because when she gets better we can continue without any lost time because I kept things going,” Pippa said.

Kyle fell silent. She is setting herself up for a great disappointment. I can't let her do that to herself.

“Have you been talking with your grandmother about Sunrise?” Kyle did not want to brand his mother-in-law as a religious fanatic, but he felt she overdid her spiritual talk at times. He enjoyed the friendly Bible debates they sometimes had as he would try to convince her that it did not take 'all that' to serve God. “Yes, sir. We've been talking about Sunrise.”

“What about?”

“She tells me just to pray and trust God and to tell God what is really on my heart,” Pippa said.

“I see. Anything else?”

“She's been reading with me from the Bible all the times God healed someone. We started reading in Genesis and we're working our way through the entire Bible. Did you know that sometimes God caused people to get sick to get their attention or to get someone else's attention? That's what Granny told me.”

Now why would Patricia tell a ten year old that. It's almost as if she's trying to imply that God caused Sunrise's accident to get Pippa's attention. “Yes. I've heard that. You don't believe God is trying to get your sister's attention, do you?”

“No, sir. Sunrise loves God and she tries to obey you and Mommy.”

“Do you think God is trying to get your attention?”

“Maybe. Because I have not always been good.”

“Well, I don't think so, and I hope your grandmother did not tell you that because I think you're too young to have to go through that.”

“No, sir, she didn't. But she did tell me that God has a special place in His heart for children. Plus, I always hear her

saying God will not put on you more than you can bear,” Pippa said matter-of-factly.

When they turned into the visitor parking section of the hospital, Pippa asked, “What about you, Daddy? Do you think Sunrise is going to get better?”

“Let's just wait and see.”

Chapter 13 After staying in the hospital for about a month and a half, the doctors released Sunrise to go home. She had undergone extensive physical therapy and would continue to do so for the duration of her condition to strengthen her muscles and to keep them from atrophying from lack of use.

A speech therapist spent many hours helping her to restore her speech as the fall had affected the part of her brain that controlled the muscles around her vocal cords.

Pippa was excited for her sister to be coming back home. She helped Nurse Averline push the wheelchair all the way to the patient release center. Patricia, Gianna, and Prentiss helped make sure Sunrise had a comfortable ride home. Kyle was waiting for them when they got there.

“It's been awhile since I carried you in my arms,” he said to Sunrise as he scooped her up out of the back seat of his wife's car. He placed her on the sofa which had been transformed into a bed for her. Pippa covered her with a blanket. She sat next to her sister chattering away like a squirrel.

Kyle went outside to help his wife bring the wheelchair and other things into the house.

“Are you ready for the new changes?” he asked her.

“To be honest with you, I thought I would be ready, but now that she's here, I’m not so sure,” she replied.

When they returned to the living room, Pippa and Sunrise were laughing with each other. Pippa was holding a soft candy at her sister's lips. Sunrise was licking and sucking it. “We’ve got lots more where that came from. I may have to sneak some up to the room during the night, so –” “So Mommy will never know,” Prentiss said finishing her statement with a laugh.

“You were not supposed to hear that,” Pippa said as she noticed her parents stopping in the door.

The doorbell rang. It was the home nurse. She was scheduled to stop in three days out of the week over the next two weeks to help Prentiss in Sunrise's daily care as everyone settled into a new routine. Prentiss approached her first few days taking care of Sunrise with much trepidation. Gianna stopped by each evening on her way home from work.

Patricia spent the first week with Prentiss to help out as much as possible. Pippa was barrels of laughter as she helped bathe and feed her sister.

“This is fun!” Pippa said.

“No, it isn't,” Sunrise said poking her mouth out. “I like to feed and bathe myself. Plus, who wants to eat baby

food all the time. I can't even get candy by myself from the refrigerator. That was a dumb place to keep it.”

“It's not baby food. This is chicken and —” “It may as well be; it's all mushed up.”

“That's so you can digest it better and so you won't choke, because the muscles in your throat aren't strong enough to help you swallow. And if you do choke, then we would have to call the ambulance to take you to the hospital, and no telling how long you will be in there this time. I don't want you to have to go back there for a long time,” Pippa said.

Pippa was extremely happy when her mother picked up Sunrise's school work from the school. She took pride in helping to teach her sister. She was even happier when school let out for the summer. She showed her mother the schedule she and Sunrise had put together.

“We'll be spending our first two weeks at Granny's—” “No. That won't be happening. Sunrise requires twenty-four hour care; we cannot burden Granny with taking care of Sunrise,” her mother said. “It's not an easy task.”

“Well, Granny makes everything look easy,” Pippa said looking disappointed. “How about our one week at Disney World?”

“Nope. I'm afraid that's out as well.”

“Well, how about our trips to the library?”

“You can visit the library on the computer.”

“I guess going with you to your job is out of the question as well since you’ve been staying home with us since Sunrise's been home.”

“I'm afraid so,” her mother.

A despondent look crossed Pippa's face. “We can't do anything then, can we?”

“I wouldn't say that,” her mother replied.

“Well, it seems that way. You don't even want me pushing her around outside in the sunshine,” Pippa said rudely. After a few seconds of uneasy silence, Pippa blurted out, “Mommy, you’re ashamed to be seen with Sunrise.

Aren’t you?”

Chapter 14 Prentiss stared aghast at her daughter as she rushed out of the kitchen and into the living room where Sunrise was lying on a comforter on the floor propped up by several pillows. Pippa had set up a pretend picnic for them. She snatched up the drawing pad that was laying beside Sunrise and started to draw furiously.

Sunrise giggled as she watched her sister. “What are you so mad about?”

“I'm not mad,” Pippa said forcefully.

“You are too. I can tell by the way you rushed in here, and by how you are drawing. By the way, that's an ugly picture.” Sunrise giggled again. “You always tell me everything.”

“It's nothing,” Pippa said not wanting to make her sister sad. “I'll be right back.” She jumped up and went into the kitchen where her mother was fixing snacks for them.

“Can I call Granny?”

“Sure,” Prentiss said tersely.

“Granny, Mommy says we can't come spend our two weeks with you because of Sunrise. Can we still come...please?”

Prentiss reached over and took the phone from Pippa.

“Go in the living room with your sister.” She placed the receiver up to her ear. “Hello, Mother.”

“What's going on?” Patricia asked. “And tell me everything because you know I'll get the whole story out of Pippa.”

After Prentiss finished telling her mother about the conversation between her and her daughter, Patricia asked, “Well, are you ashamed to be seen with her?” Prentiss did not answer right away. “I can't hear you,” Patricia said.

Prentiss sighed. “It's not that I’m ashamed to be seen with her; it's just that it's so much of a hassle to push her around in a wheelchair. Then people stare at you with pity wanting to say something but afraid lest they say the wrong thing. Then, there’s the bathroom situation, and… Mother, it's just so stressful—” “And you're worn out already and don't know how much more you can take?” her mother said.

“Yes.” “And you're thinking of returning to work because you can't handle it anymore?”

“Well...um...” It never ceased to amaze Prentiss how her mother could read her like a book.

“The Bible says God will not put on us more than we can bear,” Patricia continued.

This is beginning to be more than I can bear, Prentiss thought. “It's easy for you to say. She requires twenty-four hour care. I spend all my sleeping hours wondering what will happen tomorrow. I wonder if she will make it through the night without incident.”

“The Bible does say to take no thought for tomorrow,” Patricia said, “because God already has tomorrow mapped out.”

“Yes, but God does not have to live my tomorrow; I have to live it with all its hardships and disappointments, and —” “Prentiss, you're speaking like an unbeliever. Don’t talk about God like that,” Patricia said. “But then again, you were more of a pessimist than your sister. This is no time for whining. You have to woman up, trust God, and handle your responsibilities. Trust God with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. God's ways are not our ways.”

Easy for you to say, Prentiss thought again.

“You need to get back to attending church regularly and get back on praying ground,” her mother said. “God has blessed you and Kyle more than you could have imagined, so you at least owe Him that.”

