climactic moments.”
“Hmm, being wounded while on active duty in Vietnam and, I guess, losing my job when the bank I worked for went bankrupt. I’d have to add leading my company through the piracy of one of our freighters with my son on board. Those were weeks and months I’d never want to live through again and I keep trying to forget.”
Zachri smiled and nodded his understanding:
“Anything else?”
“Oh, I do remember a bright spot. It might seem rather trivial but it continues to give me strength. Once, when I was hiking over particularly tough terrain in Vietnam, I found a flower in full bloom; something that should not have been there but managed to thrive under impossible conditions. The image of that flower often comes back to me during particularly rocky periods.”
“Mark, an assignment has been prepared for you that will involve traveling back to some rocky....”
“What the hell are you suggesting?” Mark interrupted heatedly.
“You’re talking about time-traveling and that only happens in books and, I told you, I never want to experience anything even remotely like those events again! If you’re real, get me out of here. If I’m hallucinating, I choose to deny this is happening to me.”
Zachri didn’t leave. Neither did Mark.
“All right, tell me, please, how I can be completely immobilized, hardly taking in what is happening around me and yet able to talk with you?”
“By now, it should be clear to you that we are not communicating with vocal cords.” Zachri explained gently.
“It is the power within me that allows us to connect. This conversation is taking place only in our minds. I can read your mind and you, a fragment of mine.”
Zachri could measure the rise of cortisone, adrenaline and cholesterol in Mark’s body at that comment.
“You’ll reduce your stress level if you can accept this on trust. In time, I will be permitted to explain how it’s possible. For now, here’s an example of what humans reveal to me. In the next second, you will again see your hospital room.”
Zachri paused momentarily and then continued speaking.
“Now, do you see that young nurse holding a tray with your drugs on it? In just a few seconds, she will put the tray down and leave the room. I know because I read in her mind that she forgot to call her husband about the change in their plans for this evening. She’ll return as soon as she makes that phone call.”
As Mark watched, the nurse put the tray on the credenza in the alcove and walked out of the room. In about the time it would have taken him to call Janie, the nurse was back and busying herself with filling all the bags wired to his body.
Mark had a new appreciation for his companion. Whoever, or whatever, he was, Zachri now had his full attention.
“Focus on me, and I will spare you from becoming ‘scared to death’, a rather frivolous term; if it were a more common human experience, the expression would rarely be mentioned in conversation.”
Just the thought of what the phrase implied made Mark’s adrenaline level soar.
“Do you believe I would allow you to be harmed while you are with me?”
“I don’t really know what to believe!”
“Pay attention to your spirit, Mark; acknowledge what you are feeling inside.”
“You sound like a pop psychologist. I never bought into that stuff. Could we discuss something a bit more plausible?”
“I have already explained that I am but the messenger. The One who makes this offer is giving you a chance that few living men receive and fewer accept , but I must make it clear that this journey will challenge you beyond anything you’ve experienced. In fact, you couldn’t succeed without my guidance. Are you willing to begin?”
“No, I’m not! How about just guiding me back to where I was. I want my life back. I want to talk with Janie. Above all, I want to wake up and realize this was just a bad dream. Find another dream to haunt, please, and get out
“Hmm, being wounded while on active duty in Vietnam and, I guess, losing my job when the bank I worked for went bankrupt. I’d have to add leading my company through the piracy of one of our freighters with my son on board. Those were weeks and months I’d never want to live through again and I keep trying to forget.”
Zachri smiled and nodded his understanding:
“Anything else?”
“Oh, I do remember a bright spot. It might seem rather trivial but it continues to give me strength. Once, when I was hiking over particularly tough terrain in Vietnam, I found a flower in full bloom; something that should not have been there but managed to thrive under impossible conditions. The image of that flower often comes back to me during particularly rocky periods.”
“Mark, an assignment has been prepared for you that will involve traveling back to some rocky....”
“What the hell are you suggesting?” Mark interrupted heatedly.
“You’re talking about time-traveling and that only happens in books and, I told you, I never want to experience anything even remotely like those events again! If you’re real, get me out of here. If I’m hallucinating, I choose to deny this is happening to me.”
Zachri didn’t leave. Neither did Mark.
“All right, tell me, please, how I can be completely immobilized, hardly taking in what is happening around me and yet able to talk with you?”
“By now, it should be clear to you that we are not communicating with vocal cords.” Zachri explained gently.
“It is the power within me that allows us to connect. This conversation is taking place only in our minds. I can read your mind and you, a fragment of mine.”
Zachri could measure the rise of cortisone, adrenaline and cholesterol in Mark’s body at that comment.
“You’ll reduce your stress level if you can accept this on trust. In time, I will be permitted to explain how it’s possible. For now, here’s an example of what humans reveal to me. In the next second, you will again see your hospital room.”
Zachri paused momentarily and then continued speaking.
“Now, do you see that young nurse holding a tray with your drugs on it? In just a few seconds, she will put the tray down and leave the room. I know because I read in her mind that she forgot to call her husband about the change in their plans for this evening. She’ll return as soon as she makes that phone call.”
As Mark watched, the nurse put the tray on the credenza in the alcove and walked out of the room. In about the time it would have taken him to call Janie, the nurse was back and busying herself with filling all the bags wired to his body.
Mark had a new appreciation for his companion. Whoever, or whatever, he was, Zachri now had his full attention.
“Focus on me, and I will spare you from becoming ‘scared to death’, a rather frivolous term; if it were a more common human experience, the expression would rarely be mentioned in conversation.”
Just the thought of what the phrase implied made Mark’s adrenaline level soar.
“Do you believe I would allow you to be harmed while you are with me?”
“I don’t really know what to believe!”
“Pay attention to your spirit, Mark; acknowledge what you are feeling inside.”
“You sound like a pop psychologist. I never bought into that stuff. Could we discuss something a bit more plausible?”
“I have already explained that I am but the messenger. The One who makes this offer is giving you a chance that few living men receive and fewer accept , but I must make it clear that this journey will challenge you beyond anything you’ve experienced. In fact, you couldn’t succeed without my guidance. Are you willing to begin?”
“No, I’m not! How about just guiding me back to where I was. I want my life back. I want to talk with Janie. Above all, I want to wake up and realize this was just a bad dream. Find another dream to haunt, please, and get out
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