Tears welled up in my eyes. My heart was pounding, and it took all I had to keep from running out of the house in anguish.

"The best thing you can do for her now is make her as comfortable as possible," Dr. Hellweg said.

"I will help all I can," Mrs. Hellweg said. "Is she in any pain?" I asked.

"No, she is just having difficulty breathing, and eventually, her heart, which is already damaged, will simply stop," Dr. McCutcheon said.

"How much time?" my mother asked.

"It could happen at any time in the next day or two."

As it turned out, Mallie passed away early the next morning, just as a brilliant sun rose and bathed the beds of flowers she had planted in our front yard with golden shafts...

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