“Yes, Mother,” Prentiss said.

“The children can still come and spend their normal two weeks with me,” Patricia said in a softer tone. “I have missed having them over. Gianna will be here to help me. It will be a good, bonding experience for us. And some much needed time off for you.”

Prentiss shook her head. “I’ll let Pippa come spend the weekends.”

“And leave her sister behind for three days? No, that won't work,” her mother said. “She’s missed three Sundays of church in a row. I have no problem picking her up for church.

Why don't I pick her up this Sunday? In fact, why don't you all come this Sunday?”

“I'll think about it and see what Kyle says.”

“You do that, and don't let the stress get to you. Just pray, and I'll be praying for you,” Patricia said.

“Thanks, Mother. Goodbye.”

Chapter 15 After bringing the girls their snack, helping to feed Sunrise, and cleaning up, Prentiss set up the DVD player with a movie for them to watch. She went back into the kitchen to do some work on her laptop and to make a few phone calls.

After checking with Nurse Averline at the hospital she Googled “private home care nurses” and began weighing her options.

“Kyle,” she said to her husband later that evening once they were in bed, “this is getting to be too stressful for me. I can't handle taking care of Sunrise.”

“That's why you've hardly been going into the office, so that you can be here to give her the full-time care that she needs. You need to let the people at the office handle all the work. You take a complete break from it. They are quite capable of running things until you return.”

“If I ever return,” Prentiss said. “I really miss being out at the office.”

“That's why you have a computer. Anyway, right now, it's a matter of priority,” her husband said.

“It's not the same,” Prentiss said. “I don't think you're hearing me. I’m tired now more than ever. I don’t feel I’m

competent enough to take care of her. I had to clean up behind her so many times today. It is just too demanding and I am not up for the task.”

“You're her mother. Who else is going to be up for the task?” Kyle said.

“Look, Kyle. It's been almost a month now since she's been home, and if I haven't adjusted by now, then I'll never adjust. I'm about ready to break. I need some diversion or else I am going to lose my mind,” Prentiss said adamantly. “How do you feel now that she's home? You've never really shared that with me.”

Kyle shrugged.

“See, you can't even answer because you're not involved in her day to day care. You have not even held her since the day you brought her in from the car.”

Kyle took a deep breath. “I don't like this any more than you do. Okay?”

Rolling her eyes, Prentiss said, “I have two people from the Private Home Care Nurses Association coming in for an interview tomorrow. If I am pleased with them, I'll be hiring them to take over Sunrise's care. I'll be paying them out of my money, so you do not have to worry about that.”

“Oh, no, you're not,” Kyle said. “Besides you did not consult me about that and money is not the issue. I do not

want a stranger taking care of my daughter. I want you as her mother to take care of her.”

“The appointment is already set up,” Prentiss said.

“You're gone all day, and into the night sometimes. In fact, you've been gone more now than before—” “That's because not only have we bought more houses, but I've been overseeing your two offices as well. And since you brought it up, I'm looking into hiring one or two people to manage both your offices.”

“You can't do that,” Prentiss said. “I run those offices and have been doing so for the past eight years.”

“I have to do what I have to do so you can be here for the children, and especially for the next three months since they will be out of school for the summer,” her husband said.

“You don't have to worry about hiring anyone because I will be back in the office this Monday,” Prentiss retorted.

“No, you won't, because I do not want anyone else taking care of my daughters, so you can just tell those two people you'll be interviewing tomorrow that we will not be needing their services.”

Prentiss fumed as she folded her arms in front of her.

“I'm being real here. I cannot go on much longer; it's taking a toll on me. Why go through that when there are people out there—”

“Strangers—” “—who have been trained in taking care of children like Sunrise.”

“Maybe you ought to pray like your mother's been telling you,” Kyle said.

“You're one to talk about praying. Let's just go to sleep. My nerves can only take so much,” Prentiss said rolling over and pulling the sheet up over her shoulders.

Kyle stayed awake for some time—thinking. From the doctors' diagnosis, he knew there was no hope of his daughter recovering. I’m her father and I cannot bear to look at her every morning and every night crumpled up in a wheelchair —no matter how many colorful bows Pippa ties to it. I can't bear to see her laying on the sofa or on the floor unable to move—no matter how much she smiles. Kyle sighed. I have all the money I could ask for; I have health insurance; but no amount of money can get her back to normal.

Kyle looked across at his wife. She was looking increasingly worn out with each passing day. They hadn’t been intimate in what seemed like months. That I am not used to. Something has to give soon. Heaven knows I do not want to cheat on her.

Chapter 16 Prentiss rolled over with her back toward her husband.

I cannot handle being cooped up in the house 24/7 day after day. I need an outlet. I have to return to my job. I just have to. The thought of how well Pippa seemed to be adjusting left her feeling guilty. We all handle the stress of life differently, and I can't afford to have a nervous breakdown.

Prentiss thought of taking her mother up on her offer to either move in with them, or come in each day, or even to have the children spend the entire summer with her and Gianna. No, I can't put that on her. It wouldn't be fair. I just hope that one of these home nurses work out.

Waking up in the middle of the night, Prentiss went to check in on her daughters. She listened to their quiet breathing. Tears stung her eyes. I'm doing this for you, she whispered as she thought about Pippa's words: Mommy, are you ashamed to be seen with Sunrise? She pushed the question to the back of her mind as she left the room.

Prentiss hired the two live-in home nurses, Racquel and Candi, on the spot. They were to have the guest bedroom which was more like a suite attached to the other part of the house. It had its own private entrance leading from its own

single car garage. Kyle designed it himself. Racquel and Candi would alternate working on the weekends.

“I can't believe this! You did exactly what I told you not to do,” Kyle said when Prentiss told him that sisters, Racquel and Candi Perkins, would begin working on Monday.

Pippa and Sunrise were watching American Girl movies in the small den next to the kitchen when they heard their father's raised voice; they listened as their parents' voices echoed from the kitchen. Pippa held her sister's hand.

“I told you it is getting too stressful for me. The long hours and the lack of sleep is taking a toll on me physically and now emotionally. I am so tired I sometimes wonder whether I am even awake. There's—” “You're her mother. That means you have to sacrifice for your children even if it means losing sleep and feeling tired,” Kyle said.

“That's easy for you to say,” Prentiss retorted. “You don't have to bathe her limp body; you don't have to clean up behind her when she has an accident on herself; you don't have to spoon feed her like she’s a baby; you don't have to make sure her food is cut up so tiny she doesn’t choke; you don't have to wake up throughout the night more than once to

make sure she's still breathing; and all you can say is, 'you're her mother',” Prentiss said putting her hands on her hips.

Pippa placed her arm around Sunrise's shoulders and leaned her sister's head against hers.

“And where are you while I am running myself ragged? Out! Out there doing who knows what!”

“I'm out keeping the businesses going so we can have the money to take care of the hospital bills, and now to pay for the two home nurses you hired,” Kyle said raising his voice.

Pippa tightened her hug around her sister's shoulders.

“Our health insurance will take care of the bills,” Prentiss said in a lower tone.

“Only a percentage of it—sixty percent. Whatever the case, we're left with quite a bit to pay out of our own pocket,” Kyle said lowering his voice to match his wife's.

“As for the home nurses, I'll pay them out of my check. Remember I begin work on Monday,” Prentiss reminded him.

“You need to really reconsider this,” Kyle said. “You don't want the girls to think you are deserting them.”

Pippa shuddered at her father's words. Pippa adjusted the pillows around her sister. She turned up the volume on the

TV. “Don't worry. We'll talk to Granny later tonight,� she whispered to her sister.

Chapter 17 Dinnertime was quiet that night, as it had increasingly become since Sunrise's return from the hospital.

“I'll feed her,” Pippa offered reaching for her sister's spoon.

Prentiss, without hesitation, gave in. Kyle cut her a stare, which she ignored. Pippa laughed and played with her sister as she fed her.

