Book 1 of “The Catalyst” Series
Chapter 06: A Few Theories Tossed Around
“So did you notice anything else of interest in their auras?” Cate asked. She’d conducted several ‘experiments’, mostly provoking me so the girls could detect which colors in my aura each action produced, but personally, it felt much more like she was trying to humiliate me. I wasn’t terribly impressed—but still, it had produced some interesting insights. Now she was trying to determine what results the girls had observed during it that she may have missed.
“I saw several things,” Shani observed, squinting against my glare as she tried to see things in my aura by looking at me from different angles. “It was hard to separate the colors when they occur at the same time. There’s a lot going on.” She was quiet for a second as she glanced away and groped for the proper words to describe what she had seen. “I think that the colors that represent emotions occur in a dancing pattern surrounding a person’s body, and that they change so frequently they appear to be flickering. When we look at Alex, that’s all we can see as everything else is washed out. But in other people, we see more stable, less … transient colors over their body—the parts of Alex that we can’t see. And those central elements aren’t really solid colors, it’s more that they’re speckled or mottled, as if there’s a lot of different elements occurring at once.
“I know we keep saying colors,” Patricia added, “but these visions don’t look anything colors you’ve ever seen before. We don’t know if we’re seeing one color or several blended together. It’s like, if you don’t know that green is actually a combination of yellow and blue, how can you attribute any meaning to the color. Right now, we don’t really understand how this particular color spectrum operates. When you were doing the experiments we saw several colors pop up, but they sort of overshadowed each other, and they’d flicker so quickly, they were hard to recognize quickly enough.” She tried glancing at me, squinted and looked away once more. “It’ll take some work to learn to differentiate and figure out what each one means.”
“Now that you have a handle on what everyone is seeing, I’d like to get back to what we were talking about before,” Allison asked, the faint scowl on her face making it apparent that she was still feeling out of sorts. “Are you saying that because I was helping those guys, that what I did with them was all right?”
“Actually, I couldn’t say,” Cate told her patiently, as she finished jotting some quick notes in her notebook, slipping it into her pocket and then looking directly at Allison. “I’m simply going by what you told me. Right now, we have no idea if that’s the case or not. I’d love to learn more about how you might have used these abilities before you met Alex, but right now we don’t understand them well enough to evaluate their usage. It’s a piece of the puzzle that fits and helps us understand it, but that’s about all it does now. I’d like to think that you helped them because that would better explain what’s going on, but I have no idea whether what you did was justified or not. It will probably take a while to form an opinion on it. I’m sure you were good at what you did, but if you want me to say whether your abilities had any additional effects you’d have to consider the eventual outcome. Did you ‘cure’ anyone? Did any of them no longer need to see you anymore? Did they stop sleeping with you because of your assistance? Since I’ve never met any of them nor have known you for long, I really can’t judge for myself.”
“That sounds like a long winded way of saying nothing,” Allison replied with an annoyed sigh. “But I guess I understand what you’re saying. I’ve been telling myself that I’ve been successful because of what I’ve brought to the table, but I’ve never allowed myself to consider just what overall effect I’ve had on their lives before.”
Cate smiled, reached out and grasping her hand. “As Alex said, he’s not here to judge you. He doesn’t even know you yet. He seems to be the source of these new abilities, but none of us have any clue how or why. So far, we’re just guessing. Don’t expect him to sweep down from the heavens and anoint you as clean and forgiven. If you’re uncomfortable with your life then change it. If you can live with it then that’s your choice. But Alex really can’t read your mind and figure out what’s best for you. That is something you’ll have to do for yourself.”
“It’s so nice to hear my little girl sounding so grown up,” our mother whispered sotto-voiced to our father. Cate blushed a little at the overheard complement.
“So, have you figured out why I’m only attracting women?” I asked.
“No, that’s still a mystery,” Cate replied. “I’m guessing the ability to feel this energy is tied to being female. That could be based on hormones, genetics or any number of other things. After all, women have the reputation for being more emotional and sensitive, so it might be the results of a fair number of them sharing this ability. Of course you’d think there’d be some variance, strictly from a statistical point of view, but so far we haven’t noticed a single male having the same reaction to you.”
“Any theories on why that might be?” prompted my father, once again pushing her to flesh out her presentations.
“Since it affects women I presume it has to do with a specific trait on the X chromosome. Specifically, I’m thinking it’s a weird recessive trait that requires the same trait on both“ of the X chromosomes. That would explain why so few women have it and also why no men have it. Normally recessive traits show up in things like color blindness, where a dominant X chromosome overrides a recessive one, thus making men much more likely to suffer from color blindness than women. What we’re talking about here is a doubly recessive X-chromosome. Men simply wouldn’t have the opportunity to get it and women would have to get it from both of their parents, which would cut way down on its occurrence.”
“Are there many cases of, what did you call it, a doubly recessive chromosome?” Shani asked, sounding intrigued in where her abilities might originate.
“None that I can think of,” Cate acknowledged, “but that wouldn’t rule it out either.”
“And the likelihood of that being the case?” my father pushed her once again.
“No clue, it’s just a guess with no supporting evidence. It would explain a few things, but there’d be no reason to assume it was true. A more likely culprit would be hormones or other chemical differences in the female body, but then we’d be back to why no men have experienced it. Men have varying levels of female hormones as well. Of course, we’re only dealing with a tiny number of subjects,” Cate concluded.
“OK, moving on then, I think we’ve had about as much science as we can deal with. So far you’re suggesting that all these lights the girls are seeing simply show a person’s emotional state?” I asked.
“No,” Cate said, warming to her theory, “As they’ve said, there’s a whole lot going on in these little light displays. They describe a central color which varies for each individual, but also a variety of other colored lights that flicker around the edges. I’m guessing that the central color reveals something about the person, possibly their core personality. That’s sort of like the person’s soul, their essential being. What we’ve been focusing on is the flickering outer lights they’ve described, which seem to reflect the various emotional states that play on the inner characteristics of the person. They may feel happy or sad, but that doesn’t change the core personality, it just shows up momentarily and affects the central personality.”
“That would describe much of what we’re currently seeing,” Shani said. “It makes a lot of sense.”
“That’s a pretty sweeping conclusion from what’s been suggested,” Dad pointed out.
“Yeah, it is just conjecture at this point, but it’s the likeliest guess I’ve been able to think of so far,” Cate explained.
