Free Coma Girl: part 1 by Stephanie Bond Page B

world.”
    “Oh, my,” my aunt said.
    What the freak?
    “And she was taken in by a great androgynous spirit and given the secrets of traveling between the two worlds.”
    “I knew she’d been somewhere special!”
    Aunt Winnie, I was upstairs in the ICU unit.
    “Her dilemma, she says, is whether to go back to that magical place, or come back here to the people she loves, that’s why she’s in the coma.”
    “Oh, of course, that makes perfect sense,” my aunt said in awe.
    Mom was right—this was total bullshit.
    “Is there anything we can do to help her come back?” my aunt asked.
    “I’ll ask her,” Faridee said.
    I was mentally whistling.
    “Here it comes… Marigold said if you want to help her come back… ”
    “Yes?” my aunt asked, breathless.
    “You should buy one of my scroll amulets to help pull her spirit back through the tunnel.”
    Oh, my God—really? That was the best she could come up with? My aunt would never fall for that.
    “How much are they?”
    “Two hundred fifty, so precious.”
    “I’ll take two and sneak one to my sister as a gift—she’ll never know and that way we can both pull at Marigold’s spirit.”
    The only thing being pulled here was my aunt’s chain. What a crock.
    From the rustling and clinking sounds, I assumed my aunt was trading cold hard cash for cold hard trash. While Winnie exclaimed over the powerful amulet—she could feel it warming in her hand—I heard Faridee’s sandals slap on her feet as she walked.
    “What is it, Faridee?”
    “One of these other women is calling to me.”
    Oh, brother.
    “Which one?”
    “I don’t know yet. Hello… hello… talk to me. Hi, Karen.”
    Don’t get excited—I’m sure she read the name on Karen Suh’s wristband.
    “You’re lonely? For as long as you’ve been in here, I’m sure you are. But don’t despair—he’ll be here tomorrow.”
    An act for my aunt’s sake. I was so angry Faridee would use helpless ill people to make a quick buck.
    “Goodbye, dear,” my aunt whispered in my ear. “I’ll wear the amulet all the time.”
    I hope it didn’t turn her neck green.
    The women started to leave, but at the door, I heard Faridee’s feet falter. “Marigold, something’s coming to me.”
    Fraud charges?
    “I’m supposed to tell you your message will be delivered.”
    Let me guess—by a winged creature from the spirit world? Right. May the force be with you, Crazypants.
     
     

July 29, Friday
     
    WHEN DR. TYSON came in, I was sure she was going to announce she’d been in touch with the neuroscientist at Walter Reed and I’d been approved to receive the concoction of drugs my brother Alex had mentioned.
    Instead, it appeared to be a routine check of my vital signs, probably for insurance purposes. I was weighed (how is possible that I’m in a coma and I gained a pound?) and inspected for bed sores—delightful. My nails were clipped, my head bandage was changed, and I got a head to toe rub down with moist wipes. To complete the day spa treatment, I was dressed in a clean hospital gown.
    All dressed up and nowhere to go.
    “Everyone is rooting for her,” a nurse said.
    “Excuse me?” Dr. Tyson said.
    “She’s famous, Coma Girl. People all over the world are praying for her. That has to count for something.”
    “Let’s hope so,” Dr. Tyson said.
    “There’s nothing more to be done for her medically?”
    “No. A colleague at another facility told me about a drug cocktail that’s shown promise, but it’s incredibly expensive and it’s experimental. The insurance company refused to pay for it.”
    “Can you file an appeal?”
    “I did… but the insurance company is already looking at enormous losses on this patient—they will never approve it.”
    “Won’t she get a lot of money from that professional football player who caused the accident?”
    “That’s none of our business,” Dr. Tyson said. “We can only deal with the present financial situation. Besides, even if the