“You must not be very hungry,” Pippa said as she tried to get Sunrise to take one more spoonful for the fourth time.

“You've only eaten half of what's on your plate.”

“Don't force her,” Kyle told her. “I bet she'd be ready for some ice cream.”

“Yes,” Sunrise said with a sheepish smile.

“Go ahead and fix two big bowls,” Kyle told Pippa.

Prentiss cleared the table while Pippa spooned the ice cream into the bowls. “Do you want some, Daddy?”

“I believe I will have some,” their father said. “And fix your mother a bowl also.”

Prentiss started to decline, but stopped when her husband said, “I'm sure she won't mind enjoying this with us since she'll be going back to work on Monday.”

Prentiss rolled her eyes at her husband as she began to remove the rest of the dinner dishes from the table. I feel guilty enough already. I don’t need for you to rub it in. The guilt rose a notch higher when her husband reached over to wipe away the saliva that was drooling from Sunrise's mouth.

He gave her a look that said, See, it's not so bad.

“I'll help you feed her,” he said to Pippa as she set her sister's bowl of ice cream before her. “So how do you like Racquel and Candi?” Kyle asked his daughters.

“They're nice,” Pippa said. “They're funny, too.”

“They're nice,” Sunrise said, her speech slightly slurred.

Prentiss finished her ice cream in about three minutes then excused herself to go clean the kitchen.

“Anything special you two want to do before you get ready for bed?” Kyle asked.

“Outside,” Sunrise said.

“Yes. We've been wanting to go outside and watch the sunset,” Pippa said. “We've been wanting to go, but—” “Well, then, outside you'll go to watch the sunset,” Kyle said guessing at what she was about to say.

Kyle set the girls up outside facing the sun. Fireflies were already flitting around. They could hear crickets in the

distance. The birds were twittering from their nests in the branches of the trees surrounding their house.

“Here you go,” Kyle said handing his cell phone to Pippa after snapping a few pictures of them. “Take as many pictures as you like. I'm going back inside to make a few phone calls.”

Prentiss watched from the spare bedroom window which faced the front lawn. The room should have been Pippa's room, but right now the sisters shared one. Prentiss cast aside the negative feelings that were creeping up inside of her. Kyle's just doing all that to make me feel guilty.

Chapter 18 A few hours after their parents had retired for the night, Pippa nudged her sister. Even though they had their own beds, Pippa sometimes slept with her sister.

“Sunrise, wake up. I'm going to get the phone so we can call Granny.”

Pippa crept quietly along the short hallway leading into the living room to the desk where her father charged his cellphone at night. After retrieving the phone, she returned to their bedroom and crawled back under the covers next to her sister. She dialed her grandmother's number.

“Is something the matter?” Patricia asked anxiously.

“It's three in the morning. Where's your mother?”

“Everything's fine,” Pippa said quietly. “Sunrise and I just wanted to talk with you. We miss coming over.”

“I miss having you over, too,” Patricia said. “Tell you what: I'll stop by on tomorrow. How about that?”

“That will be great, Granny,” Pippa said.

“Now why did you really call me?” Patricia said when Pippa got back on the phone.

Pippa shared with her grandmother the conversation she overheard between her parents. “I don't think Mommy really wants to stay here with us. I don't think she can handle

Sunrise not being able to move around. Daddy spends more time at the business, but he says he has to keep working to pay the hospital bills. Mommy is going back to work on Monday and two nurses are supposed to be coming in to take care of Sunrise.”

“How do you feel about someone else taking care of Sunrise and I guess you also?” Patricia asked.

“I wish you or Aunt Gianna would take care of us.

Mommy is saying it's beginning to be too much for her. That's why they were arguing because Mommy hired the nurses without asking Daddy. If I can handle Sunrise, how come Mommy and Daddy can’t handle it?”

Patricia listened as her grand-daughter voiced all that was on her heart. She sensed the hurt and how she was trying to be strong for Sunrise's sake so as not to add further stress to the family.

“Have you been praying every day like I told you to?”

Patricia asked her.

“Yes, ma'am. I pray with Sunrise and we've been reading the Bible every day. Can we come to church with you this Sunday? We miss going.”

“I'll come and get you. And don't worry about your mother. I'll talk to her,” Patricia said. “I'm going to pray with you now, and then I want you to go back to sleep. Promise?”

“Okay. I promise. We'll go right back to sleep. Sunrise is already asleep.”

After praying, they both said goodnight. “I love you,” Pippa said.

“I love you too, Pumpkin. I guess you don't want me to tell your Mommy you called, right?” Patricia said with a chuckle.

Pippa giggled. “Um, right.”

Patricia stopped by her daughter's house around ten the next day.

“I stopped by to take my grand-daughters out for a brunch,” she told Prentiss when she answered the door.

“Hi, Mother,” Prentiss said. “I wish I could let them go, but Sunrise has to be at the hospital in about an hour for therapy. I called for the hospital van to come and pick her up.

They should be here in about an hour.”

“Goodness. I forgot she goes in for therapy today. I thought you drove her down there in your car,” Patricia said.

Prentiss sighed. “I started out doing that, but it became too much for me.”

“You could have called me to help you with her,” her mother said. “And every time you talk about Sunrise all I hear is 'me, me, me'. What about 'her, her, her'?”

Prentiss sighed. “I'm talking about the whole process.

I'm already worn out today and I haven't even given her her bath yet.”

“Do you know what you need to do?” Patricia said.

“You need to pray. I've been telling you this for years now: pray when it seems like things are getting out of hand. But you won't listen; you think you can handle it.”

Prentiss closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Mother, we'll talk later. Right now, I need to get her bathed and ready.”

Patricia threw her hands up in the air. “Some things you're just going to have to learn the hard way.”

Chapter 19 Sunrise's therapy sessions went well. Dr. Brumfield had a short meeting with them afterwards.

“Lucille, the speech therapist, tells me there's a slight slurring when Sunrise speaks. You may not have noticed it. If you have about fifteen minutes, I'd like to go ahead and examine her vocal cords. Stop by the receptionist’s desk to make an appointment with Dr. Weiss so he can carry out further tests to see what else we can find out.”

Prentiss was surprised.

“What does that mean?” Pippa asked on their drive to a restaurant.

“It means she won't be able to talk after a while,” her mother quickly said. “Mother, I knew it. She's not going to get any better, so we are wasting our time hoping for her to recover.”

“Yes, she is!” Pippa said. “I've been praying for Jesus to heal her just like He healed the lame man and the blind man and many others. Granny, tell her Jesus is going to heal Sunrise!”

“Pippa, you keep your faith whether He heals her or not,” Patricia quietly said throwing a glance at Prentiss.

Prentiss rolled her eyes.

“See, Mommy. I told you. Granny knows Jesus is going to heal her,” Pippa said. “Maybe you just don't have faith, Mommy.”

“I have faith,” Sunrise said sleepily. “I'll be running after you real soon.”

“But no climbing the trees,” Pippa said to her.

“I'll listen to you next time,” Sunrise replied.

Pippa smiled. “We'll pray for Mommy to have faith like we do.”

The rest of the drive to the restaurant was quiet. As they pulled up into a parking space, Prentiss voiced what had been on her mind. “Mother, are you sure you want to do this?

It's going to be a hassle just getting her into her wheelchair.”

“Nothing's a hassle for my granddaughters,” Patricia replied as she pushed her car door open. “Come on. Help me get the wheelchair out of the trunk. You'll see. It's only as bad as you make it.”

Pippa smiled at Sunrise. “I told you Granny will make things happen. We'll call her every time we want to go somewhere.”

Sunrise smiled.

As they pulled the wheelchair out of the trunk, Patricia said to her daughter, “Make this fun for the girls. They deserve it; especially Pippa. She told me they've been cooped

up in the house and that you won't even take them outside in the yard. Give them a sense of normalcy as much as you can even if it means you are uncomfortable sometimes.”