“It sounds pretty good,” Patricia suggested. “We could see the outer colors change when you were doing your little, uh, experiment, so your theory makes sense there at least. But you’re right, there’s a lot more going on than we’ve been able to touch on yet.”
“I think my head hurts from all this theoretical stuff,” Natalie stated, holding her head with one hand for effect.
“Well, as wonderful as it was listening to my kids finally unraveling their own mysteries,” my mother said proudly, “that’s probably a sign that we should eat. I’ve noticed no one’s asked us about food. It’s still early, but we could probably eat something since we skipped breakfast.”
“I think that’s my fault,” Cate confessed. “I told the waitress that we’d be sitting and talking for a bit, so she’s held off interrupting us. I’ll get her attention.”
Once we ordered lunch we discussed non-theoretical topics, mainly focusing on food and other things to do for the afternoon. Everyone seemed to be very accepting of the others, so far. No one commented on Allison’s claim of being an expensive prostitute, assuming it was OK for some odd reason. Well, aside from Cate’s idea about her abilities benefiting her clients, I guess. I assumed I’d hear how everyone dealt with her when everyone cornered me later, primarily my parents. I was sure they’d have a definite opinion about Cate and my spending much time with a known prostitute.
I assumed everyone was purposely avoiding the topic to allow Allison to adjust to everything. I noted that the women focused on me whenever I mentioned anything, as if everything I said was some pronouncement from on high, and they were highly attentive, noticing anything I might want and trying to anticipate my every need. That was bad enough, but they did it with a nervous smile, as if I’d call down a thunderstorm if they didn’t pass the salt quickly enough. But as intimidating as that was, it was eerie as well—especially since they seemed more happy to be doing it than just nervous. It was like they’d just found the man of their dreams, the one they’d been waiting for their entire lives, and I was ‘it’ for each of them. I certainly hoped that wasn’t the case, but given how oddly things had been occurring lately, I couldn’t discount it too quickly. Shani had certainly established she was interested in me almost immediately after we met, although she hadn’t shown any signs of jealousy in regards to the other women being attracted to me. Whenever a new girl would show up she’d make sure they had clear access to me and would seek to assist them in any way she could.
However, given everything they’d said so far—what little they’d said about it, that is—they all seemed to feel they owed me for whatever I’d unintentionally done for (or to) them. Still, I couldn’t see how that would account for much. Sure, it was amazing, but it was hardly personal, as I’d had no control over it. But they all continued to treat me reverently. Anything I said they took seriously. I knew if I took a position, they’d likely follow it regardless of their own personal opinions on the subject. Of course, I didn’t have evidence of this yet, but due to their general behavior around me I was pretty sure I was correct. I just hoped that I wouldn’t screw up as a result. After all, Allison was depending on me to forgive her, Shani intended to uproot her entire life to follow me home, and I could see them all depending on me to always know what was best for them. That thought scared the hell out of me as I had no clue what the best options for my own life were, let alone that of three independent adult women. No one had ever considered me a guiding moral influence before, and the inherent moral responsibilities terrified me.
As the meal progressed, I thought about this newest addition to our little group. And ‘group’ was starting to become a more appropriate word as I found more people following me around as each day passed. I was hoping all the excitement would slow down soon, but with someone new appearing every single day I thought that unlikely. So far, everyone that I’d affected had first become aware of me on the first day we’d arrived, and that must mean they’d all eventually find me and then they’d stop showing up. That made me feel a little better, but then I considered the various looks I kept getting as well. While many of them were from people we’d seen before, we also had to consider some were new people who hadn’t observed me yet. While I might be whittling down the list of people still trying to find me, there was no stopping new people from reacting to me as well.
As lunch finished, my parents decided to wander the parts of the French Quarter they hadn’t seen yet, which was mostly the old Saint Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square Park down by the water. The girls were far more interested in accompanying me than in where we were going. My parents tried to engage them in conversation, something made easier by their acting as our tour guides. I also think they imitated Shani in trying to win over my parents first.
“Alex?” Allison asked quietly after sidling up to me so we could talk somewhat privately, despite the constant presence of the other women around me.
“Yeah?” I responded simply, awaiting her question.
“I know you said you didn’t know much about me yet, but surely you know how you feel about what I’ve done,” she continued with a pained look on her face, clearly pensive about my view of her character.
Sighing heavily, I considered the situation. She wasn’t going to be denied. She wanted to be absolved whether I was a capable of it or not. “Look, I know all of you think I’m this mighty character walking around judging who is worthy of my gift of sight, but that’s not what’s been happening. I’m just an innocent naďve high school kid who doesn’t understand what’s going on. I’ve never met anyone in your line of work before, so I can hardly be expected to pass any kind of judgment on them. Surely there are others who know what’s involved much more than I do.”
“That’s not the point,” she replied, copying my tired sigh. “Everyone“ has an opinion on women of ill repute. Finding someone with a strong opinion on what I should do isn’t my problem. I don’t care what other people think. Your“ opinion is what’s important here. Like your sister said, we can all feel that you have a tremendous amount of power. I feel that God led me to you this morning when he directed me to search out a new church. Surely He“ trusts your judgment. I need to know if what I’ve been doing has been doing anyone any good or if I’ve just been fooling myself all of these years.”
I noticed that Cate had edged closer during this little exchange, straining to hear our words despite the fact that both Allison and I had been keeping our voices lower than normal. When she saw me glancing at her she nodded her head, silently telling me that I had to say something to Allison about this, apparently whether I knew what to say or not. I knew that I had to respond as well … yet the fact that I could say the wrong thing and possibly hurt her practically paralyzed me with fear. In just a short time I’d grown to care very deeply for these women who all worshiped me. I knew it wasn’t justified, but they simply wouldn’t be dissuaded. I knew my father would simply tell me that there comes a time when you have to simply grow up and accept what life gives you.
“Well, Allison, as much as I feel uncomfortable saying this, I think you have to figure out something that’s going to make you feel more comfortable doing what you seem to be doing. Maybe you’ve been helping those men, maybe you haven’t, but isn’t there a better way to help them? Besides, you’re limiting yourself in who you can help. You aren’t helping those most in need. In fact, you’re only placating the rich and powerful. You’re also limiting yourself to only helping half the population, and the more powerful half at that.” I shrugged, to show I didn’t have all the answers, and then smiled as a nice alternative occurred to me. “Personally, I think you’d do better becoming a therapist. That way you could help those that come to you needing assistance. With your intuition and vision you should be able to help a lot of people that way, and you wouldn’t be conflicted by your inner doubts.” At her somewhat dubious look, I decided to sweeten the pot a little.
