Like I usually did every morning, I roller bladed around my neighborhood. Mom and Dad are snoring in their bed. They’d never be up before 9 or 10. Today I woke up at 4 am, wide awake. Decided to get in some extra exercise on my roller blades. Sylvania’s in my backpack, purring. I feel it at my shoulder blades. I sewed in angle braces so I can’t squash her if I fall. The padding Greg gave me is that stuff that absorbs impacts. Very expensive stuff! A science experiment from a study he authored, and they didn’t need it afterwards. He’s so kind, to save it for me! I had enough to do my helmet, Sylvania’s backpack, and even my wrist and knee braces.
Nobody’s up this early, not at 4:15 am. Quiet, gradually curving street. Two-story houses with cold stone. Long driveways. Big, wasteful lots. That’s my parents all over, but this house was Aunt Mabel’s. All that money didn’t last when she got cancer. Mom doesn’t talk about that time in our lives. Or her sister, who was nice to me and helped her clean up after Mabel, but she had a fight with her and I never saw her again.
Enjoyed the full moon in the dark sky. Won’t be dawn until 7:41 am. Lots of trees in people’s back yards. Ours is mud but the huge deck’s nice. I like to do my homework out there but I can’t stay warm. It’s in the 30’s now, but I won’t get hot, at least. Got to the straight part of the street near the Bruce’s.
Pretended I was an ice skater and did a spin. Took off for a wide loop. Nothing in my way, so I sped up a little.
Suddenly, a couple appeared in a flash of green light! I leaned back and did a T maneuver. “Oh, hi!” Dumb, but he looked up and saw me coming, fast. The wheels screeched. Tried to swerve but the skates are wrecked! Skidded into the man. Whump!
He didn't budge a bit! At that speed, we should both be on the ground!
“Are you well?” I expected him to be mad. His arms went around me for a hug! The streetlight by their house snapped on. Sylvania’s purring, loud!
I looked up into totally orange eyes, a head taller than I. “Depends on your definition of ‘well’. I hope I didn’t bruise your arms. Have you got a fever?” His skin felt warm through my elbow pad and wrist braces! In this cold? Through our jackets!
“O, I am well, thank you. My doctor tells me it is not an illness. Some people have higher temperatures than others.” Not that high!
I leaned forwards and he held me up. “Oh, I’m not falling, I just have to lean forward a little so I don't roll backwards.” I lowered my voice. “I saw that light. You two just appeared in my neighborhood. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody. We should move over to the sidewalk in case a car comes.”
We walked, and my skates weren’t rolling. He smiled. “You are ne afraid?” His orange eyes opened wide.
“I’ve always wanted to meet someone from another planet! Can I go with you? I’m not very happy at home.” I sighed. Sat on the sidewalk. My wheels are melted. Oh, no! Dad’ll kill me!
“How old are you, Child?” Those wide orange eyes—like a parrot—seemed kind. She had blue, also wide. Wider than I could open ‘em. He waved, and my roller blades repaired themselves. Better than—still pink but commuter skates!
“I’m 12. When I’m 13 next month I might be able to convince a judge—but I don’t want to go into foster care. My parents are going to all these parties all of a sudden. They leave me at home. Dad gets mad at me if I have any friends outside the neighborhood. Toni and Mark said they’d try to adopt me, but they’re scared I would get put in foster care anyway, and I can’t choose who to live with. Social workers can decide stuff, and nobody can do anything.” I pulled at a red ringlet. My curls bounced as I shook my head. That full moon above us in a clear sky. Appropriate. The crisp air burned as I breathed.
Ms. Derick always checks in with me. Everything all right at home? Sure. School’s fine. She worries that I’m so skinny, and all the pressure of high school and college at the same time. Complains that my parents miss parent-teacher conferences and ignore her phone calls.
The lady with him also had red hair, but deeper red than mine. “Do you want to learn healing?” Such bright blue eyes, more intense than Toni or Angel’s!
“Healing? I want to be a doctor. Mom got my high school to put me in an accelerated program, since I was taking college classes. I just started the FasTrack Program at Marietta High School last fall. It’s a lot of work, but I don’t mind. At 16 I’ll have my high school diploma and a four-year college degree in pre-med. I just got an associate’s degree that I started at 9 and I could work as a registered nurse if anyone would hire someone my age.