The mealtime was pleasant for all except for Prentiss.

She kept glancing around hoping no one was staring at them.

Patricia sensed the relief in Prentiss’ spirit when they were in the car and on their way home.

“You ought to be ashamed of yourself,” Patricia said after Prentiss had put both girls down for a nap. “Pippa is acting more like an adult than you are. Stop worrying about what other people think when they see Sunrise in a wheelchair. There's no one to blame for the accident.”

“She should have never climbed that tree especially after her sister warned her. Kyle and I have told them more than once not to climb the trees, and even you have told them not to, especially when we are not out there with them. She chose not to listen and now look at her,” Prentiss said. “It's taking a toll on the family. Kyle and I have become like two ships passing in the night. So that’s why I—” “Decided to hire two home nurses so you can return to work,” Patricia said finishing her statement.

“How did you know all that?”

“Never mind that. Don't you think you're doing your children a disservice by returning to work, full-time I assume? They need you more now than ever.”

“I need a break. I need a diversion,” Prentiss said stubbornly.

“I believe if you get back to serving God like you used to then you will handle things much better than you are doing now,” Patricia said. “You will at least have a different heart about things. Jesus tells us to cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us. Just trust Him and He'll remove the stress and anxiety that you feel, and as I told Pippa, ask God what He would have you to learn during this time.”

Chapter 20 Prentiss was dressed and ready for work when Racquel and Candi Perkins from the Home Care Center arrived on Monday morning. Prentiss gave them a second tour of the house before saying goodbye.

“Here are my office numbers and my cell number should you need to call me for any reason. You ladies make yourself comfortable. You'll meet my husband later this evening. He had to leave a bit early this morning.”

As soon as Prentiss left, Pippa gave her grandmother a call.

“I wish she didn't have to go back to work,” Pippa said.

“Just pray for her and your Dad,” Patricia said. “And promise me you'll be good for Racquel and Candi. … Okay.

I'll stop by later today.”

Prentiss had not mentioned anything else to Kyle about Racquel and Candi commencing work on Monday, so he was quite surprised when he returned home early on Monday to find them in the kitchen cooking.

“I don't think my wife hired you to cook,” he said jovially as he introduced himself to them. He spent the rest of

the evening in the company of his two daughters after giving Racquel and Candi permission to leave.

Although Prentiss seemed more relaxed when she returned home, she still sensed tension between her and Kyle while they were eating. The next evening, he confronted her.

“You could have at least reminded me they were starting today. I came home to find strangers in the kitchen.”

“Sorry,” Prentiss said.

“Not that they weren’t good-looking strangers, but still,” Kyle said.

Prentiss shook her head. “Trust me, I’m doing this for us.”

“No. You're doing it for you,” Kyle said. “How is it going to look with me being in the house alone with two attractive women? I won't even be able to come home during lunch break. And to think they will be here on the weekends also. What are you going to do then?”

“You know the nature of the real estate business.

Sometimes you're on call, especially on the weekends,” Prentiss said.

“Why don't you try making yourself available exclusively for your daughters on the weekends?” Kyle said.

“I'm available in the mornings and throughout the night and they are free to call me throughout the day if they need to.”

“Just like you were available on the day of the accident,” Kyle said.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“I told you to keep a watchful eye on the children whenever they are playing in their grandmother's back yard.

But, no, you were too busy in the kitchen—leaving the children to themselves. What if she had fallen into the pond?

She would have drowned. Then what would you have to say?”

“Newsflash, she can swim,” Prentiss said getting irritated. “Are you blaming me for her accident?”

“Well, who else is to be blamed? If you were watching them more carefully, that would not have happened. You should have had them in the kitchen helping you,” Kyle said.

“How could you say such a thing?” Prentiss said almost shouting.

“Thanks to you, we have company, so lower your voice,” Kyle said.

“Company or no company, I can’t believe you’re trying to blame me for Sunrise being paralyzed,” Prentiss said.

“How could I not blame you? You should have had the girls in the kitchen with you.”

“So this explains why you've been avoiding me. Well, if you don't mind,” Prentiss said yanking the covers over her, “I have to get some needed sleep. Good night.”

Chapter 21 A few days later, Pippa called her grandmother again.

“Granny, do you think I'm to be blamed for Sunrise falling out of the tree? I did tell her not to climb it.”

“No. Don't you ever blame yourself. You had nothing to do with it. You did your part and that was all you could do,” Patricia said. “Accidents do happen and only God knows the reason why. Not a bird falls from the sky without the Father knowing, so be encouraged. God knows about your sister's accident, and He also knows why. You just continue to pray and love your sister.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Pippa said. “Granny, can you come over so we can continue our Bible study on the people Jesus healed?”

“Sure. I'll be over shortly.”

Prentiss was so consumed with her job that she did not notice the increasing slur of her daughter's speech until Racquel brought it to her attention on one of Sunrise's therapy days.

“Dr. Brumfield wants you and your husband to come in around ten tomorrow for a meeting with him and Lucille, the speech therapist,” Racquel said.

Dr. Brumfield informed them that Sunrise's vocal muscles were going flaccid in spite of the therapy. “Besides her speech problems, her brain cells are still severely damaged and are on the verge of shutting down. I'm afraid there's not much we can do,” he said. “We just have to keep a more watchful eye on her and hope for the best.”

“I appreciate your words of encouragement, Dr. Brumfield,” Kyle said. “But if her condition is deteriorating, please just let us know how much more time you think we have with her.”

“I don't claim to be a Christian, but only God knows the time of a person's death. I never try to play God, but I do my part in trying to help people, especially children, live as long as possible,” Dr. Brumfield said.

Kyle and Prentiss rode home in silence each thinking the same thing. Should we tell Pippa? Should we tell Sunrise?

“Mother, how can I pull Pippa out of dreamland? Her sister is slowly dying. I can't let her keep believing her sister's going to get better when – ” “Don't shatter her faith,” Patricia said sharply. “If her sister is to die, God will honor her faith in Him and prepare

her for her sister's death. Right now, she's being strong for her sister. You and Kyle seem to be buckling under the pressure.”

“We're doing more than buckling, we are falling apart,” Prentiss said. She told her mother of the increasing tension she felt between her and her husband. “On top of that he's blaming me for Sunrise's condition.”

“All I know is,” her mother said, “you two need to get over yourselves because right now, it is not about either of you; it’s about Sunrise. And,” Patricia added, “before you condemn me, think about what I am about to say.”

I hope this is not another Bible lecture, Prentiss thought.

“Kyle may be staying away because of the two beautiful nurses you have living with you.”

“Mother, how could you think something like that?”

Prentiss asked surprised.

“Those are two temptations he does not need at this time. Even if you keep both of them, you need to leave the job and go back home. I know you can work from the house.

Neither of you need that at this time. Those girls need you two to stick together more than ever now.”

Chapter 22 Prentiss came home one evening to find some of Kyle's clothes missing.

“Mother, he's left!” Prentiss said after calling her mother.

“He's here,” Patricia said calmly. “He's protecting himself, your marriage, and the family. I told him he could stay here as long as he needed to.”

“Did he say anything about a permanent separation?”

Prentiss asked nervously.

“No. But if you don't wise up...” Patricia left her statement hanging.

Pippa was gravitating more and more to Racquel and Candi. Prentiss felt left out as her daughter excitedly told her the fun things they did each day.

Turn to God in prayer. Her mother's often repeated words resounded in her head.

One night, things took a turn for the worst when Racquel went to check in on Sunrise. Sunrise was barely breathing. Racquel immediately called Prentiss and Candi and then called 9-1-1. Candi remained with Pippa while Racquel rode with Prentiss to the hospital. After performing a

tracheotomy to get oxygen flowing into her lungs, the doctors made the decision to place her on life support as she was declared to be in a coma by the time they got her to the hospital.

When Kyle, Patricia, and Gianna turned up at the hospital, Prentiss was in tears. Seeing her husband, she desired more than ever for him to embrace her and comfort her. But he made no move to do so.

