Free Broken Dreams (The Chronicles of Mara Lantern, Book 5) by D.W. Moneypenny Page A

said.
    Sam eyes narrowed as he thought about the whole concept. “So people in this realm can’t die? Wait! They can die if they think something has killed them. Is that right?”
    “It’s true that a traumatic event in this realm can cause a sudden death, and we think the shock of that causes death in their physical body. However, most people here die when their bodies die in the physical realm first.”
    “What? They up and die one day?” Sam asked.
    “That’s how it happens no matter what realm you live in. Right?” He pointed to the tiny red house with the silver tin roof they approached on the path. “There’s the Jonesboros’ place. Let’s keep the discussion of death and maiming to a minimum in front of the patient. Okay?”
     

CHAPTER 12
     
     
    A pale, haggard woman—who could have been anywhere between twenty-five and forty years old—met them at the front door as Sam and his father stepped onto the tiny covered porch, more accurately described as a stoop. The small house, qualifying as a cottage if it were cuter, was well-maintained. Sam wondered, in a world born of people’s thoughts, why this family decided not to think bigger. He supposed, like in other realms, imagination and desire shaped the people who lived here.
    Whatever makes them happy.
    He hung back a step and watched Dr. Lantern shift his medical bag to his left hand and hold out his right to the woman. “Hi, Alice. How are you holding up?”
    “Oh, I’m fine. It’s Mom that needs your help.” She held the door open and waved them into a neat living room with a maroon sofa and an overstuffed leather chair to the side. A large round throw rug reminded Sam of the one in his mother’s living room and covered the wood floor here.
    Setting down his small black case, Dr. Lantern took a seat on the couch and indicated that Sam should join him. “Your message said your mother was sick, but you didn’t say what was wrong. How is she doing?”
    Alice took the leather chair and said, “She’s asleep right now, but she’s been a wreck since she got back from town this morning.” Her gaze swept over Sam, and her eyes narrowed with curiosity, but she didn’t ask about him.
    “Oh, I’m sorry. This is my son, Sam,” Dr. Lantern said.
    Sam’s face reddened. He smiled and nodded.
    “I didn’t know you had a son,” she said.
    “Neither did I until this morning,” he said. He waved a hand at her raised eyebrows and added, “Let’s just say it’s been an eventful day. A story for another time when we don’t have your mother to worry about. Tell me what’s happening with her.”
    Alice took a deep breath, as if gathering her strength, and said, “Today’s grocery shopping day, so she got up early and headed into town as usual. She had heard about the dirigible crash yesterday, and, like everyone, she was nervous about encountering one of those chasms that have been popping up everywhere. Boy, I hope your daughter makes it back before the whole world comes apart.”
    “Actually Mara is back, and the chasms have stopped appearing,” Dr. Lantern said.
    “Oh, that’s wonderful. Mom will be thrilled once she’s better.”
    “Now, about your mother …”
    “Right. She got her shopping done and was loading up the wagon when Mrs. Clancy happened by, so they stopped for a little gossip, I’m sure. Anyway, while they stood there outside the grocery store, one of those holes opened in the air about thirty feet above them. It spooked them and the horse. Then, out of nowhere, a swarm—this dark cloud—tried to fly into the chasm, but it closed too fast.”
    “A swarm? A swarm of what?” the doctor asked.
    “Mrs. Clancy told Mom that she thought it was a swarm of mosquitoes.”
    With a perfect poker face that impressed Sam, his father said, “I see. What happened next?”
    “The swarm swirled above them for a time, and then it attacked them. It flew down and surrounded them, got in their eyes and ears. Mom said she could feel