“Plus,” I added with a wink that I hoped might let her know I wasn’t trying to pass judgment on her behavior, “if you wanted to have some fun, you could do it on your own terms.”
She thought about that as we walked, but I could tell that her dark mood was lifting as we continued. “You know, that’s a good idea,” she replied. “I’ve saved up a fair amount of cash, so paying for additional schooling shouldn’t be that difficult. I’d be able to still help those I’ve helped in the past, but I’d just tell them I’m no longer in that line or work anymore. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.” Yeah, I thought, except for all those men wanting an uncommitted fling behind their wives back at your expense.
“It’s not like there’s a long career path in this sort of thing,” she continued, still reflective. “I’ll probably never make any more than I’m making right now unless I go public and write a book, embarrassing everyone I worked with. A new career might be a solid investment. It’ll mean a lot of study and several years before I could begin, though.”
“Uh, how much training does it take to be a therapist?” I asked naively.
“No, silly,” she replied, playfully slapping my shoulder. “I’m planning on becoming a Psychiatrist.”
I felt my jaw working as I thought about the implications of her decision. “Isn't that a bit extreme, after all, that'll take a long time of hard work, not to mention a lot of money?” I asked, realizing I’d just done what I’d been afraid of, unintentionally saying the wrong thing and having her commit herself to something she could never afford.
“Not really,” Cate suggested, finally joining the conversation. “You could study part time while doing something else. You seem to be motivated, so I doubt you’ll have the lack of drive most students do. By studying on your own, you could move ahead more quickly. I’m involved in a lot of independent studies myself, and I’m sure we could find some Universities that’ll be willing to assist you.”
“Yeah, especially if you’re willing to pay them,” laughed Shani, causing everyone else to laugh as well. Apparently our private conversation hadn’t been very private.
No one seemed to be concerned about the money involved, so I assumed I had a very poor understanding of how much a ‘fair amount’ of money was. Apparently escorts made a lot more than I'd been led to believe. Or at least those of Allison’s caliber did.
Since it was now later in the morning but still too early for lunch, the streets had become more crowded. We were strolling along when Patricia grabbed Allison’s arms and said, “Wow, look at that, isn’t that amazing?” Allison immediately sighed in pleasure, apparently appreciating what they saw without the need for further explanation, but I couldn’t figure out what they were pointing at.
“What’s amazing?” I asked. They both looked back at me.
“I guess you can’t see it,” Patricia told us, “but we can see the woman over there has a tiny baby inside her that’s apparently old enough to have its own aura. She isn’t showing at all so it can’t be very far along, she probably isn’t even aware she’s pregnant yet, but already her baby’s aura has its own color, showing it to be unique and not just a part of her.”
“That is amazing,” Shani echoed, apparently watching the same thing.
“Wow,” Cate stated, also enthused, “so all this talk about seeing people’s souls is more accurate than we initially thought?”
“I guess so, if you can see the characteristics of the unborn,” Natalie commented from the side.
“It seems to lack the emotional colors at the edges of its aura,” Shani observed. “I guess it’s still too young to be feeling very much or to be aware of anything yet.”
“Let me tell Mom and Dad about this,” Cate replied excitedly. “They’ll get a kick out of it.” She ran back and started relaying the information, causing everyone to turn and watch the young woman who, for her part, squirmed a little under the sudden gaze of our group.
Cate returned a moment later. “They were excited about it too,” she stated. “So what else can you see in the people walking around?”
No one responded, but the women with the vision began looking around more thoughtfully, trying to determine just what they were observing. Given the respite, I pulled Cate aside for a quick one-on-one.
“So what was that whole ‘experiment’ thing earlier about?” I pressed.
“Why, Alex, whatever do you mean?” she giggled, demonstrating she knew exactly what the issue was, even as she went on to deny it. “Isn’t a sister allowed to show her … love … for her brother in public?” she added, pitching her voice low in a vague imitation of a sultry voice and clearly enjoying my discomfort. She fluttered her eyelashes at me for a moment, then decided to be merciful and patted my shoulder. “It was clearly a valid experiment. I was testing a valid hypothesis and it provided some valuable information that we didn’t have before.”
“Yeah, well, it was a bit unorthodox,” I complained.
“So are most experiments that prove new things. It was unexpected, but that was the whole point. It wouldn’t have worked if I’d told you I was gonna smack you upside your head.”
“Yeah, but what about kissing me like that?” I countered, still not able to get over her surprising behavior towards me in front of our parents.
“The idea was to surprise you, and I think I did a good job of that,” she replied, giggling quietly. “Besides, I was trying to generate as many different emotions as I could. I wouldn’t have been able to do that without a long discussion otherwise.”
“No, you made your point. It’s just that you seemed to relish it,” I argued, already losing much of my supposed outrage.
“It had to be authentic. If you could feel insincerity then you never would have responded sufficiently for the experiment. We had to see genuine arousal and lust. I think it was a very positive development,” she answered, somehow crafting perfectly logical explanations for the weird behavior she’d instigated.
“And what about rubbing my crotch in front of Mom and Dad?” I whined.
“Again, it was necessary to generate the response we were looking for.”
“And you didn’t enjoy any of it?” I asked, searching for what was left of my righteous anger.
“I’m not saying that. In fact I’m not saying I did. I’m just saying that it was necessary, and that there was no one else who could have done it like that at that moment in time, unless I pulled some bimbo in off the street.”
“A bimbo might have been less embarrassing. At least she wouldn’t have been related to me,” I continued to complain, not being able to give up the argument after it was already abundantly clear that I’d already lost.
“Allison was needed to observe what we were seeing,” Cate continued, ignoring my desperate attempts to salve what was left of my position. “As one of only three people capable to observing what was happening, I couldn’t use her, especially since it was her familiarity with the subject matter that allowed us to separate the different emotions. As I said, it needed to be a surprise, so Natalie couldn’t have done it initially, and asking some strange woman, or that guy in the restaurant would have been awkward as well,” she stated, effectively countering my bluff.
