Everything and then some
Meredith wakes to the sound of crying. She bolts up from the couch, making for the bedroom door while stepping around piles of dirty dishes in the dark. Her foot catches on a loose board and she tumbles, just barely managing to break her fall with her hands and knees. She cusses as she gets up, ignoring the stinging feeling of the brisk air on her grazed skin. The crying has lessened to intermittent hiccups now, so she opens the door and enters. Inside, Timothy lies on the bed with a blanket wrapped tightly around his head. “It happened again,” he says timidly, voice quivering. Meredith rushes to him and pulls him into a tight hug. He begins to cry. “Shhhh,” she whispers, “Shhhh. It’s alright, I’m here.” She rocks him back and forth, singing softly, “...the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind…” And they sleep. Meredith wakes again to the sound of her son breathing, in and out, in and out. He is small in her arms, even fo...