“Because of the COVID epidemic, I’m staying at home. But, Dad and Mom go to so many parties because he’s into real estate now, they bring everything home. We all had Alpha, then Omicron. I won’t have any intelligence left—”
“We can give you an aandat. You will get immunity and telepathy and be able to learn Zheien Healing.” Adia, the man's wife, showed me with her mind. Had to slow it down twice! Wow! “We need permission from your parents.”
I looked down and poked at grass by the sidewalk with my skate. “They’ll never give me permission. Mom always bugs me to dress like she does, ‘cause she’s into fashion. But I guess if you gave me an aandat, I could make sure I never wear a tank top or short shorts and they wouldn’t know.
“I want to dress like my friend Angel. I think she’ll look like Sarah Brightman when she grows up, with that long, black hair and striking light blue eyes. You know, Sarah Brightman, who sang in Phantom of the Opera? ‘Forget these wide-eyed fears,’” I sang. “I can’t sing like her, but Angel can. She’s been giving me singing lessons.”
“Many will enjoy your voice. Healers sing as they heal.” She took my hand, and showed me my future. The dark neighborhood faded to bright hallways at Marietta High.
We got to the Nurse's office and an elderly lady saw my look. Suddenly, it wasn't so loud, and when she got her wrinkled hands on my head, it all stopped. My record floated by my head. “Hello. Molly Brown. You just got your aandat yesterday! How is it you have telepathy so soon?” She smiled. I liked her, but never needed healing from her. “This is your Golden Day. Sit here.” She hummed pleasantly. Her eyes turned very light blue when I relaxed. Like a grandmother. I never knew mine, so I adopted everyone else's in whatever neighborhood we lived in. She’s sweet. Her tag said Healer Sunasch. Most Elshars are mean but they have rough lives—
“Okay. This is the Outer Circle. Now you get to know what all that Telepathy Training means, that you've had for two years in homeroom.” I felt her mental hands around my head. It was easy to find!
She barely touched a stray thought. I wish she was my grandmother. “That is your Inner Circle, and I won't do that again, but you needed to learn. Thanks! I wish I had grandchildren like you two!”
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I giggled. “You can adopt us!”
Angel giggled, too. “I'd like that! I miss my granny. She died when I was only 6. I never knew Dad's mom. He talks about her a lot.”
She led me into a white place and pulled Angel in there, too. Think about your Granny. You can make an Outer Circle look like any place!
Angel remembered her farm. They had a cow and a huge garden. Granny took her hand. “Here's a carrot plant. The carrot's underground. Don't grab the green stuff, Dear, or the carrot can't grow!” She giggled.
My hands were little. I smiled and looked at them. Touched a frizzy green frond. Giggled more. “Okay, Granny. I'll touch gently.”
As we enjoyed Angel's memory of the farm, Healer Sunasch guided me to use my telepathy to keep the images formed in my Outer Circle and bring them in. She made it easy.
I enjoyed that, but I thought about Ron convulsing on that table.
Healer Sunasch gasped! So did Angel. I'm sorry!
Where was that?
I let her see Dr. Schmidt talking about our students—former slaves--and us taking them home. Hours of physical therapy with them. All six needed a lot of healing at Grady Hospital. Mom refused to go with 'em so I went. Ron needed terminals removed, and it was awful!
Dr. Schmidt taught me how to be a healer! So, you want to be a healer? Let's get started! Something just happened in the gym! She took my hand and we ran down the hall! Everyone stared at us.
We ran in, Healer Sunasch with her white robes flared, and a girl I knew on the floor holding her ankle. Auel Petty. She liked to make fun of me. Oh, no! Years of torture—
She dragged my hands on Auel's forehead. What's she doing? I don't want her here!
Auel, Molly just got telepathy. I'm teaching her. Let her listen while I see your points, okay?
I don't want her in my head! You do it!
Let her or I'll tell your father what you did with Danny.