“No, I guess you’re right. Still….”
“You can’t have your floozie and eat her too, Alex,” she mollified me with a joke.
“I guess,” I said, still not convinced of anything, but feeling bamboozled enough to finally shut the hell up.
Cate continued to look at me defiantly with a little smile, seemingly enjoying herself, then her lower lip started trembling and her eyes began to mist before her facade suddenly crumbled. She broke into an unexpected sob and launched herself into my arms, which I instinctively wrapped around her as I’d done since we were both young children.
“I’m sorry, Alex,” she cried beseechingly. “I didn’t mean to disappoint you or to be mean to you; after all, you’re always looking out for me. I feel terrible about what I’ve done to you.”
There wasn’t much I could say to her as I had no idea what had brought about this sudden change in her. One minute she’s assertive, decisive and playful, and the next she’s a basket case, so I simply held her tight and let her get it out of her system. After about a minute she simply pulled back, wiped her eyes, thanked me and quickly backed away.
Now I’ll be the first to admit, despite having lived in a house full of girls, I just can’t figure women out. Was her sudden reaction just a flood of unexpected emotions, or was it simply Cate trying to pull one over on me yet again by acting upset just so I’d come to her defense and telling her that everything was OK? I couldn’t help but feel suspicious, which also made me doubt her honesty in telling me she was sorry for how she’d behaved earlier.
Cate had always been like that, though. She’d be fine one minute and then suddenly get all emotional, either crying or getting angry. It would never take much to settle her, she’d simply come in for a few brief moments and get my offered hug, then she’d just get up and walk off as if nothing had just occurred, leaving me feeling confused and used. Of course I was always interested in looking out for my little sister, especially when she was scared as a little girl, but I’d never been able to figure out just what went through that little head of hers. I simply had to shake my head in confusion, as nothing else I could think of could enlighten me any further.
Now that our little discussion had ended I noted that the other girls were all clustered together and speaking quietly, completely oblivious to Cate and my little scene as they kept glancing after someone who had just walked past them.
“What’s going on?” I asked as I approached them.
“Cate, you’re our local science expert, what’s located right here in the human body?” Shani asked, indicating an area just south of where I guessed the stomach should be.
“Oh, there’s a bunch of stuff around there,” she responded, showing no signs of her previous emotional upset. “There’s the stomach of course, the liver, the kidneys, the top of the intestines.”
“Is there something specific you’re looking for?” I asked.
“You asked us to keep a watch for unusual things we could see about people with our new vision. It’s just that for a lot of folk in this area, their auras have a dark spot right around here,” she specified, rubbing her hand along her side.
“Which people?” Cate asked, intrigued to be playing scientific guessing games again.
“Uh…,” Shani hesitated, “mostly heavier people, especially the local blacks. In most of them it’s just a bit dim there, but we just passed a young, skinny thing where it was much darker.”
“Could it be the pancreas?” my sister prompted.
They looked at each other as they pondered her question. Allison remained blank-faced and Patricia merely shrugged, both showing they had no idea.
“It could be,” Shani finally responded. “That would certainly explain it.”
“So you’re saying you can use this vision to identify health problems?” I asked, amazed at the possibilities.
“I’m not sure, but this is a very interesting development,” Cate enthused. “I’m guessing the dim space they see in the auras is a lack of life energy caused by dead tissues. In an older diabetic, they’d see a dim spot as the pancreas is weakened, thus producing less energy. In a Type 1 diabetic the pancreas isn’t fully functional, so it would appear darker.”
By this time we had attracted my parents’ attention. After we explained what we’d been discussing we decided to keep watching people nearby to see if anything became obvious. We had just gotten some drinks and were turning back to a bookstore we’d noticed earlier, when Shani hurried to me and whispered something in my ear.
“You’re kidding me?” I protested, not sure if I wanted to do what she was asking of me.
“No, seriously,” she insisted, pressing her request. Shrugging, I figured it wouldn’t kill me to embarrass myself in front of a complete stranger, so I walked up to a man who had just passed us and stopped him.
“Excuse me, sir, have you had any headaches or any unexplained symptoms recently?”
He stared at me like he couldn’t believe I was standing there. “That’s a rude question, and no, I haven’t, not that it’s any of your business anyway,” he huffed.
“Look, no offense, but my sister just noticed from the way you’re carrying yourself that she thought you might be showing symptoms of a possible brain tumor,” I bald faced lied to the guy. He seemed to take me seriously though.
“No, I haven’t felt anything odd. What makes her think that?”
“Well, she’s a researcher for a medical project and has been studying the effects of brain tumors, so she’s pretty knowledgeable about such things,” I said, inventing stuff as I went along, trying to tie it into things I could substantiate, figuring he or the doctors he might see would want to verify my claims. I never pointed anyone out, so he was free to assume my supposed sister was one of the adult women accompanying me.
“I have been feeling quite tired and wrung out lately, and my vision has been a bit blurry too,” he admitted hesitantly. “I suppose a checkup wouldn’t hurt.”
“I think you should get one done immediately,” I stated unequivocally, hoping that what the girls were seeing was valid.
“Uh… maybe,” he weakly replied, making me think he wasn’t quite willing to take me too seriously. I motioned him towards Patricia, the oldest woman in our group besides my mother.
“Would you like to ask her yourself?” I asked, hoping he wouldn’t but confident we could bluff enough using our combined telepathy to get by.
Instead he glanced up at my parents. I couldn’t see what they did but assumed they nodded or something, because he seemed to accept it a little more.
“I’ll consider it,” he stated noncommittally, looking noticeably paler; even more than he had previously. “Who should I tell them referred me?”
“Well, technically she’s only a researcher, so she really can’t make medical diagnoses, but she seen the kinds of things that can produce these symptoms,” I stated, hoping to cover our asses when the doctors questioned him about it.
“Look,” I continued, “could you give us a call and let us know how it works out? We just want to make sure you’re going to be OK.” Yeah, I thought, plus I’m sure everyone would want to tell me how right they were. Thinking quickly I gave him my older sister’s mobile phone number back home. I’d led the man to believe Patricia was my sister, but that wouldn’t matter. Since she actually was a researcher it wouldn’t look as odd for Becky to be getting a call like that, whereas it would look very odd for a couple of high school kids to be getting them. As the guy hurried off I turned to my anxiously awaiting entourage.
