She nodded. “Yes. That’s me,” she said quickly. “That’s me. I’m her.”
The youngest, and shortest, of the three guys, Zachary Hanson, looked up at Isaac with satisfaction. “Told you it was a girl,” he said.
Corey smiled. “Yeah, it’s a colloquial name. When I was in school it always confused the teachers . . .” Her voice drifted.
Taylor Hanson, the middle boy, cleared his throat. “How long has it been since you’ve been out of school?” he asked gingerly.
She was about to reply when she saw where they were standing. The three of them hadn’t ventured past her doorway. “Come in, please. I don’t bite and I’m not contagious,” she told them. After a hesitant moment, the three of them walked into the room. As they crowded around her bed, she said, “I’ve been out of school since it let out for summer vacation. Then, this school year started and I was too sick to go. I should be in the seventh grade now. It might sound crazy, but I actually wish I were there. When my cousins come to visit, I have them tell me all about what’s happening at their schools.”
“Don’t you have, like, a tutor or something?” Taylor asked. He was on Corey’s right, standing next to her table. Isaac and Zac were both standing to her left.
She shook her head. “There’s no point,” she told him. “Like I said in my letter, I don’t have much more time.”
There was a heavy silence in the room. Apparently, the Hanson boys didn’t want to talk about death. Corey didn’t blame them. It wasn’t the most pleasant of conversation topics.
Finally, after shifting uncomfortably, Zac spoke up. “In your letter, you said you liked singing. Could you, um, sing for us?”
Corey smiled. No one beside family members had ever requested her to sing. “Sure,” she said. “What do you want me to sing?”
Isaac shrugged, picking up the conversation from his brother. “Whatever you want,” he told her.
She thought for a moment. After a short deliberation, she began singing the Backstreet Boys’ “I’ll Never Break Your Heart”. She sang the first verse and the chorus before stopping and giving a shy smile. “I can’t remember the rest,” she told them.
“Wow,” Zac said, liquid-brown eyes wide, lips slightly parted. “You’ve got a really nice voice,” he told her.
She gave another smile. “Thanks.”
“Do you know how to play any instruments?” Taylor asked, keeping conversation going.
Corey nodded. “I was taking piano lessons. The last song I learned before being put in here was ‘With You in Your Dreams’,” she informed them. “I want that song played at my funeral. My cousin Barry said he’ll sing it. He’s actually a big fan of you guys.”
“That’s nice,” Isaac said, hiding his uneasiness. Corey noticed that he couldn’t bring himself to look at her IV.
“Does me talking about dying bother you guys?” she asked. “Because, if it does, I’ll stop talking about it.”
“Doesn’t it bother you?” Zac asked.
Corey shrugged. “It did at first. But then, I realized that everyone has to do it sometime, and this is just my time. I mean, sure, it kinda bothers me that I’ll miss out on all the things I was looking forward to, but . . .” She let her sentence fall, unfinished.
“Like what kind of things?” Zac asked. “What were you looking forward to?”
“Zac,” Isaac warned, under his breath.
“No, it’s okay,” she told Isaac. Then, to Zac, she said, “Things like driving and getting married. Like having a boyfriend and my first kiss. Just things every girl wants.” She shrugged. “But, it just wasn’t in the cards for me, I guess.”
“Oh,” Zac said quietly.
Again, there was a heavy moment of silence. This time, Isaac broke the silence. “You know, I’m curious. Why did you want your wish to be meeting us?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Because I love your music. I think you guys are incredible, being as young as you are and being able to do all that you’ve been able to do. I guess I kinda figured that since you guys had done so much, maybe some of that would rub off on me. I mean, it sounds stupid -”
“No, it doesn’t,” Zac said, cutting her off. “I think it’s a great reason.”
Isaac cleared his throat. “So, Corey, since you’re such a fan of our music, how would you like us to sing for you?”
Corey felt her jaw drop. “That’d be great,” she said, amazed.
“Okay guys,” Taylor said, “here’s the note.” He sang a short “ooh” before snapping his fingers.
The three of them broke into the chorus of “MMMBop”. After singing it twice, they did a part of “Weird”. Next, they did “Where’s the Love”, “Madeline”, and “Man From Milwaukee”, the latter of the two on request.
They were about to sing “Thinking of You” when Taylor’s watch beeped. He looked down at the time. “Aw, man. Guys, we’ve gotta go,” he said, almost sounding regretful. He turned to Corey and stuck his hand out. “It was really nice meeting you. I wish we could’ve spent more time here.”
Corey took his hand and shook it. “Likewise on both counts,” she told him.
Isaac also extended his hand toward her as well. “Nice to meet you,” he said.
“Thank you, you too,” she said, shaking his hand.
Isaac and Taylor both started for the door. Zac, however, did not. He stayed by Corey’s bed. “Can we just do one more?” he asked.
Taylor turned back to him. “Zac,” he began.
“Please?” Zac asked. “It won’t take too long,” he prompted.
After checking his watch once more, Taylor nodded. “Okay, Zac, okay.” He and Isaac both walked back over to the bed. “What song?”
“ ‘I Will Come to You’,” Zac said. “Here’s the note.” He beat Taylor to what seemed to be his job before each song and sang a short “ooh”. After snapping his fingers once, the three of them began singing.
“When you have no light to guide you, and no one to walk beside you, I will come to you, ohh, I will come to you. When the night is dark and stormy, you won’t have to reach out for me, I will come to you, ohh, I will come to you.” Isaac and Taylor stopped singing after that, but Zac went on.
“We all need somebody we can turn to.”
Isaac and Taylor caught where their younger brother was going and quickly supplied a “Whoa-oh”.
“Some one who’ll always understand,” Zac sang. “So when you feel like your soul is dying, and you need the strength to keep trying, I’ll reach out and take your hand.”
All three of them sang the chorus. “When you have no light to guide you, and no one to walk beside you, I will come to you, ohh, I will come to you. When the night is dark and stormy, you won’t have to reach out for me, I will come to you, ohh, I will come to . . . you.”
Zac took Corey hand and squeezed it. “I wish there was more we could do,” he said.
“C’mon, Zac. We’ve really gotta go now,” Taylor prompted. With a final wave to Corey, the three of them exited the room.
