"Is she your favorite?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because she always came when I called her."
Rachel smiled.
"Sounds like a good horse."
Lily looked down.
Then whispered, "Do you think she remembers me?"
Rachel felt a familiar ache.
"Your horse?"
Lily nodded.
"She hasn't seen me in a long time."
Rachel considered.
Then answered carefully.
"Animals remember familiar people in all kinds of ways. Their voices. Their smells. The things they do together."
Lily looked up.
"So maybe?"
Rachel smiled.
"Maybe."
The little girl studied the drawing.
Then asked something that made Rachel's heart tighten.
"Do people remember like that too?"
Rachel leaned closer.
"What do you mean?"
Lily shrugged.
"My friends don't call much."
Rachel gently touched the blanket.
"Sometimes people don't know what to say when someone they care about is sick."
Lily looked down.
"Maybe they think I don't want to play anymore."
Rachel shook her head.
"I don't think that means they've forgotten you."
The child considered.
Then whispered, "I hope not."
Rachel left the room with the conversation still weighing on her.
When she later saw Lily's approved wish list, she made sure the word horses appeared clearly at the top.
Far across town, a tattooed biker who looked as though he had never voluntarily entered a toy store read the list.
Then picked up his telephone.
His sister owned a small riding stable.
He asked whether she could recommend the best horse book for a seven-year-old.
She laughed.
"Since when are you buying children's horse books?"
The biker looked toward the paper.
"Since somebody needs one."
His sister became quiet.
Then asked what kind of child it was for.
He told her what he was permitted to share.
She listened.
And by the end of the call, she had promised to help find something special.
The next child on the list was nine-year-old Marcus.
Marcus was recovering from a bone marrow transplant.
He loved superheroes.
Not because he believed fictional heroes were invincible, but because he admired the way they kept trying after frightening things happened.
His father spent evenings reading comic books beside the bed.
Sometimes Marcus corrected the voices.
Sometimes he fell asleep before the story ended.
On difficult days, he asked his father to skip the fighting scenes.
He preferred the parts where the heroes rescued people.
One afternoon, a young hospital volunteer asked Marcus what superpower he would choose.
He thought carefully.
Then answered.
"Make everybody stop being scared."
The volunteer smiled.
"That's a good one."
Marcus nodded.
"My mom gets scared every time the doctor comes in."
His mother, standing near the doorway, quickly looked away.
Marcus continued.
"And Dad gets scared when he thinks I'm asleep."