“I just told him we thought he might be suffering from a brain tumor. He took it pretty well. He said he’d call a doctor about it,” I explained. Turning to Cate I said, “Call Becky and tell her to expect a call from someone we met down here so she won’t be surprised.” She immediately took out her cell phone and started dialing.
“Are you sure you should be handing out medical advice?” cautioned my father.
“No, but we can’t be sure unless we take a few chances,” I replied with a shrug. “Besides, what’s the worst that could happen? If it turns up negative the guy might be slightly pissed off that some ass on the street just scared him into looking after his health? As opposed to the very likely possibility the guy could up and die at any moment otherwise?”
“Maybe we should have called an ambulance for the guy?” Cate asked, speaking out of the side of her phone. She seemed to have assumed what the girls were surmising was true, while both my father and I still remained doubtful.
“No, it’d cause too many questions we can’t afford to answer,” I responded. “It’s a risk to the guy this way, but we won’t get into too much trouble for a little unsolicited advice. Being named on hospital records is just going to cause major problems for us.” Just then the call was answered, so Cate turned away so she could talk to our sister Becky. After a series of sharp retorts, my little sister gave a world-weary sigh and handed the phone to our father.
“Yeah, Becks?” he greeted her. He listened to her for a bit, and then carefully replied. “No, she’s serious, and I think you should listen to her on this. While we’re not 100% sure right now, we’re willing to bet on it,” he continued, trying to convince her we weren’t all out of our minds offering unsolicited medical advice.
“Yes, I know it’s not our place to make medical decisions on the spur of the moment, but you’ll know more once we get back and have a chance to talk.”
He sighed just as wearily as Cate, as my older sister harangued him once more. “Look, just do this for us for now, and if we’re wrong you can harangue us all you want. But if we’re right, then you’re going to have to listen to us instead. OK?”
He completed the call and handed the phone back to Cate and turned to the rest of us. “Well, she’s going to accept the call under strict protest,” he informed us. “I sure hope you’re right on this.”
“Me too,” I replied.
Despite a warning not to jump to conclusions before we had any official confirmation, the girls continued to diagnose just about everyone they’d passed that meeting. They were definitely getting carried away, but as long as I didn’t have to confront anyone else, I’d let them enjoy playing with their new toy.
We spent a fair amount of time just wandering as the girls tried to diagnose possible medical conditions. After we got tired of walking we sat and had coffee at a few tables at the Café du Monde, where we could observe the people wandering around the park while we sipped our drinks. Everyone was so busy playing their new game they gave me more privacy than I’d had lately, and I could relax a little more, pretending that I was just a typical kid on a simple vacation with my parents.
Spending most of the day there, we eventually decided we needed to head somewhere for dinner. Letting Allison pick a nearby restaurant, it was a short hike, but given the troubles I’d been having in restaurants lately I wasn’t going to complain. It was another wonderful restaurant, though a little more formal this time. I was working on an endive and ricotta cheese salad when I suddenly noticed a little girl beside the table watching me. I looked up just as the others noticed her as well.
“Please, sir,” she politely began, the very picture of formality and bearing, “my grandma wants you to…,” she took a moment to gather her thoughts, “to humbly…. No, to humble herself before your might,” she responded, unsure exactly what she was trying to say. It was obvious to everyone that she’d been very carefully coached concerning her speech.
The girl was very cute and clearly of Asian descent, dressed very nicely in a pretty dress with very clear pale skin with long black ponytails. She’d obviously dressed formally, though I didn’t know if they were from the restaurant or not.
“And where is your Grandma now, sweetie,” asked my mother. However the little girl steadfastly ignored her as she continued addressing me.
“My Grandma is waiting outside, she was ‘fraid of imposing on you,” she explained. It was apparent what this was about, and I was surprised that someone would formally request my presence, instead of merely stumbling upon me and requiring us to calm everyone down when they reacted badly. I preferred this approach. I immediately grabbed the cute little thing up in my arms and gave her a big hug, which she seemed to eagerly return, considering it was from a strange man.
“Let’s go see your Grandma and see what this is about, huh?” I asked her.
“Please,” she pleaded, “I don’t have no idea what this is about.”
“None of us do,” I reassured her, “none of us do.”
Most of us got up and made our exit. My parents begged off, saying they’d already seen this show several times already and that they’d hold the table for our return, and would even grab a couple of extra chairs for our ever increasing party. We walked out of the restaurant, trying to appear casual about it, following the young girl a few steps down the sidewalk.
There sat a small frail older Oriental woman, of unknown nationality, who having seen us coming out of the restaurant prostrated herself upon the ground and wouldn’t even look up as I approached. We could hear her mumbling in a foreign language as we drew near, her granddaughter clearly concerned for her. Apparently her concern was also for her rude behavior, as she ran ahead and joined her grandmother in prostrating herself on the sidewalk. Having been through this a couple of times, and seeing this particular woman seemed to have the foresight and control to formally ask to see me, I thought it was safe to approach her slowly for a change.
Drawing near, the woman turned her head and rattled off a long speech to her Granddaughter, without raising her head off the ground. When she finished the little girl looked up nervously and began translating for her.
“My Grandma says, ‘Oh mighty Spirit Lord, she recognizes your grand…, your grand…, your grandness and that she humbee asks you to entertain her presence’.”
I again thought this was a pleasant change from the usual introduction I had to the women attracted to me. Here she was, exceedingly polite and very formal, while her granddaughter was just as cute as a button. Still, we were attracting a fair amount of attention and that was something that I was hoping to avoid. There’s just something about two Asian women bowing before a teenager surrounded by various women that attracts attention.
“Please tell your grandma that, when she’s ready, to sit up and look into my eyes. Tell her to be prepared, as it’s going to be a surprise and she’ll probably be unprepared for it, but that it’s expected and that we can talk about it afterwards.”
She was really a cute little girl, right at that adorable age where their laughter just made the world seem right. She had little chubby cheeks and eyes that looked just like a couple of upside down grins. However she looked like she was clearly overwhelmed.
The little girl began speaking rapidly to her grandmother, rattling off foreign phrases as easily as she did her English. Once she was done the older woman seemed to steady herself and slowly sat up, and only then did she raise her eyes to me. As she did I could see her react, but only because I knew what to look for. Her eyes widened and she got that glazed look and her head jerked a bit. I figured there must be something happening inside her head if she still physically reacted after that warning, but we could discuss that later. She maintained her composure, and without looking stunned or confused, she proceeded to stand up. She had the same problem the others had in not being able to look at me, shielding her eyes as she addressed me.
