There are only ever three things that Emily prays for at night, kneeling at her bed. To hear what the nightingale hears, to sing with the crickets, to see the world through the eyes of a damselfly. Her mother tries not to question this unusual longing, given her young daughter’s severe handicap. She seeks instead to quietly encourage more realistic dreams. But in her happy, tiny world Emily is stubbornly confident.
Occasionally, Emily disappears for an entire night, her empty room falling silent except for the soft chirping in a distant corner. And at times a cautious response.
Ron Wetherington is a retired professor of anthropology living in Dallas, Texas. He has published a novel, Kiva (Sunstone Press), and numerous short fiction pieces in this second career. He also enjoys writing creative non-fiction. Read some of his pubs at https://www.rwetheri.com/.