The Healer

He came in the night, silently and forcefully. Wordless yet wise and strong…..very, very strong.  He led her into the darkness and she followed with a knowing, an inner instinct that she had to go.

Through blurred motion and confused direction, she remained with him to the destination.  Downward they went, into the tunnels, breathing in the cold damp air as they now walked deeper and deeper into the mystery.

             “C’mon” he said as she began to slow down and take in her surroundings.  The deep growl of a voice was commanding with a clear objective showing through.  He did not hide this from her.  She did not hesitate as she realized he knew her.  He knew all about her from flesh and bone and from beginning to end.  She knew him too but that was where it ended. 

 As they approached their destination, the damp chill faded into warm humidity and light.  Halls made out of tunnels turned into a home…..his home.  He took her hand and led her into a room.  There was a bed and a television and she knew they were there just for her, for familiar comfort.

             “Sit down on the bed and find something you like on the television” he told her, and again, she did as she was told.  The odd situation was not unfamiliar to her…..it just was.

 As she flipped through the channels, she was aware of his movements behind her.  He was working….preparing, for what he had to do.  She wasn’t afraid as she waited for him.  No questions asked, just a knowing.  An inner knowing that she belonged there.

      “Keep focused on what you’re watching,” he explained “and let your body relax into the force.” 

 Suddenly she could feel the power of the energy.  It was solid yet not.  Her body moved forward uncontrollably as she realized what was happening.  She was being fixed by this familiar yet unknown healer.  The images moved across the television screen, soothing her as bones were moved and repositioned…..and then it was over.

 She turned to look at the figure who had his back to her.  Dressed in sporty casual clothing, if not a bit worn and dirty, he was pure muscle and looked ready for combat, not for what he had just done.

 The questions came without words even though she knew he could not answer them.  He turned his face slightly toward her as she watched him and there was no need for anything more.  This was his world….his only means of existing.

 His face told her his story. She knew why he was there and felt his loneliness, his need to reach out to another who would understand.  He would remain there as she continued her life above.  She would need him again in the future and would wonder why he never showed up again, what the point was in the first place.

As the wordless calls for help flew into each night, she remained broken.   Walking on the surface, a product of curiosity, she remained alone herself, in her own isolated existence but when she turned her face towards others, her story could not be told…..invisible in plain sight.