“She says, ‘Your immenseness and grandeur make it difficult for her to look upon you. She wonders at your ability to hide such an immen…, such an important visage from those around you,” the little girl told us, amazing me that she’d know a word like ‘visage’ but not ‘eminence’. I guess grammar school isn’t quite what it was when I was in it.
“Tell her I’d be honored to discuss it with her if she’d grace us with her presence,” I told her though her little translator. “We’re currently in the middle of dinner so we’d like to offer you both something to eat,” I added.
Again there was a quick exchange of messages, which wasn’t doing anything to lessen the spectacle we were presenting, but seeing as how formal she was being I knew better than to try to hurry her. She considered this very important, and apparently felt there was a correct way to go about it. I certainly didn’t want to belittle her beliefs.
While the translation was taking place I took the opportunity to appraise her. She looked Oriental due to her eyes and the long black hair her granddaughter shared. She had a short, square cut bob with gently graying jet-black hair. She had a pretty face, though older, pretty skin with a very pale complexion, a pretty little upturned smile and a little pointed chin.
“My Grandma says: ‘Thank you, and please beg you Mr. Spirit Master for… for your… well, for your being nice. And that if it won’t insult you,” she glanced up and nervously looked me in my eyes, as if expecting that to be a serious misstep, “she will gladly accept your kind invite-ation.” And with that the woman looked up, squinting, to see what my response would be.
I formally bowed to her and then held my hand out for her. It seemed to take a second for her to see my motions, so I moved my hand in a wider sweep so she could see what I was doing. She smiled and accepted my hand, grasping it in a surprisingly firm grip. I pulled her forward and also offered a hand to the little girl, who reacted happily, taking it as well.
I proceeded formally, matching their demeanor as if they were visiting dignitaries, and lead them into the crowded restaurant. I guess our strange entrance attracted some attention, but this time I didn’t let it bother me. This woman clearly had a lot of pride, and obviously expected me to behave in a certain manner, so I wouldn’t let myself embarrass her. I directed them to the table, enjoying my parents’ look of amusement as we approached, and signaled them to sit. However, the woman refused, indicating that they’d wait until I was seated first, holding the little girl’s hand to make sure she didn’t do the wrong thing. Taking this as my due, I formally seated myself, after which everyone else arranged themselves around the table.
“Look, just to get things off on the right foot,” I said, the tiny girl rapidly translating my words as soon as I said them this time, “I’m just Alex; not ‘your master’, or ‘Angel’ or ‘Spirit Master’.” I paused for the little cutie to catch up. “These are my family,” I said, indicating everyone. “That’s my sister Cate…, my parents Frank and Linda…,” I said as I proceeded with the introductions. She nodded her head with each introduction, regarding each with a severe respect. When I reached Shani I proceeded to spell it out for them, though I’m not sure how well it would translate.
The frail woman nervously glanced up, still shielding her eyes and said simply “Anh Ngo”. To which her Granddaughter immediately replied, “Anh means ‘intelligent girl’ in Vietnamese.” So now we knew what nationality they were. Well, I corrected myself, their racial background, as I assume their nationality is American.
“We were midway through our meal,” I explained to Anh. While the young girl translated, I signaled our waitress. When she finished I asked the little girl, “And what’s your name little Princess?”
She giggled prettily, blushing and shyly muttered “Victoria Luong.”
“Well, Victoria, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Is it acceptable if I call you Vicky?” At her nod I continued. “I’d like to welcome you and your grandmother to our humble table.” While Vicky quickly translated for us, I signaled my father that the waitress was coming, but instead he waved the little beauty my way, implying that this was my show and I should play the dutiful host. I asked for a single menu and a couple of plates for our new guests, as only the little girl could read English.
“We have French menus, if that would help?” the waitress offered, immediately picking up on our language difficulties.
Vicky translated that as well as a few other things I hadn’t heard, and turned back to the young woman and smiled.
“That’d be fine thank you.”
“Thank you very much, Susan,” I offered, reading the waitress’ name tag, “and thank you for being patient with us. We didn’t mean to skip out on our delicious meal,” I said smiling at her.
“That’s perfectly fine,” she responded, but I noticed her smile brighten and her eyes twinkle at me as I said it. Or maybe it was because I was being polite. I guess all those years of table demeanor drilled into me by my parents had taken after all.
When I turned back to the table, Anh quietly but firmly started speaking to Vicky, who translated to us when she’d finished.
“My Grandma says that you truly are a mighty Spirit Lord to have done what you have done for her. She says that normally spirits are very weak here in the mortal world, but that you seem to have abun… abund…, you have plenty of power,” Vicky informed us, still struggling with words a little too advanced for her understanding.
“We’re all new to this whole business, Mrs. Ngo,” I began, to which Anh quickly corrected me.
“No Mrs., I humble servant,” she got out.
“Nevertheless, it’s rude not to show respect to one’s elders.” After the requisite pause I continued, telling Vicky, “Please tell your grandmother—”
I was interrupted by a rousing chorus of “But I’m just a typical high school kid.” Everyone laughed, thinking they were clever finishing my statement for me, and I had to admit I was getting a little repetitious with the statement lately.
Vicky quickly whispered with her grandmother then came up with a new question. “What was everyone laughing about?”
“Nothing Vicky, they just think that it is funny how I keep telling everyone who approaches me how I’m not a spirit lord and how I’m not special.”
Thankfully the menus had arrived while I was speaking, but Anh spoke before consulting hers. “You are most gracious kind Spirit host,” Vicky patiently translated. I was about to protest again, but Anh’s serious demeanor immediately put me off possibly insulting her by belittling her beliefs.
“No,” Anh continued through Vicky, “it is not unusual for spirits who have crossed over from the spirit world into our world to forget their history,” the little girl related. “It happens frequently in our traditional stories. When a mighty spirit crosses over to the living it takes great power, but they aren’t allowed to know of their own power, for fear of what they might do in the world of the living. So Grandma says she’s not surprised you don’t know anything.”
