For about a month, Alexis taught me all there was to learn about what we could do. The only thing left was for me to actually heal someone. Two weeks after my birthday, Alexis told me that, when we went to the hospital for our usual Sunday walk through, she'd let me feel what she did, and I could try it if I felt up to it. I wanted to do what she could, but the unfortunate truth was I couldn’t. I could heal myself just fine, but that was it. I think I knew from the beginning, but there was no way I was telling her or anyone else for that matter. Maybe, it’s because I hoped I’d learn how to heal others.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention. My aunt Lex volunteers at Cadillac Mercy Hospital, sitting with patients in recovery and doing little things to make them feel better, and I go with her every Sunday. Like her mother use to do with her. Once in awhile, she even heals people there. She's explained the healing thing to me more than once, but, until now, she wouldn't let me actually do any healing, other than my own little scrapes and bruises. Which was completely fine with me. I couldn’t have healed anyone else anyway. I really had no idea what to do. For the first time, I was about to learn what Alexis could really do, and she wanted me to see and feel how hard it really was. That is as long as I thought it was something I wanted to do. I have to admit, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I only got a small taste of what she deals with every time she heals someone, and I knew I wouldn’t have to deal with any of it. Mostly, because I couldn’t, and, partly, because I didn’t know if I wanted to heal people.
****
On a Saturday, three weeks after my birthday, we got a call from Dr. Adams. He said it was urgent that Alexis come in as fast as she could. When she asked if I wanted to go with her, I went along, hoping I could tell her I didn’t want to heal people afterwards and not have to tell her that I couldn’t.
As we left for the hospital, Alexis said "I'm going to SHOW you what I do, if you think you're up to it. Like I told you, it takes a lot out of you. It's exhausting. While I heal this Mr. Swanson, I'll hold your hand, so you can get a feel for what I'm doing. Don't worry if you don't understand what's happening right away. I'll explain it better later, if you need me to. The most important thing to remember, is that no one can know what we do. Other than Mary and Dr. Adams and our little family of coarse, no one REALLY knows what I can do. You remember the people I've healed, right?"
"Yeah. Mae the little girl with the broken arm. Marvin your favorite. Mary. Dr. Adams wife. I forget her name. The guy with Carpotunnel. The little baby. And my mother and I."
"Good. Now, do you remember what I went through? My actual memories."
Wincing a little, I nodded. "Unfortunately, yes."
"That's what I'm trying to make you understand. … Do not repeat this to anyone. Especially, Vincent. Is that clear?"
I was a little nervous and curious, so I said "Yeah, okay."
"There's a cost to healing. I've tried to explain things to you as best I can. What to do and how to do it. What I haven't told you is there's a bigger price to pay, besides the exhaustion. ... "
Her words trailed off as if she was remembering something. "What is it, aunt Lex?"
"This is a memory I don't think even you know." As she put the car in park, she turned to face me. "When you heal someone, if your not careful, you don't just take their pain as your own. You take a piece of them. You can also give them a piece of yourself. You have to make sure it's ONLY tissues and bones and such. Only what's necessary for healing them. Make damn sure you don't give your actual SELF." She let out a long heavy sigh and added "Like I did with you."
I understood what she was saying and heard the guilt in her voice. She didn’t want this for me. She wanted me to be normal. "I do understand what saying, but, aunt Lex, I'm glad you gave me part of you. I wouldn't want it any other way." I reached for her arm and softly said "I love who I am. I don't think I'd be happy any other way."
She smiled and sighed. "Okay, but how can you be sure of that? How can you be sure I didn't take a great normal life away from you?"
I laughed once and shook my head. "Because I wouldn't be who I am now. I'd be some NORMAL kid in a house full of CRAZY people ... and vampires. I'd be miserable, aunt Lex. You know I would."
She smiled and laughed once. "I see your point, and we’re not crazy. We‘re different. ... Well, let's go see Mary and Dr. Adams. They'll fill us in on Mr. Swanson's condition." As we got out of the car, she added "He hasn't responded to anything they've tried, so it's up to us. I don't know what happened to him or why it's so important to heal him, but, if Dr. Adams AND Mary want me to heal him, there must be a pretty good reason."
As we walked through the door, Mary practically jumped over the counter. "Alexis! Thank you so much for coming. I'll fill you in on the way up. Follow me." She quickly walked to the elevator and motioned us in. "You sure you want Melanie to see this?" She asked as she glanced between us.
Alexis nodded and said "She knows what I'm capable of. Depending on how bad it is, she’ll have to drive home afterwards."
Mary smiled and said "Your aunt is an amazing women, but you probably already know that. I just ... I don't know if you'll want to go in with her." As she looked between the two of us, she explained what she knew. "Mr. Swanson was in an awful accident. We've got him stable, but he's non-responsive. He's been here going on twenty six hours, and nothing we've tried is getting through to him."
Alexis said "He must be very important for you and Dr. Adams to ask me to do this."
