There are only a handful of people walking or sitting in the pool in Madelyn’s dream. They all have regular shadows, which means they’re all dreams.
I look around and there are no people with movies in their shadows, like the shadows of Justin and Charlie.
“There!” Justin points out. “Swimming in the pool! The tall woman!”
In the middle of the pool, a woman is swimming. She has brownish skin and underneath her swim cap I can clearly see yellowish hair. And Justin is right, she does seem to be built tall. I can see that every time she comes out for air.
Her swimming is intense and so is the look in her eyes.
“Kids, let’s go meet her,” Justin says.
He takes Joy by the hand, and Charlie grabs his other hand. Justin looks down at it, but doesn’t react. They walk towards where Madelyn is headed. Master Mind hangs back. I had already taken a step to follow Justin and the kids, and I wonder if I should stay with Master Mind because five’s a crowd. Or do I go with them?
While I’m looking from them to Master Mind and back again, Justin and the kids have advanced to stand at the edge of the pool where Madelyn will soon find herself.
I decide to go with them, but to stay a few steps behind.
Madelyn reaches the edge and grabs it with one arm. She is muscular. Clearly, she works out a lot.
Justin leans down. “Hi,” he says, slightly embarrassed. “Madelyn, je m’appelle Justin. Remember me?”
She looks up at him. “Uh, what?” she says with a thick French accent.
“Remember a month ago I was looking for my daughter? Une petite fille? Here she is. See? She’s okay!”
“Ah, yes, yes,” she says. “You are the daughter?”
Joy nods.
Justin looks around. Clearly, he doesn’t know what to say. “You know, uh… We thought we’d come here because… Uh…”
“We’re neighbors,” Charlie says. “We live right next door.”
Madelyn nods. “Nice to meet you. I am Madelyn.”
“Charlie.”
“I’m Joy. Do you have any villains we can catch for you?”
Madelyn crinkles her eyes. “Quoi?” Her English is not that good to understand a sentence that crazy while swimming in a pool.
Madelyn motions, “Move back.”
All three take a step back.
With great strength, she pulls herself up with both hands. And I try not to gasp when I see her sit on the edge of the pool.
Both her legs are missing. From right underneath the pelvis, she has just a few centimeters of each leg, and then they kind of close off.
She looks up at Justin. “Good to meet you, neighbors. Maybe I will see you again.”
She then starts moving forward towards one of the chairs. She moves by leaning forward, grabbing the floor, and raising herself with her arms so that her body evens itself in the air by having moved forward.
As she walks this way towards one of the chairs, I can’t help thinking how slow it is to walk like that, how hard it is, and especially how strong she is.
Charlie and Justin are kind of frozen in place. But not Joy.
As Madelyn reaches her chair and takes a towel from it to dry herself off, Joy calls out, “My dad can give you legs!”
“No no!” Justin immediately shouts. “Joy!” he whispers to her, “don’t stay stuff like that!”
“But you can!”
“Joy!”
“Little girl,” Madelyn calls out. “Come here.”
Joy looks at Justin, giving him a look of ‘I told you so’ and walks towards Madelyn. Charlie is a step behind her.
(To be continued... )
—Told by Grampa Walt