We just looked at her for a moment, and then Cate managed to jump in before I could say anything. “Do your ancient tales have any suggestions other than smacking his head?” she asked. I thought that was pretty cheeky of her, but when Vicky translated it Anh laughed.
“That might be appro… it might be necessary,” Vicky relayed. “She says that they don’t know the extent of their power, but that they must learn to trust their instincts. It is their instincts that reflect back to their true selves. It is their instincts that know their origin, and it is their instincts which will guide them while they remain lost.”
We all glanced at each other while I thought to myself, ‘Great, we find a story teller from the old country to tell me tall tales’, but Cate seemed to be paying a great deal of attention.
“You know,” she said, “she has a point. You didn’t want to absolve Allison, but when you followed your instincts you did the right thing. You were panicking about suddenly being responsible about something other than yourself, but when multiple women came forward, looking for guidance, you pulled yourself together and started to lead them. For someone who’s always been shy, you seem to have a knack for talking to perfect strangers.”
“Surely you don’t believe any of this,” I started to object.
“Well, I’m not sure there isn’t a better explanation, but I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. If someone with an old world view can explain what’s going on, then I’m all for listening to them,” Cate replied.
“I think your sister has a point,” my father added. “It would be rude not to listen to her, and she just may have insights that all these younger people who are all so awed by you may not have.”
“Oh, grandma is in awe of you,” Vicky informed us. “She instructed me to be polite and respectful because you’re very, very important. She normally doesn’t do that because she feels her age gives her great dignity but she was worried we’d insult you.”
I just stared at them like they were crazy, but then I started to think about what my father had said. What’s the worst that could happen? I listen to some crazy ramblings about crazy happenings and get some crazy explanation? Nothing else was working at the moment. Maybe she really had knowledge of things like this from her native country.
While I was considering this, my mind off in never-never land, Cate and the girls began slowly relating to Anh what had been occurring to us. Needless to say, the explanations took a long time when they had to be translated by a little girl. Luckily it occupied Anh and the others long enough for Anh and Vicky’s food to arrive, and continued while we ate.
Anh was intrigued and fascinated by what Cate and others told her about her new vision. They related how it showed both emotions and health issues, and how they likened it to people’s souls.
“Ah yes, you Westerners and your fascination with your Christian soul,” she replied, smiling at everyone kindly. “We have a slightly less strict belief in a person’s spirits. We don’t believe that a soul’s only use is to carry us away into the sky. We believe that it is what links us to the other worlds.” Here Vicky hesitated. “I don’t mean worlds, I guess, I mean it links us to other places where spirits live, and our souls can sometimes cross between the two.” Having established that, she continued, “Thus when our spirits return after death, it isn’t because they are angry and want to scare us, but because they have something to tell us. We used to listen to the spirits that would come to us in the night. Unfortunately most of my people have adopted your beliefs, and not many believe in a world of spirits anymore.”
“Yeah, I think using that definition will keep us from getting into trouble with anyone’s religious beliefs. But just to be safe we’ll just use the term to mean a person’s characteristics, both their inborn personality and all the various things that affect it,” Cate decided.
“Hey, Henry,” my father called, “could you do me a favor and help me get another round of drinks. I don’t think anyone will miss two normal types like you and me.”
Henry was cool about my father’s request. He didn’t even point out that the waitress would normally take care of that. Instead he simply replied, “Sure thing, Frank, and don’t bother getting up. I can manage it. This is getting a little too heady for me anyway.”
I looked at my father; I could tell something was up. That was just a bit too handy. He was up to something.
“Look, I hate to rain on your parade here,” my father interrupted everyone remaining. “But I’ve got a few things that Linda and I need to discuss as well. I thought it would be easier without Henry so Patricia can speak honestly. I should probably have asked Alex to leave as well, but I get the feeling none of you would speak unless he was here to hear it anyway.” The women all nodded knowingly and my father continued, not wanting to waste any time.
“What I want to ask is what exactly each of you is planning for our son Alex? I mean, you all seem fascinated with him, and he does seem to be responsible for whatever is happening with you, but just what do you see this meaning for each of you?”
“Ah, very good question, Mr. Jennings,” Shani answered. “I was wondering how long you were going to take to bring it up. I was going to try to get the girls together to discuss some of this, but I guess we can do it here just as well. I think it’s important to understand what’s at stake for all of us, and what’s driving this ‘fascination’ we all have.”
“Actually,” Patricia added, “I think ‘fascination’ covers what Natalie is feeling, although I think even she feels more than just that. I personally feel awed and humbled that Alex would choose me to give this gift to.” I was getting ready to interrupt once again, but glanced at Cate first and could tell my shin would suffer if I did, so I kept silent.
My father considered this seriously. “So, what, you feel appreciative? You want to do something special for him?”
“No, it’s more than that,” she explained. “Imagine one day you felt yourself drawn to someone, someone you could feel was more powerful than anyone else you’ve ever met. When you confronted the person, he looked into your eyes and suddenly you have a new ability, several new abilities. You see life in a whole new way, you experience it in a new way, your place in life is completely new, and the only way you can appreciate it is via the one who gave you this amazing new gift.”
The other girls nodded their heads about this revelation. “So thankful is just the beginning,” she continued. “Beyond that there’s trust, we all seem to be able to feel it in him, which is good because we’re unable to see those things in him because of his brighter aura.”
“Yeah, I’d be willing to bet that if he were to ask us for our first born child, we may think about it for a little while, but I feel secure that we’d all willingly give them to him, simply because we trust him that much,” Allison answered.
“Really? You trust these new abilities of yours so much, even after having had them for so little time,” my mother asked her.
“Yeah, even if we don’t know how to interpret the visions, we can sense his presence. It contains an incredible amount of power, but it also contains this sense of trust, of fairness and compassion. I know your son is an important figure, a mighty spirit if you will, that will go on to do amazing things. I don’t know what role he has for me in his life, but I’m willing to do anything he may ask of me, even if it means sacrificing my life for him.”
Anh began speaking, so we all waited patiently for her to finish before Vicky attempted to translate for her.
“Alex is the embodiment of a mighty soul who’s clearly come from the spirit world to accomplish something significant. He may not know what it is yet, because that’s part of the cost of becoming human, but we can trust that his mission will be revealed and that we’ll all have a role to play in it,” she stated forcefully, I guess attempting to convey the same emotion she got from her grandmother.
