Time was running out. My open-heart surgery and sterile implements replaced Mrs. Abrahamson\u2019s second-grade classroom just as the tulips broke free from winter slumber.<\/p>\n
\u201cCount backward from one hundred,\u201d a distant voice said.<\/span><\/p>\n I heard the tick, tick, tick of the wall clock\u2019s second hand sweeping me along the edge of consciousness as numbers fell off my lips.<\/span><\/p>\n Was it minutes or hours later when my foggy eyes opened to the trembling smiles of my parents?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s our princess!\u201d dad said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo better time than now,\u201d mom murmured.<\/span><\/p>\n She fastened my new Cinderella watch\u2019s pink strap around my pale wrist.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Time was running out. My open-heart surgery and sterile implements replaced Mrs. Abrahamson\u2019s second-grade classroom just as the tulips broke free from winter slumber. \u201cCount backward from one hundred,\u201d a distant voice said. I heard the tick, tick, tick of the wall clock\u2019s second hand sweeping me along the edge of consciousness as numbers fell off my lips. Was it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":84,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flash-fiction"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t