Things happened rapidly after that. Kyle moved back home but not until after Racquel and Candi's services were terminated. This, however, did not relieve the tension between them.

“Granny, is Sunrise going to be able to come home for Thanksgiving and Christmas?” Pippa asked her grandmother.

“She may not be well enough to come home by then, but we can decorate her room like we did for her birthday,” Patricia said.

Pippa busied herself making turkey wreaths, a cornucopia, and other Thanksgiving decorations to place in her sister's room at the hospital. At Gianna's suggestion, Pippa came to stay with her and Patricia until her parents

ironed out their differences. “She does not need to be around that spirit during the holidays,” Gianna told Prentiss.

Although physically under the same roof, Kyle and Prentiss were hundreds of miles apart emotionally. Work became their way of escape rather than facing the reality of their relationship and the reality of their daughter's condition.

“Why are we even staying together?” Kyle said one evening. “We haven't had much of anything to say to each other for quite a while now. And you're acting like you have the whole world on your shoulders.”

“Stop blaming me!” Prentiss said. “You're still blaming me for Sunrise's condition. How can you even believe such a thing let alone fix your mouth to say it?”

“You should have been more watchful instead of being oblivious to what the girls were doing,” Kyle said.

“So what do you want? A divorce? Because I do not have to take this, and I should not have to take this,” Prentiss said rushing off to their bedroom and slamming the door behind her. She threw herself on the bed and burst out in tears. Turn back to God, she heard her mother saying.

Kyle stormed out the back door, jumped in his car, and drove off to nowhere in particular. He hit the highway and drove and drove.

Chug. Chug. “Oh, no,” he groaned looking at the gas needle. “I can't believe I'm out of gas! Ten o'clock at night.

Man!” He slapped his hand on the steering wheel as he pulled off the highway figuring out the distance to the closest exit.

“What do you know?” he said as he looked in the trunk of his car. “I did not put the gas container back in the last time I cleaned out the car.” He leaned against the hood of the car figuring out what next to do.

No, I can't call her, he concluded as the thought came to his mind to call his wife. And I won't disturb my mother-inlaw either.

Chapter 23 On his walk to the next exit, the last image of his daughter laying unconscious in the hospital crossed his mind.

He thought about Pippa showing great maturity and acting beyond her years, showing greater faith than either he or his wife. He thought about his mother-in-law whose mainstay was prayer. He thought about Gianna and how much of a help she had been in helping out with Pippa. He thought about himself and how he had not spent enough time with his daughters during this difficult time and had instead spent more time at the office.

No. I did not always need to be at the office. I just was not willing to face the responsibility of taking care of my sick daughter. He thought about a conversation he had had with his mother-in-law: “If God chooses not to heal her, so be it.

God will bring you through it, and you'll be in a better frame of mind to accept her death. Whatever the case, don't crush Pippa's hope and trust in God. She loves her sister dearly, so please don't shatter her faith.�

Kyle looked up into the sky at the half moon and the few stars twinkling. God, are you really there? Are you paying attention to what's going on with my family?

A white van pulled up and stopped a few yards before him. The driver stepped out of the vehicle. “Hey, do you need a ride?” he asked.

Kyle peered at the man cautiously. The man was dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt with a black knitted vest and black slacks. He wore black loafers and looked to be in his mid-forties. “I wouldn't mind a lift to the closest gas station and back,” Kyle finally said.

“Hop in. I'm headed that way,” the man said.

Kyle got in, grateful for the ride as the weather was getting colder now that fall had set in.

“I'm headed to my brother's for Thanksgiving. Jake Baxter is my name,” Jake said extending his hand.

“Kyle. Kyle Giamatti. Pleased to meet you and thanks for the ride. I ran out of gas.”

As the men talked, Kyle found out Jake was in business with his brother, William Baxter, who was also a lawyer. Jake was also involved in mission work. “Wherever the Lord leads me, that's where I serve Him,” Jake said.

“There's nothing like working for the Lord.”

As they approached the exit, Kyle's phone rang. He checked to see who the caller might be and was about to place the phone back in his pocket when Jake said, “Go ahead and answer. It may be important.”

“It's my ten-year-old. I was going to return her call once we got done,” Kyle said pressing the 'answer' button.

“Hello, sweetie, is everything alright?… Okay. I didn’t know she was going to take you to the hospital… Tell Granny I'll give her a call later. I'm with someone right now… Bye, sweetie, I love you.”

“I don't mean to pry, but do you have someone in the hospital?” Jake asked after Kyle hung up Kyle sighed. “Yes. My other daughter, Sunrise. She fell out of a tree around Easter and she's gotten worse.” Kyle told Jake the full story. “The stress of it all has placed my marriage on shaky ground.”

“I'm sorry to hear that,” Jake said as he pulled into a gas station. “Forgive me for asking, but you're not thinking of divorce, are you?”

“It's hanging in the air. Look, I'm sorry to dump my problems on you. You just have that kind of spirit that makes it easy to talk.”

“Think nothing of it. Sometimes sharing our problems does wonders,” Jake said. “I'll pay for the gas. Consider it my good deed for the day.”

“I'm not going to decline that offer. My mother-in-law always tells me never to stand in the way of someone’s help,” Kyle said.

As they drove back to Kyle's car, Jake offered up a prayer for Sunrise's recovery. “I believe God is able.”

“But what if He does not heal her?”

“Just knowing He is able to heal her is comforting enough. Whenever I am in a tough situation, I always ask God what He would have me to learn from it,” Jake said.

“I never looked at it that way,” Kyle said. “I'm ashamed to say this, but my ten-year-old mentioned something like that to me.”

Before the men parted ways, Jake reached into his briefcase and took out a business card which he handed to Kyle. “This is a good friend of mine—Grayson Bryant. He's a family counselor. Give him a call before you and your wife make a rash decision. And I'll be praying for you because I believe prayer changes things.”

Kyle read the words on the business card. “Prayer changes things.” That's interesting, he thought. Since Sunrise's accident, I've been hearing about prayer and praying more times than I can count.

Chapter 24 Prentiss left early the next morning to go to the office.

Even though it was the week of Thanksgiving, which she normally took off, she decided to go in to do something to keep her mind occupied. During the lunch hour, she took a walk in the park to think things over and to clear her mind.

Halfway around the track, a young lady stepped in pace with her.

“Mind if I join you?” The woman introduced herself as Abigail Dawkins. Abigail's bobbed black hair bounced around her neck as they walked together. “There's nothing like a brisk walk in the fresh fall air,” Abigail said in a British accent. “Are you ready for Thanksgiving?”

“Yes and no,” Prentiss answered wondering where she had heard that accent before. She dismissed the thought concluding that it was probably one of her former customers.

“That's an interesting answer,” Abigail said. “There must be an interesting reason.”

Prentiss' eyes got watery as she thought about the many reasons. She took a quick glance at Abigail. Her brown face, flushed from the cool air, held compassionate eyes. She looked familiar, but Prentiss could not tell where she had seen her before. Prentiss liked her instantly. As they continued

walking around the track a second time, Prentiss shared with her all that was on her heart. Soon, she stopped by one of the park benches to catch her breath. “I didn't mean to dump my family mess on you. It's just that I don’t know what to do.”

“Think nothing of it,” Abigail said laying a hand on Prentiss' arm. “Sometimes a listening ear is all we need. And something else I also learned to do when I don't know what to do is to pray.”

“It's weird, but I've been constantly reminded of prayer since Sunrise's accident.”

“Well, have you tried it yet?” Abigail asked.

Prentiss shook her head.

“Don't get offended at this question, but are you a Christian?” Abigail asked.

Prentiss took a deep breath. “I did ask Jesus to save me when I was nine years old. But I must confess, I have not been living for Him since after I got married. I just kind of strayed away. I stopped praying, stopped going to church, stopped reading the Bible.”

