The doctor scrutinized us, looking back and forth at our faces. Maybe it was T.J.’s hair that finally convinced him.

“Oh my God, you’re them, aren’t you? The ones who went down in the seaplane.” His eyes were wide. He took a deep breath and blew it out. “Everyone thought you were dead.”

“Yeah, that’s what we figured,” T.J. said. “Do you think you could find us a phone?”

Dr. Reynolds handed T.J. his cell. “You can use mine.” A nurse removed our IVs and T.J. and I climbed carefully off the hospital bed. My legs wobbled, and T.J. steadied me, putting an arm around my waist.

“There’s a small supply room down the hall. It’s quiet and you can have some privacy.” He stared at us and shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re alive. You were all over the news for weeks.”

We followed him but before we reached the supply room, we came to the women’s bathroom.

“Can you wait, please?” I asked. They stopped, and I pushed open the door, closing it behind me and plunging into darkness. My hand fumbled for the switch and when the lights came on, my eyes darted from the toilet to the sink and finally to the mirror.

I had completely forgotten what I looked like.

I went up to the mirror and studied myself. My skin was the color of coffee beans and T.J. was right, my eyes did look bluer because of it. There were a few lines on my face that hadn’t been there before. My hair was a mess of tangles and two shades lighter than I remembered. I looked like an island girl, savage, unkempt, and wild.

I tore my gaze away from the mirror, pulled my shorts down, and sat on the toilet. I reached for the toilet paper. Unspooling some, I rubbed it against my cheek, feeling the softness. When I finished, I flushed and washed my hands, marveling at the water that flowed from the tap. T.J. and Dr. Reynolds were standing in the hall waiting for me when I opened the door. “I’m sorry I took so long.”

“That’s okay,” T.J. said. “I went to the bathroom, too.” He smiled at me. “That was weird.” He took my hand and we followed Dr. Reynolds into the supply room.

“I’ll be back in a bit. I have to check on some patients and then I’ll call the local police. They’ll want to talk to you. I’ll also see if I can find you something to eat.”

My stomach growled at the mention of food.

“Thanks,” T.J. said. When he left we sat down on the floor. Shelves of medical supplies surrounded us. It was cramped but quiet.

“You call yours first, Anna.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

He handed me the phone. It took me a minute, but I finally remembered my parents’ phone number. My hand shook, and I held my breath as it rang. There was a click on the line. I started to say hello but then a recorded voice said, “The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected or is no longer in service.”

I looked at T.J. “Their number has been disconnected. They must have moved.”

“Call Sarah.”

“Do you want to try your parents first?”

“No, go ahead.” T.J. buzzed with anticipation. “I just want someone to answer.”

I called Sarah’s number, my heart hammering in my chest. It rang four times before someone answered.

“Hello?”

Chloe!

“Chloe, can you put your mommy on the phone right away please?”

“May I ask who’s calling?”

“Chloe honey, just get your mom, okay?”

“I have to ask who it is and if they don’t tell me, I’m supposed to hang up.”

“No! Don’t hang up, Chloe.” Would she even remember me? “ It’s Aunt Anna. Tell your mommy it’s Aunt Anna.”

“Hi, Aunt Anna. Mommy showed me pictures of you. She told me you live in heaven. Do you have angel wings? Mommy’s grabbing the phone so I gotta go now.”

“Listen,” Sarah said. “I don’t know who you are, but that’s a sick thing to do to a child.”

“Sarah! It’s Anna, don’t hang up, it’s me, it’s really me.” I started crying.

“Who is this? What do you get out of these kinds of calls? Do you think they don’t hurt?”

“Sarah, T.J. and I didn’t die in the plane crash. We’ve been living on an island and if it weren’t for the tsunami, we’d still be there. We’re at a hospital in Malé.” Now that I’d gotten the words out, my crying intensified. “Please don’t hang up!”

“What? Oh my God. Oh my God!” She screamed for David but she was crying and talking so fast I couldn’t understand anything that was coming out of her mouth.

“Anna? You’re alive? You’re really alive?”

“Yes.” I was bawling and T.J. was jumping up and down he was so excited. “Sarah, I called Mom and Dad first but their number was disconnected. Did they sell the house?”

“The house was sold.”

“What’s their number?” I looked around to see if there was a pen or something to write on but came up empty-handed. “Call them, Sarah, call them the minute we hang up. Tell them I tried to call them first. I’ll call you back and get their number as soon as I can find something to write it down with. Tell them to wait by the phone.”

“How are you getting home?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Listen, T.J. hasn’t even called his parents yet. I don’t know anything at this point, but I’m going to give his mom and dad your number so they can coordinate with you. Wait for their call, okay?”

“I will. Oh, Anna, I don’t even know what to say. We had your funeral.”

“Well, I’m alive. And I can’t wait to get home.”

Chapter 40 – T.J.

Anna handed me the cell phone. I dialed my number and waited for someone to answer. Pick up, pick up, pick up.

”Hello?” It was my mom. A wave of emotion washed over me when I heard her voice. I hadn’t realized until that very moment how much I’d missed her. Tears filled my eyes and I blinked them back. Anna put her arm around me. “Mom, it’s T.J. Don’t hang up.” There was silence on the other end, so I kept talking. “Anna and I didn’t die in the plane crash. We’ve been living on an island. The Coast Guard rescued us after the tsunami and we’re at the hospital in Malé.”

“T.J.?” She sounded weird, like she was in a trance. She started crying. “Mom, put Dad on!”

“Who is this?” my dad yelled into the phone.

I felt a second wave of emotion when I heard my dad’s voice and I wanted to hold onto it, but my desire to make someone understand what had happened and where we were, won out. My voice was steady when I said, “Dad, it’s T.J. Don’t hang up. Just listen. Anna and I made it to an island after we crashed. The Coast Guard pulled us out of the water after the tsunami. We’re at the hospital in Malé, and we’re both fine.” There was silence on the other end. “Dad?”

“Oh my God,” he said. “It’s you? It’s really you?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“You’ve been alive this whole time? How?”

“It wasn’t easy.”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“We’re okay. Tired and sore. Hungry.”

“Is Anna okay?”

“Yeah, she’s sitting here next to me.”

“I don’t know what to say, T.J. I’m overwhelmed. I need to think for a minute. I need to figure out how to get you out of there,” he said.

For the first time in a long time, nothing weighed heavy on my shoulders. My dad would take over and bring us home. “Dad, Anna wants you to call her sister, too and make sure she knows what’s going on.”

Anna gave me the phone number, and I repeated it for my dad.

“The last thing I want to do is hang up, T.J., but it’s 8:00 p.m. here, and I need to start making calls before it gets much later. Getting you on a plane might be difficult because of nine-eleven. If I can’t get you and Anna on a commercial flight, I’ll charter one. It will probably be tomorrow before I can get you out of there. Are you both able to leave the hospital?”