Once in his office he closed the door with a firm, quiet click, and lowered himself into the desk chair slowly, like the old man he’d now never be. He placed the Blake book on the desk and rubbed his fingertips along the spine. A moment later Ana stood facing him.
“How did you fare? I would have stood there beside you, had you but asked, my Sweet.”
“I know, Shvibzik, I know. But I’m not sure I could have done it with you standing there, too. It’s killing me that I’m leaving them all; but knowing that I’ll be gone so soon after finding you is tearing my heart out.”
“You are not gone, yet. I heard what the doctor said. You have a chance. We are going to give this the battle it deserves. Sushchestvuyet nadezhda—there is hope.”
“I guess. It’s a really, really, long shot, Honey, and a lot depends on the decisions made in the next few days. I may not even qualify for this clinical study.”
“I refuse to give up, Love. I will be your rock for as long as you need me to be, as you were for me when I awoke lost and confused in this strange world.”
He laughed lightly. “I wouldn’t want anyone else by my side, Ana. Whatever I have to go through, you can be my rock, my whole damned mountain. I can pretty much guarantee that I’ll be leaning on you so much you’ll feel like a crutch.”
“Then I will be your crutch, Mr. Powell.”
“Thank you. Even when you’re in the book I feel you close by, and it makes a huge difference.” He closed his eyes as the room wavered slightly. When he opened them again, he felt like his heart was double its weight. “That said, you’d better get back there so I can open my door and let them all come by. You and I can be alone at home, but for now I need to let them all lend me their strength in their own way.”
IT WAS MIKA who came to him first and broke the ice. She’d wiped away her tears, though fresh ones threatened to burst past the dam. She hugged Jerry close, then, with a kiss on the cheek, she let him go and sat in the spare chair.
“Lee-Anne has gone home for the day. She may be the Queen of Flirt, but I think she really likes and respects you. This seems to have affected her more than most. Most, but not all.” She looked down at her hands, spinning her engagement ring in place. When she looked back at Jerry, her eyes were drier. “Do everything the doctors offer you. Agree to try it all, please, even if it sounds crazy. And in the next couple days Danveer and I will swing by the loft and we’re going to chat.”
“Mika, I appreciate the offer, but—”
“Not for idle chat, Boss. I want to discuss some alternate therapies for you to try. There’s a healer near Tofino who’s had marvellous success and he’s arriving tomorrow for a family visit. He’s Danveer’s uncle, and he’s a true swami. I’ve been studying with him for two years and while there’s no scientific explanation for the things I’ve seen, there’s certainly a spiritual one. I’m a Reiki Master, myself, and all I ask is that in addition to whatever traditional treatments you undergo, that you allow us an opportunity to help. If nothing else is achieved, at least maybe we can help you find peace during this time of pain.”
“I’m not exactly a drum-circle-banging, incense-burning kinda guy, Mika. I don’t even read my horoscope because it’s all so much ‘hooey and hokum’ as my grandfather James used to say.” Next thing she’d do would be to ask him to wear a tinfoil hat to ward off harmful rays. He knew he had to nip this line of thinking early. “I really appreciate the thought, though. Thank you.”
Mika smiled. “Fair enough. But let me show you something, first. After that, just give it some thought for a day or two. I’m a full-on, West Coast, New Age Earth Cookie, as my sister says, but it’s not really New Age when it’s been around for millennia.”
“Okay. Take your best shot at convincing me.”
“Really?”
“Really.” What did he have to lose?
“Cool.” She closed the office door. “Stand up and face me, about a yard away.” She stood, too, and moved away from the desk to give them room. “If you’re more comfortable sitting, that’s cool, too.”
“No, I’m good with standing.” And he was. He found that he was steady on his feet, at least for a few minutes. He wondered how much of his weakness in the last few days had been psychosomatic. He stood opposite Mika, with the fingertips of his right hand resting on his desk, just for the illusion of balance.
“Do you know what an aura is, Jerry?”
“Energy around the body. Some say they can see them, some say they can photograph them.”
“Energy. Exactly. It surrounds our bodies and interacts with the environment around us. Many people can see them and some don’t even realize it. To the Chinese it’s qi or chi. The photography you’re thinking of is Kirlian photography, which is thought to show the energy field around a living object, reflecting the emotional and physical states of that object. I don’t take pictures, but I can see auras quite clearly. Yours is a deep gold, most of the time, though the colour shifts around your head chakra a lot, but no surprise there, now.”
“And you’re going to show me your aura?”
“Not today. It takes some practice, so maybe another time. All I need right now is for you to understand the concept of an energy field around your body. It surrounds and radiates off of you.”
“Like the energy radiating off a hot stove burner? I can feel the heat without actually touching the metal coil.”
“A perfect analogy! Can I use that with my students?”
“Be my guest.” He smiled. He was really going to miss getting to know Mika.
“Wow. I don’t know what you were thinking just now, but a dark purple wave just rippled across your Heart Chakra. You okay?” She shook her head. “Sorry. Stupid question. Let me finish this up and I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Take your time, Mika. This is important to you.”
“Thanks. Relax. Try to let the tension drain down your body and out your fingertips and toes. Take slow, deep breaths. In through your nose, and out through your mouth. With every exhalation, try to relax just a little bit more. You probably won’t see anything but me moving, but it’s important that you watch and see that I’m not making any physical contact with you.”
Jerry followed the simple directions, curious but enjoying the relaxation. Mika lifted her arms to chest level and faced her palms to him. She closed her eyes for a second and when she opened them again there was something different about her posture that he couldn’t quite pinpoint. It was almost as if she’d tensed up just as he’d relaxed. She concentrated on a spot between her hands as she extended them out, reaching for something between them. She must have found it, because her hands stopped a foot from his chest. She rocked forward, gently, and Jerry felt her push on him, rocking him back as she rocked forward. Then she rolled back and he followed.
He could feel something, but saw nothing but Mika rocking. “It feels like I’m surrounded by invisible foam and you’re pushing on it.”
“I am. I’m using my aura to gently push yours. Energy-to-energy.”
“Holy—” This was too strange.
“That’s what I thought the first time Uncle Palak showed me.” In addition to the gentle forward and back of her rocking, Mika now swayed slightly from side to side, describing an oval around the anchor of her feet on the floor.
Jerry moved along with her, but just in case he was simply hypnotized by her movement and following along automatically, he willed his body to stop and he tried to stand still. He succeeded for a split second, but then a gentle tug pulled him and he was moving again. This was unlike anything he’d ever experienced, on any level. He held his hand up and Mika stopped. Jerry grinned, lopsidedly, a lot freaked out but getting used to surprises of both the dark and light variety. “These are not the droids we’re looking for.”