Helping My Rescuers

The sun is high in the sky, blinding me upon awakening. As I get used to the sun's brightness, I realize the sky is green. Not a sickly yellow-green or a deep hunter green. No, this sky was a soothing green. I don't recall how long I looked at the sky, only having a vague recollection that it should have been blue. A grinding sound filled my ears, louder on my left side. Slowly, I turn my head to the side. The gentle steps of a young woman caused the sand I lay on to sound like two stones pressing corn to meal. I turned my face back towards the sun and green sky before closing my eyes. I tried to get my limbs to move. My muscles tightened in groups, but I didn't feel my body shift against the sand.

"Daddy. Daddy, look," I heard the woman say.

But I didn't open my eyes again.

The grinding of sand grated on my ears. Each grind growing louder. The grinding was nearly deafening when a large form knelt next to me. Their form blocked the sun and I turned my head a little to look at the man. He had almond shaped eyes that squinted beneath a head of porcupine quills. His nose was elongated and hid his mouth.

"Are you alright?" he asked, the edges of his mouth creating longer and shorter lines on either side of his nose with each syllable. "Can you hear me?"

His hand felt as soft as silk as he felt my forehead and I started to close my eyes again. His other hand grabbed my right shoulder. I felt energy fill my body. It flowed out beyond my physical frame before pulling into my core and closing off my airways. My eyes widened in panic as I tried to breathe. I struggled to get my muscles to move, but nothing responded. The porcupine man's words to his daughter were lost in the grinding of sand as he turned. Then my vision turned black—like an old television losing its picture.

I still couldn't feel my body, but I do recall the absence of the warming sun. I had managed to roll over and curl slightly. A heavy blanket, warm and wet, covered my skin. I wore nothing. Had I been found that way, or had my clothes been removed? I relaxed under the warm blanket and tried to get my brain to lift my heavier feeling eyelids. I was in a blue room. The walls and ceiling were a lighter blue than the royal blue floor. A small smile lifted my lips. As I let my heavy eyelids close again, I noticed the blanket that covered me was a vibrant red. Color Therapy. One of the many healing modalities I knew well.

The nearly imperceptible sound of cloth being dragged across the floor approached the bed I lay on.

"Will they be okay, Daddy?" the young woman, from before, asked.

"We are not yet sure, Sheida. This one has responded well to the colors and remains stable, but anything else they need we do not yet know."

"Do you know if they are a girl or a boy?"

I furrowed my brow. I thought I had been… I couldn't remember. Except for the healing modalities ingrained in my being, I couldn't remember anything else before waking to the green sky. The silk feeling of his hand covered my forehead.

"Are you awake, Visitor?" he asked.

I nodded then opened my eyes. "Where…?" I rasped.

"You're in a place of healing. Do you remember how you ended up out in the sand dunes?"

Sand dunes. That's why I could not hear anything else.

I gave my head a small shake in the negative.

"Do you have a name?"

"Can't…. Nothing."

"You can't remember anything?"

I gave a slight nod and my eyes closed again.

"Visitor, I need you to stay awake a little longer. Is there anything you need?"

"Water," I replied, not opening my eyes.

"Okay."

The man's hand left my forehead and I thought he and his daughter had gone. But as I waited in silence, Sheida's clawed fingers slid across my palm. They turned and pushed my semi-curled fingers straight. I locked my fingers in hers and felt her jerk slightly.

"Sorry," I whispered.

"It's alright. I thought you had gone back to sleep."

I gave my head a small shake. My thumb brushed against hers a moment to get a feel of her energy. "You… sick?"

I felt Sheida hesitate. "I am."

"…what?"

"It's a blood disease they've never seen. Nor do they know of a cure for it."

"Me… try?"

"Not while you are weak. I don't want you giving your strength away. You need that."

"Won't. …try?"

Sheida tightened her grip on my hand. "Okay."

I opened my eyes again and touched several acupoints relating to various blood functions. Sheida waved on her feet a little and I gave her hand a tug so she would lie next to me and not fall over on the floor. Her hold on my hand never released. I stimulated a few other points. All the tension in Sheida's body released. I rested my free hand over her kidneys. A small vibration shifted in her throat before she cried.

