Free Coma Girl: part 1 by Stephanie Bond Page A

hospitals combined.”
    “Makes sense,” my dad said.
    “My captain pulled a few strings and I got to talk to one of the top neuroscientists at Walter Reed, Dr. Al Oscar.” Alex laughed. “Believe it or not, he’d heard of Coma Girl. My sister is famous.”
    “Is he going to help her?” my mom asked.
    “He said he’d be happy to talk to Marigold’s doctor about some new treatments for TBI.”
    “What kind of treatments?”
    “I wrote it down. He calls them ‘multifunctional’ drugs—they’re a combination of hormones, statins, antibiotics, and heat shock proteins, among other things.”
    “And this Dr. Oscar thinks it will help Marigold wake up?” my mom asked.
    “No guarantees,” Alex said. “But he’s willing to talk to the doctors there about his ideas.”
    “Repeat that,” my mom said. “I’m writing it all down.”
    Alex, ever patient, did. It was so sweet of him to be thinking of me and doing things for me half a world away.
    “I’ll give this to Marigold’s doctor before I leave today,” my mom said. “Thank you, Alex.”
    “Wish I could do more. How’s Sid?”
    “She’s a trooper, taking care of all the of media stuff and still working on a project for school.”
    “Sounds like Sid.”
    “When are you coming home?”
    “Soon, I hope. Gotta get back to work. Talk to you soon. Bye, Marigold!”
    They disconnected the call and I could hear my parents breathing into the silence, as if they were sitting, staring. Staring at me? Staring at each other? I could sense their mental and physical fatigue.
    “I want to go home,” my mom said.
    “Okay,” my dad said. “We’ll call the doctor tomorrow.”
    When the door closed, I was despondent. I wanted to go home, too. Maybe Alex’s Army doctor would be able to help me.
    But what I really needed was a mind-reader.
     
     
     
     

July 28, Thursday
     
    “WE’LL KEEP this visit just between us,” my Aunt Winnie said. “Your mother doesn’t have to know.”
    My lips were sealed.
    “Marigold, I brought someone with me. Do you remember my friend Faridee?”
    The psychic who told me I was going to win the lottery! Six years ago. It hadn’t happened yet, but I’d played every day up until the accident. Darn—wouldn’t it be a bummer to get out and find my numbers had come up while I’d been lying here?
    No wonder Winnie didn’t want Mom to know she was here—my mother thought psychics were bullshit and evil. I told her they couldn’t be both, but that had not gone over well.
    “Hello, Miss Marigold,” Faridee said in a smooth, smoky voice. She smelled like incense. “Your Aunt Winnie thought you and I might have a chat.”
    I was so excited! I could tell Faridee what I wanted my family to know!
    “As long as it’s a short chat,” my aunt said. “We have to get back to Savannah tonight. And if your mother finds us here, I’m toast.”
    “Let’s get to it, then,” Faridee suggested. “I’m going to apply some special oils to your hands, Marigold. There now, doesn’t that feel good?”
    The scents of sandalwood and sage permeated the air. I couldn’t feel her hands, but while she was holding mine, I try to squeeze. Apparently, though, nothing happened.
    “I’m going to simply hold your hands for a while, Marigold, until I feel our minds connect. You’ll feel it, too, and when you do, know that everything you think will be apparent to me.”
    I didn’t know what to do, so I just let my mind float, and tried to be ready to experience the mind connection she’d described. A minute passed, then another.
    “There!” she exclaimed.
    I’d felt nothing, sensed nothing… but I was open to going along for the ride.
    Tell them I’m in here… that I can hear things… and smell things… tell them I’m in here… that I can hear things… and smell things…
    “Marigold has a message,” Faridee said.
    “What is it?” my aunt asked in a hushed voice.
    “She wants you to know… that she visited the spirit