“His mother always hummed when she was worried. When she held a well child on her lap and rocked back and forth, she sang. But when she held a sick child close in her arms and the rocker moved just enough to squeak a little, she would hum.”
Karl never wants to be parted from him. But Karl is sick, and knows he’s going to die. To comfort him, Jonathan tells him stories of Nangiyala, the wonderful place he’ll be going to when he dies, and where he will wait until Jonathan is ready to join him there.