Proof of Heaven Read Online Free PDF Page B

for a prosperous En-glishman, Gaspar, and that is who he named me after. This man was a Christian, and my father often returned home at the end of the day with stories that he had heard from the man. My favorite was, of course, of Gaspar—the Wise Man from India. He told me that Gaspar and the two other Wise Men saved Jesus from death as a child. Legend says that King Herod, hearing of the birth of Jesus, sent the Wise Men after him. They were told that when they found him to return and tell Herod. The Wise Men followed the special star to Jesus, but when they got there and saw the baby and his mother, they knew he was a special sort of child, and they knew they would not tell Herod, who would have most certainly killed the baby Jesus. He and the other Wise Men protected the baby. So . . . if it weren’t for Gaspar and the other Wise Men from the East, who knows . . .”
    Dr. Basu shrugged his shoulders when he said who knows. And Colm smiled at him, because Colm knew that if there was anyone, anyone in the world who was going to save him, it would be a man named Gaspar.
    â€œSo, my boy, you know what my name means. Now, what does yours mean?”
    â€œIt’s sort of silly. Not cool, like your name, Dr. Basu.”
    â€œGo on, tell me. I’d love to hear it. I am sure it is cool, as you say.”
    â€œDove.”
    â€œAh, Dove. Why do you think you were named after a dove?”
    â€œDunno.”
    Cathleen interjected. “I named him that because the name Colm is the Gaelic form of dove, which is the symbol of peace. I can’t explain it, but from the moment I felt him swimming and leaping around in me, I felt nothing but peace.” Cathleen noticeably blushed, but Dr. Basu was moved by her confession.
    â€œThat’s a tall order, my good boy. I hear you’re causing some trouble, Dove, for your mother. Disturbing her peace, is that true?”
    â€œYes, I fall down sometimes. It scares everybody, especially my mama.”
    â€œDo you know when this is going to happen to you?”
    â€œSometimes. Sometimes I start to feel real sick, and the world gets fuzzy and I can’t see or hear so well.”
    â€œHow do you feel when you wake up?”
    â€œPretty bad. Heavy, like someone is sitting on me and I can’t get up.”
    â€œIt takes him a long time to speak, Doctor. He stares up at me for a long time, and it’s like he doesn’t really know me. He seems so far away.”
    â€œHmmm. I see,” Dr. Basu said, all the while using his stethoscope to listen to the boy’s heart.
    â€œI think he needs a pacemaker, Ms. Magee. That should do it,” he said, wrapping the stethoscope back around his neck.
    â€œExcuse me?” Cathleen said, incredulous.
    â€œA pacemaker. It’s a minor operation really. I do them all the time. It will take no time, and we’ll fix this once and for all. Everything will be A-OK,” Dr. Basu said as he made the OK sign with his fingers.
    Cathleen couldn’t believe what she was hearing. And she couldn’t believe she was going to say what she was about to say. She thought she wanted to hear this. She wanted to hear something decisive. For years she had been ordered to take Colm to other hospitals for other tests, where she would then be told, if she was told anything at all, that the tests found nothing out of the ordinary and there was nothing anyone could do. All this time, she thought she wanted someone who would fix all this and make it all go away. But suddenly she had her doubts about this man. He seemed too relaxed, too sure of himself, too together. She felt the anger coming, the way she always could, like someone took a rope and tightened it around her throat. She tried to fight back the urge to explode, but she couldn’t.
    â€œDo you mean to tell me, you’ve been with my son for less than two minutes—you found out what his name means and what he feels like when