Turnabout

The tiger wasn’t looking for a way out, but she was open to the idea. When the newbie zookeeper left both gates unlatched, it seemed to her an excellent opportunity to see how humans lived. When the kid’s back was turned, she nosed the gates open one-by-one and sauntered out. It seemed the guests were more scared of her than she was of them. Yet she wasn’t interested in them as much as the outside world, the wide-open space beyond the walkway that she could barely see from her enclosure. There must be more to life than this, she thought day-after-day. Now was her chance. It was relatively easy to leap over the fence near the gift shop. For some reason, no one stood in her way. The parking lot confused her at first. Her instinctive memory was of the jungle: trees, grass, vines, leaves, and flowing brooks, not a sea of giant, gleaming hard-shelled turtles sunning themselves on the hot, black asphalt. She had hoped the outside world would be softer than this. With relief, she saw that it was – on the other side of the giant turtle field.

The animal control van approached from the south. The tiger headed north, then turned west across the street, narrowly missing one of the fast-moving, north-bound turtles. She never dreamed turtles could be faster than charging elephants. She wasn’t as lucky with a south-bound turtle. It tried to stop, with a shrieking sound beyond her ken, but it caught her with a one-two punch in the ribs and head, and she staggered off in a daze towards a small park. All seemed hopeless. She tried to shake it off, but it seemed her adventure was over. Soon she would return to a life of monotony and boredom. But at least she got to see something.

Under a tree on the opposite side of the park, an old man looked up from his day-old newspaper. He wore a scraggly grey beard, a well-worn black fedora, and a dusty wool jacket – the kind with patches on the elbows. He seemed unperturbed by the tiger, but kept an eye on her, as if waiting to see where she would go next.

Mothers and nannies hustled their children out of the park. The tiger ignored them. Sirens sounded in the distance. And the old man just sat there, as if deep in thought.

Marian looked up from her lunch bag to see a Bengal tiger, obviously in pain, taking tentative steps in her direction.

“Well, hello there…come here, girl. Let me have a look,” Marian spoke softly, reassuring a beast who could have easily disemboweled her without a second thought.

The tiger obeyed. Marian held the tiger’s head gently as the animal stood by the park bench. “Oh, that really hurts, doesn’t it, sweetie?”

Marian grimaced and groaned a little as the tiger relaxed in her arms. She slid to the ground as the beast laid its head in her lap. She stroked her new friend’s neck as the men from animal control pulled up to the park.

“Just a couple of cracked ribs and a bruise on the jaw. Nothing to worry about, big girl. You’ll be alright in no time,” Marian spoke calmly in the tiger’s ear.

The big cat purred and cuddled with her. The animal didn’t know why, but all her pain was gone. Marian knew all too well, and for the next day or two, she would feel it instead.

“Did she hurt you, Miss?”

“Oh, my, no. I’m fine. Dolly’s fine. She likes me. See?” The tiger nuzzled Marian softly, as if she were its kitten.

“Well, I’ll be…”

“Please let her rest a few minutes,” Marian told the animal control officers. “Then I’ll help you get her in your van. I’ll even ride back to the zoo with her.” She held her side and tried to ignore her concussion as she massaged the tiger’s back.

“But we’re supposed to…”

“I know what you’re supposed to do. Better not do it with so many cellphones pointed at us, though. My new friend here just wanted to see a little of the world. Now that she’s done that…” Marian looked in the tiger’s eyes. “Let me know when you’re ready, Dolly, and these nice men will take you home.”

“Well, alright. How long do you think it will take? We have other calls, you know.”

“Not long. You can leave and come back if you want. She won’t go anywhere unless I go with her.”

“We can’t do that. We’ll just stay right here. But tell me…how did you…?”

“I have a way with animals,” Marian replied, just beginning to feel like she might get up without wincing too much. The tiger was snoozing contentedly on her lap.

The old man was gone.

_____

Soon after Marian turned sixteen, she saw a bird crash into her bedroom window. When she went outside to check on it, the nighthawk was not moving. Its wing appeared to be broken. Marian picked it up and cradled it in her hands. Immediately her left elbow felt like it was on fire and her head felt like she’d been hit with a hammer. The pain was so sudden, she almost screamed. Soon the bird came to, still a little dazed, but safe in Marian’s hands. She felt the nighthawk trusted her somehow, even as she felt its distress. Her arm ached for hours after she let the bird go. At the time, Marian decided to keep the unusual parts of the story to herself. She checked on the bird. It was OK. The end. No sense letting things get weird.

_____

“Look, Miss. We’ve been hanging around here long enough. Time to go.”

