STICKY SHOES
The poor dear looked terribly fragile. Her skin was translucent, tubes passed through her spindly arms, and a breathing mask covered her tiny face. Phoebe strummed gently on her pastel blue guitar, singing softly to the unconscious child.
"My favourite shoes so good to me, I wear them everyday. Down at the heel, holes in the toe, don't care what people say…"
Phoebe's heart skipped a beat as she saw the tiniest of movements: the twitching of a single index finger. With heart racing, she continued singing.
"My feet's best friend, pals to the end, with them I'm one hot chicky…"
Emma continued to stir; her little hands and legs shifted, her head turned slightly to the side. Butterflies fluttered in Phoebe's stomach, the child was waking up. With Ross and Rachel at the hospital cafeteria, Phoebe was the only one witnessing this seminal moment. Phoebe continued singing, willing Emma to wake.
"Though late one night, not much light, I stepped on something icky…"
Emma was trapped in the twilight zone between consciousness and unconsciousness. Trying to move her limbs was like swimming through treacle. Her thoughts were scattered, she was lost in a fog of pitch black darkness. Emma heard a soft muffled musical sound, and a mumbling voice. She latched onto it eagerly, relying on it to guide her into consciousness. She channeled all her thoughts and energies into that one sound, tuning everything else out. It sounded familiar, that voice, that tune. As the haze in her mind began to clear, she was able to make out the individual words, "Sticky shoes, sticky shoes, always make me smile, sticky shoes, sticky shoes, I'll avoid the pile."
Watching Emma closely, Phoebe continued singing, feeling certain her music was guiding the child back into the waking world. Eventually, Emma's eyes fluttered open; and a long groan of discomfort escaped her lips. Phoebe's voice cracked with emotion, as she struggled to continue singing.
"Sticky sticky shoes, always make me smile, sticky stick shoes, I'll avoid the pile..." Confused and disoriented, Emma groped drowsily at the air. Putting her guitar down, Phoebe grasped Emma's hands in hers, and pressed it against her cheek.
She continued singing, "My favourite shoes so good to me, I wear them everyday…"
When Emma saw the familiar face before her, her anxiety ebbed away, and a drowsy calm settled over her. Aunt Pheebs. Feeling lightheaded from the morphine, she closed her eyes and let the soothing singing wash over her. Having listened to Aunt Pheebs since she was born, she was Phoebe's biggest fan. She knew the lyrics to most of Phoebe's songs off by heart. In fact, Sticky Shoes was her number one favourite.
"Down at the heel, holes in the toe, don't care what people say," Emma drowsily mouthed the words to herself.
At the hospital cafeteria, Ross and Rachel polished off their coffees and prepared themselves for another arduous night watching over Emma. They walked hand in hand back to Emma's room. At Emma's door, they fell into silent awe, mesmerised by the sight before them: a pair of tiny hands clapping to the sound of Phoebe's voice.
"Sticky shoes, sticky shoes, always make me smile."