A chill coursed
down my spine, and I stopped walking. “Jessica, are there mountain lions around
here?” Accepting my fate was one thing, but dying today was not.
She rolled her
eyes. “Not in the middle of the day, silly. We’re perfectly safe. Besides,
there’s tons of people on the trail, all making lots of noise.”
I tried to relax
as we resumed our pace. Sun streaks seeped through the massive cedar and fir
trees, and birds flitted from branch to branch. Bikers passed us by as Jessica
chattered on about a customer who’d spent over a thousand dollars on their
grocery order.
After we’d been
walking for awhile, I thought I heard someone yelling deep in the woods.
Stopping abruptly, I looked over at Jessica. “Did you hear that?”
“Yeah,” she said
with a frown. “Let’s check it out.” We left the trail and waded through thick
brush. Eventually, we came upon a young boy in bright red shorts who was
standing at the base of a tall cedar.
Gazing upwards,
with hands cupping his mouth, he yelled. “Come on Blake. Let’s go. If I’m late
again my dad will ground me and take away my PS3.”
A loud snort
resonated high in the tree branches. “Oh, suck it up,” Blake retorted as his
yellow shorts disappeared from view.
“Whatever dude.
I’m outta here,” Seth said. But he stopped short when he turned around and
spotted us.
“Oh fine ya big
wuss. Wait up,” Blake yelled angrily as his yellow shorts reappeared.
Scrambling swiftly, his feet barely touched the branches. He sailed from one
level to the next barely gripping the limbs for support. I was about to yell at
him to slow down, when he raised his arms in the air and shouted, “Hey look, no
hands.”
In the middle of
all his glory, he lost his footing, and his body came flailing downwards.
Speechless, we could do nothing but watch as he free-fell through the air,
smacking into spindly branches on his descent. Screaming, he landed with a
“thud” on the hard-packed ground, one arm cracking as it made contact with an
exposed tree root. We rushed to his side.
“Ohhh,” he
moaned, clutching his elbow, which was bent unnaturally, like it was broken.
“Oh man, my arm hurts really bad.”
“Everything’s
going to be just fine,” Jessica said soothingly. As she grasped his arm, she
told me to look for other injuries. Humming, she moved her hands in circular
motions around his elbow and all up and down his arm. Blake whimpered a little
at first, but eventually his tears diminished, and he closed his eyes while
smiling like he was having a pleasant dream. I stared in fascination as Jessica
massaged his arm. The woods were still and heavy with the scent of evergreens
and musty earth. The effect was tranquilizing.
A pinecone fell
from a tree and landed with a “plunk,” breaking the peaceful moment. Opening
his honey colored eyes, Blake looked at Jessica and said, “You made it feel
better just like my mom always does. Are you a mom, too?”
Jessica laughed
heartily. “Goodness no! Not yet.”
I tapped his
leg. “I think you’ll survive. Just a few scrapes. You’re lucky…and tough,” I
added.
He stood up and
examined his arm. “Wow! I feel really good. I mean, like my arm doesn’t hurt
at
all
.” He twisted it left and right and stretched it out a few times. I was
shocked because his arm looked perfectly normal now. As we escorted the boys
back to the trail, I wondered what the heck had just happened. We’d intended on
walking them to the main section of the park, but Blake insisted he was fine.
He said he’d get band-aids for his cuts when he got home. With the spirit and
buoyancy only young boys possess, they bolted down the path, racing to see who
was the fastest.
I grabbed
Jessica’s hand. “Do you want to explain exactly what you did back there?”
Shrugging, she
crinkled her nose. “My mom is an ER doctor at the hospital, and she makes me
attend all kinds of safety and emergency training classes.”
“Jessica,” I
said, my tone laced with exasperation, “that was a lot more than simple first
aid. I’ve been to a few of those classes myself, and that training had nothing
to do with what you just did.”
“Okay,” she said
furtively and twisted her hands together, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you
about this anyways. Let me ask you a question first. It’s gonna sound bizarre,
but I’m totally serious here.” She spoke with unusual candor, and her emerald
green eyes pierced right through me. “Do you believe in the power of touch? The
healing power of touch, I mean?”