“I know. If we're not careful it is easy to let other things take God's place in our lives,” Abigail said. “God wants the best for you, and He loves you. Let me pray with you.”

Prentiss walked Abigail to her car where Abigail gave her a business card. “This is a dear friend of mine—Valencia Bryant. She's a family counselor. Why don't you give her a call before you and your husband make a decision about your marriage that you will regret later. Okay?”

“I will,” Prentiss said.

Prentiss got a little teary eyed as Abigail gave her a hug. “Is it okay if I paid your daughter a visit in the hospital?

I would like to meet her and pray over her,” Abigail said.

The Giamatti family spent Thanksgiving at Patricia's house. It was not the same without Sunrise, but the thought of stopping by the hospital later, helped them to make it through the dinner. While Pippa gathered up her Thanksgiving gifts for Sunrise, Kyle watched some of the football game, and the ladies cleaned up.

“You know, Prentiss, you and Kyle really ought to have a serious talk and iron out your differences. The tension between you two is so thick a stranger could sense it without knowing what's going on,” Gianna said. “Pippa has been hanging in there real strong. You and Kyle owe it to her to stay together and make the marriage work. What if Sunrise was to die? Which of you could she turn to?”

Prentiss listened grimly. She knew her sister was right.

“I've been praying for you,” Gianna said giving her sister a hug. “I want your family to stay together.”

The short ride to the hospital was a quiet one. As soon as they arrived in the room, Pippa and Gianna set about the business of decorating the room. Pippa sat on the bed next to her sister. Even though Sunrise was in a coma, Pippa told her all the things she had done throughout the day. She then pulled out her new Thanksgiving book and read to her sister.

“The nurse says even though she may not be able to speak or move around, she's pretty sure Sunrise can still hear and understand us,” Pippa had told her parents one day when she was reading to Sunrise.

Prentiss and Kyle both looked at each other as they observed their two daughters. An important decision loomed over them and would be fully discussed in their scheduled meeting with Dr. Brumfield and Dr. Weiss.

Chapter 25 Prentiss thought Monday came around too fast. She and Kyle met with the doctors in Dr. Brumfield's office.

“Mr. and Mrs. Giamatti, we don't want you to rush in making your decision,” Dr. Brumfield said. “But there's nothing more we can do for your daughter. We know there are religious and other ethical issues you may want to consider. But we need to know whether or not you want to take her off the life support machine.”

Prentiss looked across at Kyle.

“You don't have to give us an answer now. Think it through; keep in mind finances; consider whether or not your decision will add more stress on the family; involve other family members in the decision. In the end, remember you have to live with whatever decision you make,” Dr. Brumfield said.

Kyle and Prentiss walked out of the hospital in silence, both thinking the same thing: Pippa. She would have to play an important part in this decision.

“I really don't want to talk about it now,” Kyle said as they stopped by Prentiss’ car. “I have a meeting with Mr. Francesca. He's interested in joining up with our company.

Then tomorrow thru Thursday, I'll be at a three-day seminar

at the Civic Center. The colleges will be recruiting students for their winter semester business classes. You're welcome to join me.”

“Sure,” Prentiss said. “I’ll join you.”

When Prentiss returned home on Tuesday evening, for the first time in a long time, she realized how uncomfortably quiet it was. She missed the sound of the television. She missed Pippa's non-stop chattering. She missed Sunrise's melodious laughter. She missed the little mischievous things they got into at times. She even missed their arguing. She missed seeing them propped up together on the sofa, Pippa supporting her sister's head against her own. She missed seeing popcorn, peanuts, and raisins scattered all over the carpet. She missed seeing the spills on the kitchen table.

Prentiss climbed into bed and hugged her husband's pillow. She had spent many lonely nights since the accident.

“I miss you,” she whispered as if her husband was laying next to her.

As she thought about her daughter laying in the hospital, tears sprang into her eyes. Why, Lord? Why her?

Sunrise has been nothing but sunshine in our lives since her birth. We could not have chosen a more appropriate name for

her. Now, we're about to lose her forever. Lord, don't You care?

Prentiss thought about the card Abigail Dawkins had given her. She pulled it out of her bedside table drawer where she had placed it. The card read: “Valencia Bryant / Family, Marriage Counselor / BA, MA, Ph.D. / Prayer Changes Things.” Prentiss made a mental note to set up an appointment to see her.

Prentiss spent the rest of the week at her mother's house. Christmas was three weeks away. What will our first Christmas without Sunrise be like? she wondered. Patricia was already putting together Christmas shoe boxes to give away to the children at the children's home. It was another of the traditions she had carried on as long as Prentiss could remember. Even though she had moved out, she still helped to pack, wrap, and deliver the boxes. Pippa was busy drawing and coloring pictures and cards to place in the boxes.

“I hate it that Sunrise won't be able to come with us this year,” Pippa said with a sigh. “God's sure taking a long time to heal her.”

Prentiss opened her mouth to answer, but her mother's raised finger silenced her.

“Mother,” Prentiss said later after they had put Pippa to bed, “I haven't said anything to you all yet, but the doctors want us to consider whether or not to remove Sunrise from life support. Kyle and I had a meeting with them on Monday.

I do not know what to do. Kyle said he did not want to talk about it yet.”

Patricia and Gianna looked at Prentiss in disbelief.

Prentiss shuddered at the thought of her or her husband being the one to send their little Sunshine off into eternity. “I just do not know what to do,” she repeated.

“You can always pray,” her mother said.

“That's easy for you to say,” Prentiss said. “And even if I did pray, the answer would still be unclear. I need a certain yes or no.”

Gianna gave her sister a hug. “God will show you what to do if you truly seek His will,” she said.

“But why us, Mother?” Prentiss asked with a distraught look on her face.

“Why not you?” Patricia replied. “The Bible says God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways.”

“My baby girl is in a coma. There is a widening rift between me and my husband. I am confused and I don’t know what to do.” Prentiss threw up her hands.

Gianna calmly replied, “God is trying to get your attention.”

“What?” Prentiss said. “My attention? I have not forgotten God, so why would He try to get my attention?”

“No. You have not forgotten Him, but He does not have all of you,” Gianna said. “He probably brought about Sunrise's accident to get yours and Kyle's attention.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning what I have been trying to tell you about,” her mother said. “For some years now I've been speaking to both you and Kyle about putting God first rather than the real estate business. You both have slacked off in church attendance, which says to me that you're not praying and neither are you reading and applying the Word of God. You're not even doing the basics for a Christian.”

Prentiss looked from her mother to her sister. She wanted to deny her mother's words, but she knew in all honesty she couldn't.

“God wants all of you; not just some of you,” her mother said. “You think about that.”

Prentiss nodded thoughtfully.

“Another concern I have which will greatly influence my decision and I'm sure Kyle's as well,” Prentiss said after some time had elapsed without anyone saying anything. “And

that is Pippa. She's been so much stronger than I have been throughout this whole time. Even though Sunrise's health has turned out for the worst she has not faltered in her joy.”

“Pippa's that way because she has complete faith in God. She's believing God to heal her sister,” Patricia said.

“But what if God does not heal Sunrise? Wouldn't her faith be shattered?” Prentiss asked.

“Quite the contrary. Her faith will be stronger,” Patricia said, “and that will be because she walked with God the whole way.”

Prentiss went to bed that night thinking about their conversation. “Dear God, help me to learn what You want me to learn,” she prayed. “Help me to just have faith in You—the same faith that Pippa has.”

Her sleep that night was more restful than it had been in a long time.

Chapter 26 December came quickly. Pippa insisted on buying gifts for Sunrise to take to her on Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve, they went to the hospital and replaced the Thanksgiving cards Pippa had left with Christmas cards and ornaments. A small tree stood in one corner. At the very top was a glass angel with its wings spread out.

Two stockings hung from the wall in front of the bed.

“That's so Sunrise can see them as soon as she opens her eyes,” Pippa told her parents.

“But what if she doesn't open her eyes again?” Kyle asked.

