Two out of every three children who suffer from it are eventually cured. But not Hannah.’ I looked at her, curled up like a kitten on Q’s lap. With all her zip and sparkle smoothed away by sleep, I saw how thin her face was. For the first time, I noticed her pale, translucent skin and the purple shadows like bruises under her eyes. ‘Hannah starts the last of six monthly chemotherapy courses this afternoon. It is her last chance. All going well, it will continue for five days. She is very brave, but she’s also far weaker than she appears; she has been through it before, and she is afraid. I wish I had her courage, her strength. ‘But I know what she doesn’t: she isn’t responding to the treatment. For Hannah, all we can do is pray for a miracle. A miracle, or the kind of magic that exists only in a world other than our own.’ Hannah stirred and murmured in her sleep. There was a scraping sound as a chair was pushed back. Someone started to speak. Crazy though it sounds, it took a moment before I realised it was me.
What do You think about The Serpents Of Arakesh (2003)?