“OK,” Marian sighed. “Well, Dolly, it’s time. We have to take you back now. I’ll come with you. Everything will be alright.”

Marian led the tiger to the van and jumped in before the men could stop her. Unconcerned, the tiger followed. When the men tried to get Marian to leave, the tiger growled at them. “Better let me go with her.”

The local news had quite a story to tell. National news outlets picked it up and ran. Out of nowhere, Marian became the talk of the airwaves. Still, many on the internet thought the whole thing was a set-up. Fake news. Some said Marian was an animal trainer in real life. Others insisted Dolly was a trained tiger. The zoo tried to assure everyone that their Bengal tiger was indeed dangerous, but on the other hand, they didn’t want to destroy her for going wild. It was a good thing nobody got hurt.

Marian would have preferred to remain anonymous, but she couldn’t bear to let an animal suffer. Besides, no one had to know she had the ability to heal, much less take on the pain of others. If that information became general knowledge, her life as she knew it would be over. So, she played up her “way with animals” and kept her abilities under wraps. Once again, she hoped to fade away as soon as possible.

_____

“Is this Marian Lockwood, the young lady who befriended our tiger?”

“Speaking.”

“This is Doctor Wilson. I’m calling to ask you a couple of questions. Is that OK?”

“I guess so. How’s Dolly?”

“That’s why I’m calling. She’s absolutely fine. Nothing wrong. In fact, she seems better than ever.”

“That’s wonderful. I’m sure being outside the zoo was scary for her.”

“Let me get right to the point, Marian. Several witnesses told me she was hit by a car before she ran into the park. How was she when you met her?”

Marian answered carefully. “Well, I didn’t really examine her. She seemed frightened and somehow, I was able to calm her.”

“That’s what the guys from animal control told me. It seems you do have a way with animals. It’s just that I find it hard to believe Dolly bounced off a car with no injuries. Tigers are tough, but not that tough, if you know what I mean.”

“I’m not sure I do,” Marian played her ignorance card. “Maybe the car wasn’t going as fast as people think.”

“Miss Lockwood. I think you know more than you’re telling me. Nobody meets a Bengal tiger, not even a captive one, for the first time and is able to ride with her in a van without being mauled or killed. They just don’t trust strangers. What did you do to our Dolly.”

“I was kind to her. I spoke softly. I reassured her. What else could I do?”

“Precisely. What else did you do?”

“Nothing. Really. I’m just glad she trusted me.”

“So am I. That tiger could have killed you in a heartbeat.”

“I’m aware of that. I just gave her a little love.”

“With all due respect, I don’t believe you. But I have no way to prove you did any more than that.”

_____

About a month after the nighthawk incident, Marian’s Aunt Eleanor asked her to look after her little cousin. The boy was always a handful, but that day he refused to listen to a word Marian said. Kenny darted through the house like the Tasmanian Devil in a Warner Brothers cartoon. Despite Marian’s warnings, don’t touch that, put that down, that’s sharp, that’s really hot, Kenny did what he pleased. A three-and-a-half-year-old boy apparently doesn’t care what his cousin tells him until it’s too late. Kenny laid his left hand on a hot burner on the ceramic stovetop. Then and only then did he stop in his tracks, look at Marian, and scream at the top of his lungs.

At first, there wasn’t anything Marian could do other than put an ice cube in Kenny’s hand, comfort him, and hope for the best. Kenny whimpered and sobbed.

After a few minutes, Marian sighed, “Oh, Kenny, maybe I can take away your pain.” As she held her cousin’s hands in hers, tears came to her eyes, along with a searing sensation in her left palm and three of her fingertips.

Kenny held out his hand. “It doesn’t hurt now, Mawian. Look…”

Kenny’s hand showed no sign of a burn, but Marian’s hand was red and blistered. The pain was now all hers.

“Kenny…don’t tell anyone about this,” Marian said as she reached for the burn ointment and a bandage. She wasn’t sure what was happening to her, but she was certain she had other things to worry about. Being called a freak by her classmates for starters. She didn’t need any weird stuff in her life and taking on somebody else’s injury just by thinking about it seemed to her just about as weird as things can get.

To his credit, Kenny didn’t say anything when his parents got home. Marian just told them she burned her hand on a pan, which seemed to explain things. But Aunt Eleanor wanted to see for herself, so Marian was obliged to remove the bandage for “a little look-see.”

“That doesn’t look so bad,” Eleanor said. “It’ll probably get better in a week or so.”

Marian just nodded. The burns already looked a lot better. Unbelievable. The next morning, she could hardly tell anything had happened.

At age 16, nobody wants to be known as a freak. It’s OK to be popular – after all, jocks and cheerleaders get all the attention they need. But what if your classmates found out you could heal someone with a touch? What if they learned that you could absorb their pain? What if the pain of others turns out to be too much for you?

