Amelia shook her head.
‘Why don’t you and I go and stretch our legs for a minute?’ Tom suggested, holding out a wrinkled hand to Mum. I shot him a grateful look, glad he understood that she needed a few moments to pull herself together. I watched them walk slowly towards the water’s edge, Mum’s head resting on the old fisherman’s shoulder. They paused and he pulled her into his arms and even from this distance I could tell they were both crying.
‘Do you want to hear something strange?’ Amelia asked, her voice now a painful-sounding rasp. ‘I don’t think I was ever meant to leave this beach. I don’t think those doctors were meant to bring me back that night.’
‘Don’t say that,’ I cried.
‘I think it upset the way things were meant to play out. And that’s why I came back so…confused.’
I said nothing, knowing her ‘confusion’ had been a symptom of the FAD, but perhaps Amelia had forgotten she had that. If so, I was glad. Not every memory deserves to be retained; sometimes it’s better to set the bad ones free.
‘But if my heart hadn’t stopped for so long, then I don’t think I’d have “seen” the future for you and Nick when they brought me back. And bringing the two of you together will always be the best thing I’ve ever done.’
My eyes travelled down the beach towards the spot near the water’s edge where I’d first seen Nick. I didn’t need to look up to know he was doing the same thing. If Amelia needed to believe she’d somehow ‘foreseen’ our future, I wasn’t going to dispute it. Not today.
‘I’m glad I got to see everything come true, although I’m sorry I’m going to miss the rest of it. I’d have loved to have met my nieces.’
I flashed Nick a worried glance. Was she growing delirious? He gave a small helpless shrug.
‘Do you think I’ll get to see Dad?’ Her thoughts were becoming untethered, jumping from one topic to another.
‘I hope so,’ I said, leaning across to kiss her cheek gently. ‘Be sure to say hi from me.’
She nodded slowly, as though taking down a message she might easily forget.
‘I’m getting really tired now, Lexi. It’s so hard to keep holding on.’
Something inside me felt like it was tearing, ripping the connection between us apart.
‘It’s okay to let go now, Mimi, if you want to. Don’t worry about Mum, I’ll make sure she’s okay. You can trust me.’
‘I always have,’ she said on a sigh that seemed to go on and on. Her gaze went to Mum and Tom, who were still some distance away.
‘Can you get my mum, Nick?’ she asked, her voice starting to tremble.
A feeling of terror swept through me. This couldn’t be it. It couldn’t. Out of the millions of conversations we’d had, I wasn’t ready for this to be our last.
Mum and I remained beside Amelia as her breathing grew shallower and shallower. And then she gasped, as though breaking through from an unfathomable depth of water.
‘Sam!’ she cried, her voice full of panic. ‘Sam, where are you?’
Mum moaned softly in distress as Amelia’s eyes flew open; they were glazed.
‘Where have you gone, Sam? I can’t see you.’
I felt the touch of Nick’s hand on my shoulder and looked up into his eyes. There was a question in them, and I answered it with a small nod.
He stepped out from behind my chair. ‘I’m here, Mimi. I’m right here.’
Amelia sighed and switched her unfocused gaze to his face. I slipped out of my chair to let him take my place beside her.
‘Is it really you?’ she whispered, bringing her trembling fingers to his cheek.
‘It is.’ His voice was gentle.
Very slowly, Amelia smiled. ‘I’ve been waiting for you for so long.’
‘I know. I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner, but I’m here now,’ Nick said. ‘I won’t leave you again.’