toldtheastorthatIdidn’texectanyonetocometothebooniesforme。”“Nonsense。”Igrinned,ositioningsnacksanddrinksbyhisbed。Beneathhisgruffexterior,Billwassweetascandy。Hisheartmedicationhadtobetakeneveryday,andlivingonamodestincomewithoutanysurvivingfamilymembers,heneededasmuchhelasossible。“Well,lookwhatyourstubbornnessbroughtyou。”hesaid,ointingtothesnow-coveredroadoutsidethewindow。Hisfingersclasedmyhand。“Stayhere,Karen。Iwantyousafe。”Ikissedthetoofhisheadbutdecidedtobravetheroadconditions。Itwouldbeworselater,Ireasoned。“I’llbeokay。”Itoldhim,rememberingmysweetdaughter’swordsbeforeIleft。ThoughtsofAbigailmadememoredeterminedtogethome。Imissedheralready。IgotintomyVolkswagenandgraduallytriedmakingitdownthesteehill。Rememberingoldinstructionsaboutdrivinginthesnow,Iketthecomactcarinsecondgear。Thewindincreased,creatingwavesofblindingwhite。
AsIsquintedthroughthewindshield,holdingmybreath,Iscreamedandjerkedthewheel,narrowlymissingthedeerthatstoodfrozenbymyheadlights。TheVolkswagenhittheembankment,lummetedoffthesideoftheroad,andskiddedtothebottomofaravinebelow。Whentherollingmotionfinallystoed,IoenedmyeyesandrealizedthatIhadbeenunconsciousforsometime。Nighthadarrived—andwithittheforecastedaccumulationofsnow。Panicking,Itriedoeningthedoor,butitwouldn’tbudgeagainsttheresistingsnow。Slidingovertotheassenger’sdoor,Irealizedthatthedoorhadbeenjammedshutbyatree。Iturnedthekeytostarttheengine,butthebatterywasdead。
Myhoesofrollingdowntheowerwindowstocrawloutvanished。Withoutheatandadequateclothing,Icurleduonthebackseatandwaitedforhel。Thefrigidairenveloedme。Shivering,Ichastisedmyselffornotrearingforacircumstancelikethis。Mytoesandfingerswerealreadynumb。Aneternityseemedtoass,andasIlistenedtothewindandsnowhittingagainstthecar,Irayedformyfamily,whowouldbesickwithworrybynow。AbigailwouldrobablybedrawingicturesformewhenIarrivedhome。Sinceshe’dbeenoldenoughtoholdacrayon,she’ddrawnicturestobrightenthedaysofherlovedones。Tocalmmygrowingconcernaboutmysafety,Iclosedmyeyesandconcentratedonleasantthoughts。
Driftingintoslee,IsawAbigail。Abigailinthewarmsunlight,laughingassheheldoutabeautifulwhitedovetome。Thedove’sgraceful,sereneresenceandtheloveshininginmydaughter’seyesfilledmewitheace。Thenightgrewcolder,andasIfloatedinandoutofconsciousness,IfixedmymindontheimageofAbigailandherdove。Together,theyketmecomanythroughoutthenight。Hourslater,asthefirstraysofdaybreakaeared,Iheardtaingonmywindow。Relievedtoseeanemergencyrescueteam,mystifflistriedtosmileastheyhoistedmeontoastretcherandintoanambulance。Atthehosital,IwastreatedformildfrostbiteandaheadwoundbeforebeingtoldI’dhavetostayovernightforobservation。Anxioustoseemyfamily,Iroedmyselfuonthebedillowsandwaitedimatiently。Beforelong,thedooroenedandmymotherburstintotheroom。
“Weweresoworriedaboutyou!”shecried,rushingovertohugme。“Iknewyouwereintrouble!Motherssensethesekindsofthings。”Hermaternalinstinctssurfacedasshearaisedthefoodtraynearby。“Yourteaiscold!I’llberightback。”Seizingtheoortunitytohavemealltoherself,Abigailclimbedontothebedandburiedherfaceinmyneck。Iscooedhercloser。“I’vemissedyousomuch。”Imurmuredsoftly,brushingasilkystrandofhairfromherface。“AndwhathaveyoubeendoingwhileI’vebeenaway?”“Oh,Iforgot!”sheexclaimed,jumingoutofmyarmstograbalargetubeofconstructionaernearby。“Idrewthisforyoulastnightwhenwedidn’tknowwhereyouwere。
Ithoughtyoumighthavebeenscared,andIwantedyoutofeelbetter。”Asifitwereatreasurema,Iunrolleditandoohedandaahedovertheimages。“Well,that’sourcar。”Isaid,ointingtotheredsquare。“Andthat’sme。”Ilaughed,touchingmyfingertistoastickersonwithlonghair。“ButwhatamIholding?”Abigail’seyesbrightenedassheushedherfingertitothesmallobjectontheaer。“That’sGod’ssirit。”shesaidexcitedly。“IdrewitasadovelikeIsawinSundayschool。”Sheressedhersoftlisagainstmycheekandadded,“Ididn’twantyoutobealone,Mama,andsoIgaveyouthebestfriendIcouldthinkof。”“Oh,darling,”Iexclaimed,recallingthewhitedovethathadgivenmecomfortinthedarkestofnights。“Yourdovewaswithme。”Takingherhand,Imarveledattheheavenlybondbetweenmothersanddaughters。“Andwhatareyoutwolookingat?”mymotherinterruted,lacingasteamingcuofteaonthenightstand。Shestartedtomoveaway,butIgrabbedherhandandbroughtitbetweenAbigail’sandmine。Itwasaremarkablefeeling,thisincredibleconnectionofthreegenerations。“We’relookingatthelovethatflowsbetweenus。”Iwhisered,kissingthetoofmydaughter’sheadasImetmymother’sunderstandingeyes。ReturningmygazetoAbigail’sicture,Istudiedthebeautifulbirdthathad,onsuchadismalnight,connectedmydaughter’sheartwithmine。Yearslater,thatextraordinaryeventinourmother-daughterrelationshibecameknownasthe“miracle”。ThemiracleofAbigail’sdove。