Marian didn’t ask for this…was it a gift? Now, she felt she had to learn to use it in secret. No one must know, not her family, friends, and especially not the school bullies. They could make her life a Hell on Earth.

_____

“Let me see your hand,” Eleanor asked.

It was too soon. Not even a day had gone by, and the burns were nearly gone. So, Marian just said, “It’s OK. Nothing to worry about.”

“Come on, Marian. Kenny told us what happened after you left. Show me.” Eleanor wasn’t going to give up.

“I don’t know what he told you…but…”

“Just show me.”

The hand was healed. Only a barely perceptible trace of the burns remained.

Aunt Eleanor sighed, “I knew it.” Then asked, “Does anyone else know about this?”

“God, no. I haven’t told anyone.”

“Marian Lockwood. Let me tell you a story.”

“What kind of story?”

“The important kind. Please. Let’s sit down.”

Marian did so. Eleanor continued. “For over 300 years, certain members of our family have displayed unusual…abilities. Not every generation, but there have been six including the first one. You are the 13^th generation. Your ancestor, Elizabeth, was the first of our family to be able to…well, no one today is certain just what her abilities were. Elizabeth predicted that in 13 generations another like her would appear. It’s possible that what you’ve experienced so far is just the beginning. There may be more to come. The next couple of years will tell.”

“What are you talking about? Am I a mutant or something?”

“No. Well, maybe. Three or four hundred years ago, you would have been called a witch, like Elizabeth. I don’t want to frighten you, but they tried to burn her at the stake.”

“Wait! I thought they hanged witches in America.”

“They did in Salem. But those weren’t really witches. And this wasn’t in Salem.”

“What did she do that made them burn her at the stake?”

“They only tried to burn her. First, someone saw her talking to animals. Then, there were her predictions. She made these in strict confidence, of course, but a few people let the cat out of the bag, so to speak. She could also heal with a touch, like you. Rumors started. Elizabeth suspected Reverend Thorne was behind them. He even tricked the people she had helped into testifying against her. Eventually, the whole village thought she was in league with the devil, which wasn’t true of course, just like those unfortunate souls in Salem. But mass delusion, hysteria, and confirmation bias make an almost invincible three-headed monster.”

“Where did Elizabeth live?”

“A place called, Merrybell, Massachusetts.”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“Neither has anyone else, outside our family. There’s no public record of it, but I can show you her diary if you’d like.”

“That’s OK. I trust you. So, what became of Merrybell?”

“After the Salem trials were over, word spread that they put 20 witches to death. 19 were hanged, and one was crushed with stones. Of course, if these people were really harming others, and this could have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, maybe…just maybe some kind of punishment was called for. But how can a person defend herself against the charge, made without any hard evidence, mind you, that she somehow unleashed evil spirits? No matter how much good a person has done, they won’t be able to prove they were not in league with Satan. Literally any outcome can be attributed to witchcraft. By this logic, if the Chicago Cubs were to win the World Series next year, it would be because the devil helped them do it. But I digress.

“Marian, the short version is that Elizabeth was accused of witchcraft. The villagers believed the only way she could have done the things she did was with the devil’s help. It never occurred to them that she just as likely could have had God’s help, or maybe God gave her abilities above and beyond others. When Moses parted the Red Sea, was he using the power God gave him, or was he acting as Satan’s most powerful warlock? The Israelites thought their God set them free, but it seems to me the Egyptian army might have thought something more hellish was going on. Was Moses with God or the devil? Maybe the answer to that question depends on who’s side you were on… Well, the village voted to burn Elizabeth because they couldn’t bear having Satan’s little helper living in their midst. And she couldn’t in good conscience confess or repent when she hadn’t done anything wrong. What they didn’t count on was that unlike the so-called witches of Salem, Elizabeth actually had powers. Do you think the accused in Salem would have been killed if they really were witches? I don’t. Sadly, the proof that they were not witches was that they died maintaining their innocence. Elizabeth simply would not allow herself to be burned at the stake.

“When the torch set the first log on fire, Elizabeth closed her eyes and declared, ‘Merrybell shall be no more.’ A fierce wind blew the flames away from Elizabeth, towards the nearest cabin, and to every other building as well, burning everything in the village to the ground. No one was hurt, though. As Elizabeth made her escape, the villagers stumbled around, confused about what they were doing outside on such a fine spring night, and wondering why someone had set fire to their village. One suggested the place was cursed, others agreed, and that was the end of the settlement. Before long, the villagers made their way to surrounding towns, and not one of them remembered the name of the place they once called home.”

