— “No,” Lily admitted. “She’s asleep. But I had to come. Pete needs me.”
— “Look, I know you want to help, but…”
— “He’s better,” Lily interrupted, pointing at the boy. “Look at his face. He has color.”
Robert looked at his son and felt his heart squeeze. Pete did look slightly less pale, but it was probably just the hospital lighting playing tricks on him.
— “It’s the water,” Lily continued with that unshakable childhood certainty. “The water from the fountain is special. My grandma always said so.”
— “What fountain?” Robert asked, mostly just to keep her talking.
— “The one in the hospital courtyard,” she explained. “The little one by the oak trees. That’s where I get it.”
— “That’s just a decorative fountain,” Robert sighed. “There’s nothing special about that water.”
— “There is,” Lily insisted. “My grandma told me that before they built the hospital, there was an old estate here with a spring. People from all over used to come for the water when they were sick, and it always helped. When they built the hospital, they put the fountain right over the old spring.”
— “That’s just a local legend, kid,” Robert said, but he found himself wanting to believe her.
— “You believe the doctors, right?” Lily asked suddenly.
— “Of course.”
— “And they said they can’t do anything else for Pete?”
Robert felt a lump in his throat.
— “They did.”
— “Then why not believe in the water, too?”
Lily had that iron-clad logic that only children possess. If the experts have given up, what’s the harm in trying something else?
Before Robert could answer, the door opened and a nurse walked in. It was Linda, the night shift nurse.
— “Mr. Harrison, I need to—” She stopped, seeing the girl. “Lily? What are you doing here this late? Do you know her?” she asked Robert.
— “Yeah, it’s okay,” Robert said.
— “Mary, her mom, is a friend of mine,” Linda said with a small smile. “We’ve worked together for years. But Lily… does your mom know you’re out?”
The girl shook her head.
— “You need to go home,” Linda said firmly but kindly. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
— “Wait!” Robert stood up. “Before she goes, I have to ask. Do you know that story about the fountain?”
Linda looked a bit embarrassed.
— “Mr. Harrison, I’m a nurse. I believe in evidence-based medicine.”
— “But…” Robert noticed she was holding something back.
Linda sighed.
— “But I grew up around here. My grandmother knew Lily’s grandmother. And yeah, I’ve heard the stories about that spring my whole life. My grandma swore by it.”
— “So you think it could work?”
