On Tuesdays, if her doctors agreed, we walked around the garden until she became tired.

Wednesday was library day.

The librarian left books with adventure stories and pictures of improbable animals at the desk so we could pick them up without making a fuss.

Some mornings Maya woke ready to talk about school.

On others she stayed under her blanket and asked whether she had to see anybody.

I stopped measuring progress by how cheerful she sounded.

Dr.