The Lucky Paw

Chapter 14

The entry brought tears to Katy's eyes. She missed her mother so much! Although Mrs. Patterson was really her parent now, and she loved her, she was not her flesh and blood. Chandler was. Katy closed her eyes, remembering her mother.

She could almost feel Chandler's soft, warm kiss on her cheeks, with lips that smelled gently of honey and nuts. It was a kiss that had brought Katy comfort and peace during times of hardship.

Even when blue herself, Chandler had never hesitated to try and make Katy feel better.

The tears were running down her cheeks now. It had been a long time since Katy had last cried over anything. But she was crying now, lost in sorrow of her mother.

She heard Chandler's voice in her head, speaking to her in a loving, gentle tone. She could picture her kind eyes staring into hers, and her gentle arms picking Katy up and hugging her when she cried. She could hear her saying, "Don't cry, sweetie! It'll all be okay." and rocking her until she stopped crying.

Now, alone in the attic, Katy wanted her mother more than anything else. But the simple fact was what was making Katy cry. The simple fact that her mother wasn't going to come, might not ever come again.

Katy scrambled out of the attic, tears still flowing unchecked. She closed the attic tile, then got ready to get in bed. She ducked under the covers, laid her inhaler on the nightstand, and pulled the covers up over her head. She remained that way for the rest of the night.

The next day, Katy came to a bitter, although true, conclusion. It was not the fear that her mother was dead that caused her to cry. It was the simple uncertainty. Katy did not know whether her beloved mother was alive, or gone forever. She could handle her mother dying, just as she had handled her father's passing many years ago. But it was the hope that severed her. The hope that her mother was still alive, but waiting for Katy to come to her.

Katy wanted to find her. She had to find her. The government search showed nothing after the time she went missing – it was like she fell off the face of the earth.

Katy thought it unlikely that Chandler was homeless, considering her great talent with sewing and painting. But it was possible that she was in a hospital, and had been for a long enough time to keep her name out of the government database.

Katy could think of only one way to find out if her mother was enrolled in a hospital. She could look up the hospitals in her town and visit them. But this would take time, and Katy had no idea if her mother was still in the state or not. She decided to finish reading the diary before she started her search. Perhaps it would give her a clue.

School that day was uneventful. Much to Katy's relief, track practice had been canceled due to the lightning cracking through the skies all day long. She was not ready to face the other girls with her inhaler.