“Right now, I am lying at home, in my bed,” Amahle says. “My mother is there. And my friend, Sandile. They don’t let me do much because I was just released from the hospital. They’re very worried.” 

“Tell them you don’t need them,” Joy says. 

“What happened?” Charlie asks. “Why were you in the hospital?”

“Well, I, uh, died.”

“You died?!” This is Charlie’s voice.

“For a couple of minutes, yes.” 

“I hate when that happens,” Joy says. “An angel of death killed me for a couple of minutes, too! That was terrible!” 

“Joy,” Charlie says softly. “Let’s hear what Amahle says.” 

“Okay.” 

“Why did you die, Amahle?” 

“A heart attack.” 

“A heart attack?! You sound too young for that,” Charlie says. 

“I’m 29,” she says. “That is too young for a heart attack. Thankfully the doctors really helped and the ambulance got there in time. But… My body must have been too weak, and my mother’s worried that it will happen again. But, I think, it’s also the dream I had.” 

“What dream?” Charlie asks. 

“I dreamed about a man looking for his daughter. He couldn’t understand that I was blind. He was saying she hung out with a robot and a huge bird man.” 

I hear Justin begin to moan softly next to me. Yup, she’s talking about him. He’s been silent so far because he was pretty certain she remembered.

“And then that man started to attack me. He held me and, uh, threw me over the, over the--” 

Justin interrupts her with a few coughs. Then, in a deep, throaty voice that doesn’t sound at all like his, he says, “Oh, Joy, Charlie, there you are. We gotta go. Sorry if they were bothering you, ma’am.” 

“Dad!” 

“We gotta go, Joy. When I say we gotta go, we go. We’re going home.” 

“Dad!” 

“Bye, Amahle,” Charlie says. “It was nice meeting you.” 

“I’ll see you again,” Joy says. “I mean, I’ll see you, but you won’t--” 

Amahle laughs. “Maybe I’ll see you again, Joy. It’s just a phrase. You can use it.” 

“Okay. Bye.” 

“Everybody hold hands,” Justin says with his throaty voice. “Joy, lead the way.” 

I put my hand on Master Mind’s back again. I’m not sure who is holding who’s hand, but we all make it to the elevator and I hear its door closing. 

“I liked talking to her, Dad!” Joy sounds resentful. 

“We are going home,” he states so forcefully that there can be no argument. “Press the button!”

She does. We reach the tunnel and step into light, thankfully. Justin’s mouth and jaw are clenched. I’m not going to try and talk to him when he’s like that. 

From Amahle’s shroom, we return to Justin’s dream in complete silence. Justin keeps to himself and remains silent for hours, until he wakes up and disappears. 

—Told by Grampa Walt