"Well, yes. In a way he is important. ... He's the only eye witness in a murder trial. The FBI had him in protective custody. Some big shot in Chicago shot some other big shot, and Mr. Swanson is the only one -that's still alive- to see it. He's going to testify. From what I understand he also caught everything on a voice recording on his phone."
Alexis shook her. "What kind of accident?"
"Car accident."
"Was anyone else in the car with him?"
"Two FBI agents. They're in the recovery ward. Both only had minor injuries. Neither can remember much before the crash. Head injuries." She shrugged and continued "One of them hit the dash with his forehead, and the other hit the ceiling hard enough to dent it."
"I'd like to see them when I'm finished with Mr. Swanson, but don't tell them who I am. The last thing I need are FBI agents hanging around. I'll just go in with Dr. Adams as his assistant or something."
As the elevator doors opened, Mary said "Alright. What are you going to do for them?" Something didn’t right with the way she spoke and her expression. It was almost like she knew Alexis would want to see them.
"Heal their memory. Make it easier for them to remember, so they can tell if it was an accident or not. Is Dr. Adams in with Mr. Swanson?"
"Yes. He's waiting for you." As Mary showed us were the room was, she pulled me aside and whispered "He looks awful, sweetheart. I don't know if you'll want to stay in there. Have you ever seen Alexis do what she does?"
It felt like Mary was being a little overprotective, but it also felt like she was trying to get me to stay away from Alexis. "Not exactly, but I do know what she goes through. I'd like to be there for her."
She nodded slowly and gestured for me to go on in. As we went in, I heard Alexis talking quietly with Dr. Adams. From what I caught she was asking him to take her to the FBI agents after she was done, and not to tell them who she was. As I glanced at Mr. Swanson, I stopped in my tracks. His face looked like someone had run over him with a lawnmower. There were cuts and gashes everywhere. It looked like his left ear was cut almost completely off. His eye sockets were so swollen that they were even with his cheeks.
As I stood there and stared at him, Alexis gently took my arm. "You don't have to be in here if you don't want to."
As I looked at her, I said "I want to stay."
Alexis nodded minutely and said "Okay." She glanced at Dr. Adams and Mary. "Would you mind leaving us alone?"
Mary nodded and said "Of coarse."
Dr. Adams nodded once at Alexis and asked me "Are you sure what to see this?"
"I'm sure."
"It's not a pretty thing to see. Trust me. I've seen her do the impossible, and I'll never be able to forget the way she looked."
‘Why is everyone trying to get me out of here?’ I gently said "I know, Dr. Adams. I appreciate your concern, but I'm staying with her."
He nodded slightly and said "Alright then." He gestured to Mary, and they headed out the door, closing it behind them.
Alexis sat on a chair next to the bed and said "When I reach for you, take my hand. I'll only let you get a sense of what needs to be done. I won't let you feel much of his pain, but I need a few minutes to heal the worst of things, first. Okay?"
I nodded and asked "Will it hurt you more to keep it from me?"
It took her a moment to answer. "Not really. I'll keep his pain as my own, but I’ll let you feel what I'm doing."
"Okay." I said nervously. ‘She is so lying.’
She reached up and slowly took his hand, and I saw her jerk and twitch a little. She tried to hide it by shifting in her chair, but I still caught it. As she took a sharp hard breath in, she gripped the side rail so hard that her knuckles turned as white as the sheet, and I watched her face closely. Unbelievably, her face started to look like his, so I glanced at his face and saw it was slowly becoming normal. As his face got better, hers got worse. It was horrible to see her that way. After a few minutes, both of their faces where normal, and she was reaching her hand out toward me. I took it, hesitantly. Slowly, my whole body started to ache. Not bad, but tolerable. Like you feel the day after a vigorous work out. As the ache became a consistent feeling, I started to feel what Alexis was doing. She was getting an idea of his injuries. As she took the pain as her own, I felt the aches intensify but only slightly. I could tell she was holding back a lot of the pain from me. As she healed him and herself, I felt the ache start to dissipate. After she let go of Mr. Swanson and I, she laid her head on her arms along the edge of the bed rail, looking exhausted.
"Aunt Lex, you okay?" I asked quietly.
"Yeah. I just need a minute. Head injuries always leave me a little light dizzy." She laughed once and slowly lifted her head to look up at me. "Did you get the general idea of what I was doing?"
"I think so."
"Okay. Well, I better go see those FBI agents." As we started for the door, she said "I don't think you should come with me. Something's telling me you shouldn't go. Why don't you wait in the car? You can drive home."
"What is it, aunt Lex?"
"I'm not sure. Just wait in the car. Okay?"
"Sure."
As we stepped out of Mr. Swanson's room, Dr. Adams asked Alexis "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Where's Mary?"
"She went back to the front desk. Do you still want to see the FBI agents?"
"Yes." She turned to me and said "I'll just be a few minutes, Mel."
I nodded and headed for the car. As I passed the front desk, I glanced around for Mary, hoping to talk to her for a few minutes, but she was nowhere in sight.
