Chapter 16

16

Abraham Lincoln Panim and his mother knew the end was near for Mrs. Stottle when the EMTs carried her out of their house, and later that night, Mrs. Panim received a phone call from the hospital, telling them that Mrs. Stottle had passed away.

The hospital called the Panims because they had tried to locate any family for Mrs. Stottle, and could locate no one. Mrs. Stottle had no family, and Abraham Lincoln Panim and Mrs. Panim were the only “family” she had.

“We have one question for you,” said the hospital worker making the call to Mrs. Panim.

“I will try to answer it if I can,” Mrs. Panim sobbed through her tears.

“Well, it is not really a question, but it is … Look … I don’t know how to say this … I don’t want to be crass, but we are going to have to move the body to a funeral home soon … but please, can you come over here, right now? It is of utmost importance that you do.”

“Well, yes, we have to make arrangements, but it is so late—“

“Please m’am, please come over here as soon as you can.”

Mrs. Panim woke up Abraham Lincoln Panim, who wasn’t really sleeping, but thinking about Mrs. Stottle and praying that she would be OK, even though he knew that she was really sick.

The two of them dressed, and went directly to the hospital. They were shown the room Mrs. Stottle was in, and they approached where the older woman was, in a bed near the room’s one small window.

As they approached, with tears falling down both of their faces, they saw that Mrs. Stottle was covered up by her bed blanket from nearly head to toe.

An attendant came into the room and saw Abraham Lincoln Panim and Mrs., Panim at Mrs. Stottle’s bedside. As the attendant approached, so did a few nurses and doctors, all crowding around the bed.

The attendant said, “Thanks so much for coming here so quickly. I mean, you really needed to come here as quickly as possible.

“Why? Does she have to be moved immediately?” Mrs. Panim asked. “I mean, couldn’t this have waited a little bit? It happened just so suddenly … it is so early in the morning—“

One of the doctors stepped forward.

“No, it had nothing to do with that, It had to do with … I mean, I guess we have some questions … maybe you know something—“

Through his scarf which was over his mouth, Abraham Lincoln Panim said, “Please get to the point. Why were we called and asked to come over so quickly?”

The doctor approached the bed and grabbed the end of the bed sheet covering Mrs. Stottle.

“I … well … .”

He lifted the bed sheet, and exposed Mrs. Stottle’s feet.

To various gasps, Abraham Lincoln Panim and his mother saw the exposed feet, and looked at each other.

What the Panims saw were two hooves, much like a horse’s hooves, protruding from Mrs. Stottle under the bed sheets.