Radiant - By Christina Daley Page 0,74

It reminded her of when she and Phos talked on the roof of Carter's house. She began memorizing parts of the passage when she heard singing. It came from the hallway and was getting closer.

A knock came to her door.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Housekeeping," a voice said on the other side.

That was odd, Mary thought. Housekeeping usually came in the morning. Maybe the nurse from earlier saw all the empty food containers that Gita had brought dinner in. The room did look a bit like a pigsty.

"Come in," Mary said.

The door opened, and a man in a janitorial uniform stepped inside. He had a ponytail and red wristbands.

"Hi there," he said as he pushed his cart in. "Sorry to bother you, but I'll only be a minute."

Mary stared at him. "You're from the university! Josh, right?"

He smiled as he began tidying the room. "That's right. I work around the university a lot, but I pick up a couple shifts here. Remind me what your name is again."

"I'm Mary," she said.

"Right. The artsy one looking for the Astronomy department," he said.

She smiled and nodded.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

Her smile faded. "It's kind of a long story."

Josh glanced at the clock on the wall. "Well, I'm due for a break right about now. Wouldn't mind to hear it if you wouldn't mind to tell it."

Mary thought for a moment. She was a little glad for the company, so she began telling him about the night the store was robbed and she was shot.

"Wow," Josh said when she had finished. "That's nuts."

"Yeah. I guess it is." She shrugged. "Anyway, here I am now. And that's Michelangelo."

Josh chuckled and patted the wheelchair. "Nice. A fitting designation for a chariot of his stature."

Mary sighed.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It must be tough."

She nodded.

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Then, he said, "Well, I'm probably going to irritate you greatly by saying this, but I've always believed in the power of positive thinking."

She wrinkled her brow.

"I'm serious!" he said. "I've seen people do some crazy cool things when they really put their minds to it. Do you want to walk again?"

Mary's brow wrinkled even more.

"That was a rhetorical question," Josh chuckled. "Do you, Mary, want to walk again on your own two feet?"

"Of course," she said. "Why wouldn't I?"

"If you want it bad enough, and you believe it without a shadow of a doubt, then you'll walk again," he said.

Mary sighed. "You're one of those glass-half-full people."

"Guilty," he laughed.

"But I can't walk," she said. "It's impossible."

"Only because you think it is," he said. "What is anything in this world? The most popular products, the biggest companies, whole nations, and even the whole universe all began with a single thought."

She stared at him. "You also don't talk like a janitor."

He chuckled and took her hand. His hands were strong and rough. A worker's hands. "Come on, just humor me for a second," he said. "Say, 'I can walk.' And really mean it."

Mary rolled her eyes. But she said, "I can walk."

"For real?" Josh huffed. "That was weak. I mean really mean it. Again. 'I can walk!'"

Mary laughed. "I can walk!"

"Again!" he said. "But this time, with feeling. Can you walk, Mary? Can you?"

"Yes!" she shouted. "I CAN WALK!"

***

Mary's eyes shot open.

Mom got up from the recliner. "Mary? Why'd you yell? Are you hurting?"

Mary looked around. "Where is he?"

"Who?" Mom asked. "You mean Carter?"

"No, Josh," Mary said. "He was here just now."

"I've been here for the last half hour," Mom said. "No one named Josh has come by this morning."

"Morning?" Mary looked out the window. For the first time in weeks, she saw soft sunrays streaming through it. "But he was cleaning the room."

"Housekeeping came and left a few minutes ago. It was a woman," Mom said. "You might have been dreaming."

Mary opened the drawer by her bed and saw her sketchbook inside. But there was no Bible. "But…it felt so real," she mumbled.

Mom touched her face. "It's all right. Do you want to sit up and eat? Carter should be back with some breakfast soon."

"He's here?" Mary asked.

Mom nodded as she took Mary's arms and pulled her up. "Today's Saturday, so he got here just as I was getting off work and—" Mom stopped. "Mary? Did you just move your leg?"

Mary wrinkled her brow. "What?"

"Just now," Mom said. "When you were sitting up, I thought I saw you lift it a little."

Mary looked down. It had been ages since she had tried to move any part