Frowning, I
said, “Well…I don’t know. I guess I do now.”
“What about
before today?”
“I’ve never
really thought about it that much. But what Blake said about his mom always
making him feel better, I can relate with that. I remember getting bad
headaches when I was a kid, and whenever my mom held my hand, I always felt
better.” I glanced out at the lake where a man and boy were fishing from a
rowboat. All was quiet except for our shoes crunching on the gravel.
“Good,” Jessica
said, breaking the silence. “I believe that when two people touch there are
unseen positive forces at work. Literally. Did you know medical experts say
touch also lowers blood pressure and relaxes people?”
“Makes sense,” I
said a little bewildered at our conversation and a lot nervous about where she
was headed. Shadows of tree branches danced on the gravel path as if they were
waving me forward.
She glanced at
me, and I noticed she was chewing on her bottom lip. “I also believe in the
power of touch as a way to heal or…to restore someone back to health.” I
narrowed my eyes, but she didn’t notice and kept talking. “Like with your mom’s
touch, I think you instantly felt better because she was passing her energy
onto you.”
“So you’re
saying her touch gave me positive energy and relieved my headache?” I said
hesitantly.
“Exactly.” She
wound her hair around the tip of her finger, like she was nervous. “But I also
believe that some people can
knowingly
heal another person – a person
who is seriously injured.”
Slowing my pace,
I rubbed my forehead. My sweaty palms and spiked heart rate were not from any
physical exertion but rather from an eerie feeling threatening to sweep me off
my feet. I halted in the middle of the trail and turned to face her. She
stopped and looked at me expectantly. “You’re talking about your own special
abilities?” I asked, swallowing hard.
She busied her
foot moving it around in a circular pattern in the gravel. “Yes,” she said. Her
hand shot to my arm, and she propelled me into a steady gait again. “Blake was
hurt, and I knew I could heal him on the inside, where he might have—”
“Broken bones?”
I suggested with an edgy tone.
She nodded
warily. “I go into this meditative frame of mind and focus solely on
transferring my healthy energy through touch.” She clicked her tongue against
the roof of her mouth. “You’re probably flipping out right now – thinking I’m
totally crazy, huh?”
Kicking a large
rock to the side of the path, I said, “No, I don’t think that. I’m just trying
to take it all in. I mean, yes, I’m shocked. It would all seem so unbelievable
if I hadn’t just witnessed what you did with Blake. I definitely want to know
more, though.” I glanced into the woods and collected my thoughts. I knew I
should be appalled, but with my own ability to see the future, none of this
seemed that unreasonable. “If I’m hearing you right, you’re saying you have an
ability to heal people, and this incident with Blake was not the first time?”
“Yes,” she said
with conviction.
I suddenly
remembered an incident at the store. “What about that toddler with the goose
egg on her head a couple weeks ago? The one who was screaming when her dad
brought her up front.”
Her eyebrows
shot up. “Yes, her too. She actually did have a concussion at first… ”
“But you took
care of that,” I finished for her. She nodded, and we remained silent. I
realized my heart was pounding more from having met someone else with a unique
ability, rather than from learning about the actual ability.
After reaching
the north end of the lake, we emerged from the protective cover of the trees
and stepped into the hot sun. Along the east shore, people picnicked in grassy
spots. Kids played along the shore and in the shallow water. Ripples of
relaxation and playfulness rolled across the lake as children jumped through
the water, but waves of turmoil crashed through my mind.
“Let’s find a
spot here in the grass and stick our feet in the water for a few minutes. Do
you mind?” I asked.
“Good idea. This
will be easier if you just ask me some questions.”
We stomped
through the grasses, pressed down an area where so we could sit, and then
slipped out of our socks and shoes. I stuck my feet in the lake and welcomed
the cold that nipped my toes. “Jessica, watching you with Blake was amazing.
Can you explain
how
you did that?”
She took a deep
breath and smiled. “Lexi, I knew you would believe me, and you wouldn’t laugh
in my face. This whole healing through touch thing seems outrageous. I know.
