As Nicole recovers from hip surgery, a hummingbird appears at the window-Calypte anna, as Gianni identifies it-and becomes a fragile emblem of survival. Its hovering presence threads through the long days of convalescence, offering flashes of wonder amid pain and fear. Yet Nicole's recovery is anything but serene. Visitors bring both comfort and disruption: Lara, the alluring nurse, trespasses against her dignity; Alexei, the quasi-son, cloaks affection in teasing; Elizabeth, the gentle therapist, suggests the bird carries a message from beyond. Most piercing of all is Aimee, her dearest friend, whose illness deepens from aching joints to the shadow of cancer, a fate Nicole tenderly renames "Cosima," as if softening its power. Out of sorrow grows vision. In a dream, the hummingbird leads her and Aimee toward Camaldoli, a hermitage of silence and light. On Good Friday Nicole journeys there with Gianni, and in that stillness she finds the fragile assurance she will need for Easter Sunday-when loss and hope arrive together.