“Then we'll let them stay there until God wants her to open them,” Pippa said.

“Pippa, do you really believe Sunrise will open her eyes or talk again?” Kyle asked.

“Yes, I do. Do you?”

Kyle hugged his daughter. Dear God, he prayed, don't set her up to disappoint her. Please. I'm begging You. On Christmas Day, the family stopped by the hospital on their way home from church services. When they entered

Sunrise's room the young lady with the bobbed black hair was standing next to the bed.

“Abigail, it's so good to see you again,” Prentiss said.

“I just came by to pray over her as I told you I would,” Abigail said. “She's beautiful. And this must be Pippa.”

After introductions were made, Abigail fellowshipped with the family for about an hour. With Pippa leading the way, they opened up and presented Sunrise with her Christmas gifts.

Abigail was touched. Just lovely, she thought.

“You have a beautiful family,” she said to Prentiss who had walked with her into the hallway when Abigail said goodbye. “Have you talked with the family counselor yet?”

“Not yet,” Prentiss said. “I'm going to definitely make an appointment to see her after the holidays. We have an important decision to make -- whether or not to take her off of life support.”

“I'll pray for God's will to be done,” Abigail said. “Just remember that God loves you and He wants the best for you.”

With Christmas behind them, Kyle and Prentiss moved on into the New Year with some anxiety. Neither wanted to face the looming situation in front them.

“We have time to decide what to do,” Kyle said each time Prentiss brought it up. “I'm sure the doctors will give us as much time as we need.”

“But the longer we wait, the more difficult it will be for us,” Prentiss said. “Why don't you come to church with us on Sunday? You'll begin to see things clearer.”

“We'll see,” Kyle said.

Prentiss had made her New Year's resolution to begin going to church more faithfully. She had started praying and reading her Bible more—privately, as well as with Pippa. She was more receptive whenever she spoke with her mother as far as religious things went.

“Mother, I don't understand what's going on,” Prentiss confided in her mother one evening after about two months of staying faithful to her New Year's resolution. “I'm going to church every Sunday and even to mid-week Bible study, I'm praying more now, I'm reading the Bible more and I'm seeking God's guidance. I was thinking that all of this would help Kyle and me draw closer, but things have gotten worse between us.”

Patricia gave her an understanding smile. “When you make the decision to serve God no matter what, things are going to seemingly get worse before they get better. That is

because the devil is trying to discourage you. And God is allowing it to see if you are serious about serving Him. Just keep on being faithful and God will reward you. Kyle will come around.�

Chapter 27 Prentiss completely forgot about setting up an appointment with Valencia Bryant until she ran across the card in her office drawer one day. Well, God, this must be You reminding me to go see her, Prentiss thought as she dialed Valencia's number.

“How does this Tuesday at nine sound?” Valencia suggested.

“Perfect,” Prentiss said.

“Will your husband be coming with you?” Valencia asked.

“No, not at the moment,” Prentiss said. “But don't be surprised if he does.”

Later that evening, Prentiss had a serious talk with her husband. Knocking on the guest bedroom door where Kyle had been sleeping lately, she entered without waiting for his response.

“Kyle, we have to talk and I'm not leaving until I say all I have to say.”

Kyle kept his eyes on the computer screen.

“We have to do something about this marriage because I refuse to go on like this. Either we're going to get a divorce or we're going to pull together for Pippa's sake and make it

work. I'm going in to see a marriage counselor on Tuesday.

Why don't you come with me?”

She got no answer.

“Kyle, did you hear me? I know you're still blaming me for Sunrise's accident, but I can't let that bother me anymore. We have another daughter to raise and I can't let your unforgiveness and bitterness stand in the way. I'm again asking you to forgive me, and please pull together with me.”

Kyle's only response was to click the mouse.

“Another thing, if you don't let me know something soon, I'm going to make a decision as to whether or not to have the hospital remove Sunrise off the life support machine.”

Kyle's hand froze on the mouse. “I told you I did not want to talk about that yet, so stop bringing it up,” he said.

Prentiss stepped toward his desk to face him. He seemed to have aged about ten years. “Look at me, Kyle. We have to face reality. We cannot shy away from making a decision. We have to be mature here; we have to face the music. We have to accept reality and that reality is, Sunrise is never going to come back to us again the way she was. Pippa has been acting more mature than either of us. She has faced up to the reality of the accident but has gone on as though nothing happened. She's enjoying whatever days she has left

with her sister. I'm afraid that if we have to bury Sunrise, Pippa will handle it better than we will. I don't know about you, but I have made up my mind to do the same. I really wish you would as well.”

Prentiss walked out the room, checked in on Pippa, then settled down for a peaceful night of sleep.

Prentiss pulled up into a parking space in front of Valencia Bryant's office ten minutes till nine on Tuesday morning. There were four other offices in the small complex.

As she locked her car door she happened to glance toward the far end of the parking lot. Is that Kyle's car? I wonder...No. It wouldn't be him. He's gone to work. Plus, I never gave him Valencia's number or address. Wishful thinking, she thought as she entered the building. After signing in she was directed to another waiting room.

After waiting a few minutes, a quiet spoken, small framed young woman in her late thirties opened a door off to the right. “Prentiss Giamatti,” she said with an inviting smile.

The young woman, Valencia herself, led Prentiss down a short hallway and into her office—nothing fancy, but comfortable and homely.

“I asked my husband to sit in on our initial meeting,” Valencia said. “Let me call him in.” Valencia pressed the

button on her telephone's intercom and called for her husband.

Within a few seconds, the office door opened to reveal a pleasant-faced man. Prentiss almost fell off the chair after he entered the room. Her husband was directly behind him.

They looked at each other, surprise written all over their faces. They looked at the Bryants who were both smiling.

“Shall we get down to business?” Grayson Bryant said clearing his throat.

“Just a minute,” Kyle said. “How? … What's going on? How did you find out about this place?” he asked his wife.

“How did you find out about this place?” Prentiss asked him.

Prentiss shared her story of meeting Valencia and Kyles shared his story of meeting Greyson.

“My wife and I work together,” Grayson said. “But, I believe this is all God's doing, so we take no credit for it.”

The meeting took several hours but was well worth the time. “We'll pray with you about your daughter. God is able to raise her up, but if He chooses not to, He'll give you the grace to handle it,” Valencia said to them before the meeting ended.

Chapter 28 Pippa was excited as it drew closer to another Easter.

Patricia and Gianna kept up their tradition and had one hundred and ten Easter baskets stuffed and ready to take to the children's home.

“If it's going to be too painful for you, you don't have to help us this year. We'll understand,” Patricia told Prentiss when they met together to make plans.

“Thanks. But if Pippa can push through it, so can I. Just pray a little harder for Kyle and me.”

On Friday night, Kyle and Prentiss lay in bed each rehearsing in their minds the tragedy that struck the family last Easter. It seemed they were faced with another tragedy this year. Prentiss hugged her husband a bit tighter; she felt his body quiver.

“Prentiss, I want you and Pippa to stay home tomorrow. Let your mother and sister take care of the baskets this year.”

“I'm sorry, Kyle, but I have to go. We have to face our fears; that's the only way we can really live our lives.”

“I don't want Pippa to have to relive that day,” Kyle said.

“Pippa or us?” Prentiss asked. “We haven’t walked among the orange trees since the accident. I don't want to go.

But I have to force myself even if it kills me to revisit the scene.” Prentiss tried to hold back the tears but was unsuccessful.

Her husband turned over and placed his arm around her. “Forgive me for blaming you for this. I just hope Pippa is not denying the whole thing ever happened and then gets in a state of shock when reality hits home. Let's not forget Greyson and Valencia want to talk with her as well.”

“Well, I can tell you, she's already accepted it. Mother told me she took Pippa out to the very place Sunrise fell and she cried, and blamed herself, but she's accepted it and has turned it over to God. Mother says you and I need a child-like faith like hers.”