I saw where she touched him to embarrass him but I didn't laugh. He goes to Angel’s Church. Sunasch helped me concentrate on not listening. Filled my head with Zheien Points. I already knew them, which shocked her.
The girl's Points Three were red, and I felt that pain in her ankle.
Imagine cool breezes to make the red blue. Hum, or sing something.
I thought about that dumb RelieveAll commercial. It had a goofy looking duck, a horse, and a donkey that stepped on this man's foot. They danced around him singing.
When you have an oops
And the commotion brings the goose
[I'm not a goose, the duck complains]
Take a little RelieveAll
Duck: And rub it on the wall
The wall? No, silly duck!
You're running amuck!
You put it where you hurt it!
You put it where you hurt it!
The wall doesn't feel
But it does where ya kneel
So put it on your heel and RelieveAll!
I felt dumb singing in front of the entire PE class, but I did. It amazed me how the pain eased right up! I felt bones creak in her foot as if it were mine! Sunasch finished up and I stopped singing.
“Wow, Molly, thanks! I'll never say an unkind thing to you ever again!”
I laughed. “Healer Sunasch did it!”
She didn't. “I thought I was going to have to call Grady and bring a Master Healer! I need to teach you fast. The first day is always the best for anyone learning telepathy. You can increase your telepathy many fold just by learning enough skills, that first day. It's never the same after it. Kell! C'mere!”
That red-haired basketball star limped over. He'd been our star player, but recently had surgery and they told him he'd never play again. “Yes, Healer Sunasch?”
“I want to look at you. Molly's got a skill I haven't seen before. Sit here by Auel.”
More people noticed that something was happening and crowded around us.
Sunasch put my hands on his forehead and I spread my fingers out to Points One. His knee hurt bad, and other injuries throbbed. He was cold. He felt like an old man! How awful! His Points Three were so full of red I hardly saw anything. Sunasch coached me through all of his points, then a second time. A third time, like I'd seen Tonan do. He's our students' healer from Thorde and taught me a lot.
Sing, Molly. This is just like Auel's ankle.
I sang the same thing. Bone creaked in his knee. I broke out in a cold sweat. It hurt. His shoulder quit hurting. His left elbow. Both his ankles! I wanted to do more but it all stopped and Sunasch pulled my hands off him. “I just wanted you to heal his knee, Dear! You can't heal old—”
Kell bent and unbent his knee. “Awesome! Hey, my shoulder doesn't—” In awe, he got up fast and moved his legs. Held up his hands and someone threw a basketball to him. He ran around the court dribbling. Everyone cheered!
Healer Sunasch stared at me. “I can't teach you anything else or you'll hurt yourself! Go home now. Angel, go with her. Don't let her heal anybody, not even a cut, until she's had some sleep! You, Girl, are going to be a great healer! I can teach you a lot, but no more today. Kell! Go up to my office. You need to nap if you want to stay healed.” He started to argue, but Coach ran to him and dragged him away. They’ll have to call his parents, after that kind of healing! He’ll sleep all night.
I rubbed an eye. “But you said I had to learn as much as I can today! Can't I learn stuff and not heal people?”
She laughed. “You only have your Golden Day until you use it up. Don't worry, you can still learn, but not as fast. You don't want to hurt that skill. An Earthan can lose her telepathy by overusing it, without pain. We did enough. Be happy! Look at Kell. You did that! Grady's healers told him he'd never be able to play again.”
I felt awe that I did that! But, it was her skill, not mine.
I heard someone singing. Oh, Adia has the Diplomatic Link, and she brought Pas, a healer, to sing healing on me. Sharing those memories—she thought she hurt me—but I'm okay. Wow! Memories kept coming. In them, I left Earth on a slaver ship and bought all of them! Started a healer colony!
I smiled. “I still sound like a little kid singing. People think I’m like, eight until they hear me yak, ‘cause I’m so short. My parents will get home late tonight. I never know when. But, I could introduce you to Angel’s parents. Mark and Toni are great people. Will—”
Adia hugged me. Wept. I rubbed the back of her head and she stopped crying.
Ryee shook his head. “By Alliance or Unified rules, we must have her parents’ permission. Even though Earth is neither, we are bound by them.”