I thought it was interesting that sometimes she’d use fairly difficult words and other times she’d have difficulty with the words Anh spoke, but then I thought the words she spoke correctly were probably part of the stories that Anh had told, and that she’d probably heard them before. The one’s she had difficulty with were the words that Anh used to describe me or what she wanted to say to me.
“OK, so you’re all willing to do what he asks of you, but how far does that go?” my father pressed. “Shani has already decided to give up her career and move back home with us. She’s also told us that she plans to have sex with him. Is that what the rest of you are planning, or are there limits on what you plan on doing for him?”
I suspected this might have been a mistake on my father’s part. I had been shocked when she’d first confessed this to my parents. She’d been intimating that she’d be honest with them in an attempt to win them over. However, I thought that by bringing it up now, he was doing nothing more than planting the idea in the other’s heads, since none of them had mentioned it themselvesyet. I noticed them all looking at one another, measuring the others’ responses.
“Wait a minute, Dad,” I attempted to cut in. “Shani may have the freedom to decide such things, but I’m not sure the others do. I’m sure that Patricia has outstanding contracts that she can’t break, Allison has already started talking about going back to school and Natalie has her job and home here in New Orleans.”
“Actually my job is pretty easy to quit,” Natalie suggested. “I mean, it’s nice but it’s just a hotel job. I can easily transfer the skills to another hotel or resort pretty easily. But I thought I wasn’t included in all of this. I mean I don’t have any of these amazing new abilities or anything.”
“Don’t worry,” Shani told her. “I think what Anh is getting at is that whatever Alex’s spirit’s mission is, it’ll likely include you and others like you as well.”
“Actually I think so too,” Cate added. “Alex seems to be attracting people, well women at least, with a particular skill set. I suspect it’s a genetic advantage that he’s taking advantage of. But whatever it is, I think it’s important to recognize and build on that basis. I think we should organize everyone with these abilities and try to foster their growth, with or without Alex’s ability to grant them visions.”
“I do have a lot of contractual obligations,” Patricia confirmed. “I told you that I travel for about two months at a time several times a year, but New Orleans is at the end of my tour. I’ve got about another several weeks and I’m done for a while. I’d love to spend some time with Alex and you if he’d let me. True, I’ll have to go back on the road again, but I think that with what I’ve learned from him I can manage to finally make a name for myself. I think I’m going to get Henry to start pushing to arrange some auditions and some visits from some music people. I think I’ll be able to sway a few. Of course that’ll take a lot of planning, writing and practicing, but I can do those anywhere I can put together a studio.”
“I have family here as well, as I believe most of us do,” Anh finished up this summary of everyone’s willingness to follow me home. “However I feel that I’ve been called to guide Alex in his quest. I think I can assist him in achieving what he needs to do and I plan on making good on that obligation.”
That was just too much for me. Here I was having problems with Shani following me around and now they tell me that they ALL plan on moving in with me. I groaned pitifully, burying my head in my hands at this news.
“I think Alex is having problems having to grow up in the course of a couple of days,” Cate told everyone. “He’s been having doubts about wanting that much responsibility in his life.”
“That’s understandable,” my father agreed, “but I think it’s too late for you to be fretting. What’s done is done. You now have four, or maybe five, people who are depending upon you, so it’s time for you to step up. Everyone faces a day when they have to assume responsibilities they’re not ready for. For most of us it’s when we take our first serious job and have to go to work every day, and can no longer pretend we’re going to be something else. For other’s it’s when they find they’ve been careless and they’re now responsible for a new family. But when that day comes, it doesn’t do any good to moan about it. It’s time to step up and be a man, or, pardon me, possibly a woman as well,” he added, giving Cate her due, “and do what needs to be done.”
I knew my father well enough to understand these grandiose statements of his. They were usually pretty well informed and I tended to trust his judgment in things. But that didn’t mean that I had to appreciate it. This time I dropped my head into my arms on the table and groaned long and loud in frustration. I just wasn’t ready for this.
“Well, it looks like this is about all that Alex is ready to handle at the moment. Plus I think Henry is about done, so we’ll have to wrap this up. I think you should all think about what it is you think you’ll be able to do for Alex in the future, and figure out how you plan on being able to do it. Linda and I will discuss the various options with you, just keep in mind that we come from remote farm country where the availability of interesting jobs is pretty slim.”
“Actually, Frank, I think Henry is aware of my conflicts over the last couple of days. But, given the tremendous showing I gave last night, I think he’s pleased enough with my potential to do well in the future, that he’s likely to be willing to trade success for our continued intimacy. I don’t think he’ll be that difficult. I’ll try to talk it over with him delicately, but I don’t think you’ll have to send him away whenever we talk about this in the future.”
“Well, that’s good to know. Still, I want you all to think about this. It’s going to be a major commitment and I’m not sure I want my son’s life overturned if you’re not absolutely serious about this. We’ll also have to plan out logistics. Maybe we can plan on doing it in shifts, a few now, a few in another couple of months or something, switching off every now and then. Anyway, let’s see what we can work out,” my father summarized like he was conducting a business meeting with a table full of corporate stiffs.
Henry arrived part way through my father’s little summation and began handing out the various drinks, seemingly paying no mind to the conversation, but I was sure he had a fair idea of what we were likely speaking about. I may have had doubts about his being able to provide Patricia with enough support, but I never doubted his intellect or his ability to read people. But I still had a few things to say.
“Look, you all may have my life planned out, but I am still the one being affected here. You may all be right, but I’ll have to adjust to it in time. I mean, you’re planning on deciding what my mission in life is, sitting around the table without any input from me. I mean, Jesus already knew he was the chosen one, the son of God, and he still had to spend 40 days in the dessert arguing with the devil before he could figure out what he wanted to do. I may not be able to decide as quickly as you all expect me to.”
“Good point, son,” Mom assured me. “You just sleep on it. The rest of us will all talk about it tomorrow, though. If you’re feeling too shell-shocked you can skip it, but I have a feeling if you do you’ll only be picking up a few more followers when you do. So far you’ve been averaging one a day, at this rate the only way they’re going to stop is if you leave town.”
“Tell me about it,” I groaned. “I’m ready to leave right now,” I stated, banging my head on the table. I really didn’t need this kind of complication in my life right now!
"An Unknown Attraction", and the sequel, "Trying To Be Normal", are available at:
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