She opens her eyes and quirks half a smile at him. "She had a glioblastoma -- a malignant brain tumor." Her hands sketch the air as she talks. "I tried to save her. People all have a sort of magical center in them, a kernel, that has instructions on how their own personal universe works. I tried to work with my mom's kernel, to tell the cancer to stop reproducing."

She sighs, and her hands fall to her lap. "I bought her a little time, a month. Long enough for us to say goodbye. She died about three months ago." She shrugs. "You can see why I'd just as soon be at home right now."