Lori is sitting in the chair watching her mother sleep in the sterile white hospital room. The bedside nurse is checking fluids. It’s been over 20 years since Lori’s seen her mother.

M: “FANGSSSS!”

Mother rests her head back on the pillow.

L: Did she just say ‘fangs’?

N: *laughs*

L: Fangs? What is she saying about fangs?

N: You haven’t heard the story of the bat that got struck by a truck?

L: She told me many stories but never that one.

N: I’ve heard it faintly from her sleep talking. She falls into a deep sleep fast and starts mumbling words around dawn hours. Fatigue and sundowning is expected at her age.

L: Wow, I didn’t know… So when she wakes up does she know what she’s said?

N: Usually not.

L: So her memory is gone?

N: No it’s still here, she just rarely wakes up. These days she sleeps through most of the week.

L: Oh… I see.

(Beat)

M: “TANT— TANTALIZING!”

Mother rests her head back on the pillow.

L: Tantalizing?

N: That’s one of the words in the story.

L looks confused.

N: The order is Fangs, tantalizing, hide, boom, truck. Sometimes there’s words in between but that’s the bulk of the story.

L: How often does she—

N: She has a couple different phrases she repeats but this bat story is the most coherent one.

L: I don’t think it’s about a bat. My second cousin’s nickname is Fangs. I don’t understand what she’s trying to say. Tantalize, hide? Truck?

N: Something big must have happened, she dreams of this memory at least every other time I’m here checking on her. Which is Monday though Thursdays.

L: Thank you for telling me. I might look into it—I’ll probably look into it. That means I have to dig through history. And I don’t even know who’s to start with.

M: “YOURS!”

Mother rests her head back on the pillow.