But for me it’s real, and I’ve been wanting to tell you about it.” She splashed
her feet in the water.
Wrapping my arms
around my knees, I rocked back and forth. “Okay then. How long have you had
this ability?”
“My first
experience with healing came when I was about 10 years old.” She played with a
long blade of grass, bending and twisting it around her finger as she
continued. During the next hour or so, she shared many stories. For the most
part, her healing abilities remained imperceptible to others. Usually the
victim was unconscious and didn’t even know the extent of their injuries.
Bystanders tended to attribute a victim’s recovery to Jessica’s CPR and first
aid training.
In some ways I
didn’t want to believe her. If all these absurdities were true, the existence
of supernatural possibilities in this world were increasing by the second. In
another way, I was eager to believe her. The idea that someone else on this
planet was
unique
like me – that was consoling. Our abilities placed us
both in a different dimension, one that separated us from the general
population.
“Okay,” I said,
“I have another question for you.”
“Shoot.” She dug
her fingers into the ground, prying loose a rock.
“Why can
you
heal people?”
“That,” she
grunted as she pulled the rock loose and threw it into the lake, “is the
million dollar question.” Out of the blue, but so characteristic of her
personality, she rolled back into the grass and started giggling. She gazed up
at the sky and stomped her feet on the ground.
“What?” I asked,
lying back. Scratchy grasses poked through my t-shirt, and I wriggled around to
get comfortable. A white plume of airplane exhaust was the only mark on an
otherwise infinite blue sky.
“Now listen,
I’ll try to explain my theory.” She sighed. “But I guarantee that this time,
you’re really gonna think I’ve gone mad.” She glanced at me.
“Jessica, with
you, I’m learning
always
to take everything in stride. I won’t be
judgmental.”
She pulled out
her ponytail holder and slipped it onto her wrist. “Here goes then,” she said
definitively and turned my way. “I think we’re all born with a good energy – a
life force that is with us at all times. It acts like a booster, rejuvenating
our bodies and keeping us healthy – helping us heal when we get sick. I call
this energy
Essence.
”
“Hmm…Essence,” I
repeated. “Kind of like the Chinese concept of Ch’i?”
“Sort of…in a
way, but not really,” she stammered. “Ch’i is considered to be a life force that
flows throughout the entire universe. And there are many types of Ch’i. Essence
is simply the revitalizing energy a person is born with.”
“Okay. But how
does Essence help you heal others? And why don’t we all have that ability?”
She nodded
firmly like I’d asked exactly the right follow-up question. “I think everyone
is born with Essence, but I think people are born with varying degrees of it.
Only a few people are born with a sort of dynamic Essence, more like a gift…if
you will.” She grabbed my arm, pressing her fingers into my skin. “Do you agree
that some people are born with the raw, natural talent necessary to become
exceptional musicians or athletes?” I nodded and she continued, “For example,
we can all sing right?”
“Well, that’s
debatable.”
“Exactly my
point. We can all sing, but most of us sound pretty crappy. Only a few
individuals, the ones born with innate talent and great lung capacity, are able
to stay on tune, harmonize, and belt out lyrics that move people. Essence works
the same way.” She sat up excitedly.
“Makes sense; I
guess,” I said and pulled myself into a sitting position as well.
She balled one
hand into a fist and began pummeling it into her other hand. After a deep
breath, she said, “Let’s take this a step further. Imagine Essence passing
freely between two people when they touch.” She raised a brow. “Touch becomes
very powerful! Essence rushes from the strongest person to the weakest, like
when your mom eased your headaches by holding your hand. So in some ways,
anyone’s touch can soothe, comfort, or even heal on a basic level. But,” she
munched on a piece of grass and gazed at me, “some people, like me, have the
ability to intentionally direct it at will. Does that make sense?”
“Don’t be afraid
to lay it all on the line at once.”
She giggled.
“I’m sorry. It’s that Energizer Bunny in me.”
I grinned but
said in a serious tone, “Does anyone else know about your ability to heal or
your theory on Essence?”
“Oh yes! My
whole family does. But my mom is the only one like me.”