"…feeling?"

"My bones hurt," she whined.

"Pass… shortly."

She gave a single nod. I rubbed her low back and Sheida's crying slowed. Her grip on my hand loosened.

"…feeling?" I asked.

"Better."

"Good."

Her dad returned with a glass of water and stopped when he saw Sheida.

"Sheida?" He set the glass aside for a moment and lifted her off the bed.

She cried a little, but remained limp in his arms.

"Sheida, can you hear me? …Sheida."

He set the glass of water in my hand, making sure I could hold it before hurrying Sheida from the room. I was able to sit up enough to start drinking from the glass. I had only taken a couple swallows before another person entered the room. Deer skin covered their body and hooves scrapped across the carpet fibers on the floor. Their hands set aside the glass for a moment before helping me sit up a bit more. The expansion of energy that retreated to my core, passed through me again, but didn't take my breath this time. My guts knotted up and I felt ill. This person lifted the glass to my lips and I turned my head away. I wanted to throw up. Their hold shifted and rested on the blanket above my abdomen. The energy they sent was warming. They tried once more to get me to drink. I took the water slowly so I didn't inhale any air. When the glass was empty, I was aided in being able to lay back down.

"Is there anything else you need?" she asked.

"…don't know."

"Do you need to eliminate? Are you hungry?"

I shook my head.

"Okay. We'll check on you in a little while."

I gave a nod before closing my eyes again. I slept deeply.

My whole body ached and I curled up into a ball. The blanket was gone, but I felt a robe shift with me. A hand rested on the back of my head and another on my side. My pain subsided before I felt the wave of energy fill my body then settle in my core. So far it had happened with everyone, but Sheida. Was it because she was sick? Maybe.

Then again, maybe not. I turned to see my aid. Willow catkins fell across their head, partially obscuring their yellow eyes and bark textured face. Each wave was accompanied by the touch of another being. Why? What was the energy and why was I containing it in my core?

"I'd like to test your strength, Visitor. Will you try and sit up?"

Slowly, I got myself pushed up onto my knees. My arms shook from the effort. Then they helped me out of bed and supported me into the bathroom.

"Just ring the bell when you are finished," they said, motioning to the bell on the wall between the toilet and the sink.

"Thank you," I said.

They nodded then left me alone. I eliminated scanty urine, but the bowel load was massive and I heard the toilet empty several times before I was finished. I felt lighter, more awake as I stood by the sink to wash my hands. It was then I finally saw myself. My head was bald, my eyes looking large for my gaunt face. But more than that, my physical image wavered in the mirror like a hologram or projection about to disappear as the power failed. The only thing not wavering was the thin white robe I was wearing. I dried my hands then rang the bell. The willow headed person entered and walked with me down the hall. We entered a food court. It was empty, save the serving staff and the man who helped me from the sand dunes.

I took a step towards the man and the aid helped me sit next to him. Then they left me for a while. The man had not looked up when I was seated.

"How's, Sheida?" I asked.

"Still unconscious," he mourned. "What happened?"

"Cured…blood, disease."

He shook his head in disbelief. "There is no cure for her disease. We've tried everything."

"Sheida… cured. …building, new blood."

"The bone marrow no longer creates new blood cells. She has to get weekly transfusions to stay alive."

I took a deeper breath. "Not anymore."

The man looked at me then. His almond eyes swollen with tears. "You don't understand, Visitor. Nothing…."

"Raiza," a woman said.

We turned as the deer skinned woman who had helped me earlier approached us.

"What is it, Yaret?" he asked.

"The results from the tests just got back."

"And?" he asked, voice trembling.

"I thought you'd want to see this for yourself."

Yaret handed a folder to Raiza.

Raiza took it and slowly opened the folder. The quills on his head started to bristle then deflated. "That can't be. How…?"

"I don't know. But the results are accurate."

The aid that helped me brought over a dish of foods I couldn't name as Raiza ran out of the food court.