The next morning, Kyle had an appointment with a customer. He would join Prentiss and Pippa at his mother-inlaw's house later in the day. As Prentiss and Pippa drove over to Patricia’s house, Prentiss felt glad that she had decided to go. Pippa's chattering and laughter kept her mind occupied.

Once they arrived, they immediately went to work baking cookies and making taffy to add to the store-bought bags of candy and miniature stuffed animals they planned to

stuff each basket with. With enthusiasm, Pippa drew and colored Easter cards to add to the baskets.

Around four when Kyle arrived with a family meal from the restaurant, they sat down to eat.

“I wish Sunrise was here,” Pippa said. “Don't you, Mommy?”

Prentiss nodded. “Yes. I wish she was here too.”

“If nothing happens, we’ll visit her later,” Kyle said.

“I got her the last lavender basket they had at the store.

She told me she wanted a lavender one this year,” Pippa said.

“And I also got her the baby bear that goes with the big HugA-Lot bear we bought her last year. I'm so glad she was able to sit on its lap.”

Tears sprang in Prentiss' eyes. To think she remembered after almost a year, she thought trying to steady her trembling lips.

Kyle sniffled. Thank You, Lord, for a strong daughter.

Help me to be strong for her going forward.

Patricia wiped her eyes. She's brought a lot of smiles to our faces.

Gianna blew her nose. “Why don't we all take a walk out back in the orchard? Sunrise loved to run among the trees.”

“Yes,” Pippa said scrambling off her seat. She took each of her parents' hands and walked out the kitchen door between them. Her grandmother and aunt followed closely behind.

When they got to the spot that had changed their lives, Pippa stopped. She looked up into the tree, a look of concentration coming across her face, her eyes slowly dropped to the ground.

Prentiss opened her eyes wide in fear. Her grip on her daughter's hand tightened as her own body stiffened. Sunrise's crumpled form flashed across her mind.

Kyle remembered the phone call. He hugged his wife and daughter tighter.

Prentiss burst into tears. Her shoulders shook violently.

Kyle, not bothering to wipe the tears that had begun to slide down his own cheeks, hugged them even tighter. Patricia placed an arm around Gianna's shoulders as each remembered the tragedy that had happened a year before.

“Mommy,” Pippa said, “God's going to heal her. You watch and see. Granny says sometimes God allows things to get worse until we learn what He wants us to learn.”

“Yes, sweetie, that's true,” Prentiss whispered. She looked up at her husband. Oh, Pippa, if you only knew what's ahead.

“Mommy, can we still have her birthday party on tomorrow? It's not too late to call up her friends and invite them.”

“We'll see,” Prentiss said.

“There's something we have to tell you,” her father said somberly.

“What your father wants to tell you is that you can spend the entire night tonight at the hospital with Sunrise,” Patricia said quickly. “And guess what? Because you've carried yourself in such a mature way, we have decided to let you stay there all night by yourself.”

Pippa could hardly contain herself as she threw her arms around her father. “Thank you, Daddy. Thank you so much.”

“Well, uh… yeah. You’re welcome, Pippa,” Kyle stammered.

“We'll have the nurse to bring in a little cot for you to sleep on,” Gianna said. “Let's hurry inside and I'll help you pack your overnight bag. We'll even pack Sunrise's lavender blanket so you can cover her with it tonight.”

“Oh, yes. This is going to be a fun night,” Pippa said taking her aunt's hand and skipping alongside her into the house.

Allowing some distance between them, Patricia said to Kyle, “I'm sorry, but I can't let you crush her joy like that.”

Kyle shrugged. “Mother, we're supposed to meet with Dr. Brumfield tomorrow morning at seven and give him an answer,” he said. “Pippa was not supposed to spend the night.

Please don't make this any harder on us.”

“I don't know what you're going to do, but Pippa will be spending the night in the same room with her sister,” Patricia said. She walked toward the house. “Come on. I'll need your help delivering seventy-five of these baskets to the Children's Home right now. I've decided to deliver them this evening rather than wait until tomorrow. They've taken in more children this past year.”

Chapter 29 The family had a pleasant visit with Sunrise. Where the Christmas cards had hung, they replaced them with Easter cards and birthday cards. Pippa placed a large stuffed bunny in the corner where Hug-A-Lot Bear once sat. She placed Sunrise's lavender basket on its lap.

Pippa was excited because Nurse Averline would be keeping an eye on them throughout the night. Nurse Averline rolled a small hideaway chair into the room. “Just the right size for big sister,” she said as she unfolded it and spread the sheets over it. “There you go -- a fluffy pillow and a blanket to match. I'll be your nurse for the night. If you need anything just press this button right here,” she said.

Lord, I hope we're doing the right thing, Prentiss thought.

“This is going to be fun,” Pippa said.

Kyle hugged her extra tight. He forced himself not to think about the hours ahead of him. “Here's my cell phone.

Call me if you need anything.”

Patricia and Gianna gave her a hug. “We love you so much. We'll be by around ten to pick you up for church.

Sunrise would not want you to miss Easter services on her birthday.”

Gianna cut all the lights off except for the dim one over the entrance.

Pippa stayed up for another hour talking to her sister, sharing her plans for the upcoming year. After about three hours of sleep, she awakened with a start. Still groggy, she made out the form of someone standing on the other side of her sister's bed.

“Is Sunrise alright? Are you the nurse?”

“Yes. She's alright.”

Pippa faintly saw the nurse spread her arms over Sunrise and whisper something. The nurse then looked over at Pippa and said, “Good night, Pippa. May God bless you.”

Then she left.

Chapter 30 When Pippa awoke the next morning, Sunrise’s eyes were open. She was smiling. “Wake up, sleepy head,” she said.

“Happy birthday, Sunrise!” Pippa bounced out of her bed and stood by her sister's bed. “I knew you'd awaken, sleeping beauty. I just knew it. Scoot over! Wait, let me call Daddy first.”

Sunrise scooted over on the bed.

Pippa's eyes opened wide. “Sunrise, you just moved by yourself!” She let out a joyful scream.

“Why is that so strange?” Sunrise asked.

Pippa shouted with joy as she climbed in the bed beside her sister. For a minute, she forgot all about calling her father as they chattered—her telling her sister all about their plans for that day. Nurse Averline hurried into the room to see what the commotion was all about.

“She's awake!” Pippa said. “She's awake!” she said to her father over the phone as she hugged her sister.

“Mr. Giamatti, I think you and your wife should come to the hospital right away,” Nurse Averline told Kyle over the phone.

“Let's eat some candy before Daddy and Mommy get here,” Pippa said hopping out of the bed to get her sister's Easter basket.

Kyle, Prentiss, Patricia, and Gianna watched as Dr. Brumfield thoroughly examined Sunrise. “A clean bill of health,” he said placing his stethoscope around his neck.

“Averline, turn off that machine and let's get this young lady out of here so she can join her sister on their Easter egg hunt.

A miracle has truly taken place. ” Although running a little late, the family joined the rest of the Cross of Calvary Bible Church for a true Resurrection Sunday service. After the service, they held a small birthday party for Sunrise at her grandmother’s house.

“Granny, I learned that if you keep on praying and believing for God to do something, God will do it. Thank you for teaching me to have faith in God,” Pippa said before their bedtime.

After the girls were asleep the adults stayed up and talked into the early morning.

“Patricia,” Kyle said, “you kept telling me not to get bitter but to simply ask myself what I can learn from this

tragedy. Well, I learned that I should never give up hope because God is still in the miracle working business.”

“I learned that God does not want a part of you; He wants all of you,” Prentiss said. “We can't claim to be Christians and put our jobs, ourselves, and other things before Him. There are things within us that are hindering us from conforming to His image and He will help us get rid of those things through whatever means He sees fit.”

“I learned that there is strength and power in a child's prayers,” Gianna said.

“Praise the Lord,” Patricia said. “I learned that you have to remain strong in your faith because you never know who will lean on you during their times of trial.”

THE END