“Holy shh…” Marian began.

“Holy something,” Eleanor cut her off. “How’s that for power?”

Marian was speechless for a moment. “Aunt Eleanor, does this mean I’ll have powers like Elizabeth?”

“I don’t know. Some of the six have been healers, seers, or protectors. One or two had powers of suggestion. But there is no record of one doing what Elizabeth did. The flames meant for her destroyed an entire village. She was supposed to be erased, but she lived on while Merrybell was forgotten. After a few months, nobody even remembered where it was.”

“Are you sure about all this?”

“I have her diary. She wrote it all down. It may all be a tall tale, except for the fact that you and others in our family have had similar experiences. Do you think they wanted to be different?”

“Not any more than I do. I just want to be a normal teenager. And have a normal life.”

“Sorry, Marian. You are different. Now you need to figure out how to use your abilities for good.”

“First, I need to figure out just what those abilities are.”

_____

High school is hard enough to navigate without inadvertently letting people know you are an empath and a healer – and who knows what else. It’s doubly hard without parents. Aunt Eleanor cautioned her to ignore everyday bumps and scrapes, as well as illnesses that would pass in due time. But what about intentional harm, bullying, and cruel pranks gone wrong? When should she step in? When should she mind her own business? She decided her heart must be her guide. She didn’t consider herself to be “a do-gooder,” but soon she found herself talking with her favorite teachers about philosophy and ethics. How would she know “the greater good” without at least thinking about what that might be? It was a lot for a teenager to process, and watching reruns of “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” and “Charmed” turned out to be pointless. Reading the Bible helped until she got to the parts about demon possession, fallen angels, and the battle against the forces of darkness. What if she was a force of darkness? Her Aunt had encouraged her to do good. She prayed that she would. For most of the school year, she tried to keep a low profile.

_____

Aunt Eleanor and her other mentors were nowhere to be found when Marian saw the school bully and his pack of hyenas picking on a friend of hers. Why is it that bullies always know the best places to stay out-of-sight? Marian was returning from an off-campus errand and there they were. They had dragged the “little dweeb,” as they called him, out into a niche by the auditorium. Marian thought Jack was “a real brainiac,” and she meant that in a good way. A high IQ was Jack’s gift. He helped several people with their homework, including Marian. Jack was her lab partner in Biology 1, and she wouldn’t be passing the course without him. She just couldn’t stop herself when Clayton started beating Jack while his gang of goons cheered him on.

“What the hell, Clayton?”

“Go away, Marian. This is between us guys.”

“It looks like Jack’s had enough. Leave him alone!”

Clayton couldn’t resist kicking Jack again. Just as he wound up for one last punch, Marian stepped in. She caught Clayton’s wrist with her right hand as it rebounded, then she laid her left hand on Jack’s face. Clayton couldn’t pull away. He couldn’t move anything but his mouth.

“What do you think you’re doing, bitch?” Clayton yelled. But he stood like a statue. Shortly, he began to tremble. His foot soldiers scattered. The pain he inflicted on Jack passed through Marian and found its rightful home on Clayton’s body. When Marian at last let go, tears came to Clayton’s eyes. He moaned, “How in the…”

All Marian could say was, “Come on, Jack. Let’s go.” Then she turned to Clayton, “If you don’t stay away from Jack and if you say anything other than, ‘Jack was stronger than I thought,’ I will come for you.” The secluded spot now worked in Marian’s favor.

Across the street, an old man in a well-worn black fedora dozed on a park bench. Out of the corner of one eye, he witnessed the altercation. When it was over, he smiled and whispered, “that ought to teach you.”

_____

“You did what?” Eleanor exclaimed.

“I told you. I gave Clayton a taste of his own medicine.”

“What if he tells someone?”

“Yeah, he’d have to admit a little girl whooped him. How d’ya think that would work out for him?”

“Watch out, Marian. Don’t get self-righteous. It’s only a short hop to vindictiveness – malice, according to the old school. And don’t forget, pride goeth before a fall. You must be more careful.”

“With bullies like Clayton around, I’m not sure I want to be careful.”

“If your powers became known, what do you think would happen next, Marian? It’s the 21^st century, not the 17^th. They won’t burn you or hang you, but they will study you. That means you can kiss your freedom goodbye. If you use your abilities to do black things, don’t act surprised if you end up in a black site where you won’t see me, your uncle Bob, Kenny, or your friends again.”

“Are you trying to scare me?”

“Is it working?”

“Maybe a little,” Marian sounded contrite. “OK, OK, I’ll be careful. Can I count on you for help with damage control?”

“Of course. Just try to do your good deeds in secret.”

“It’s not going to be easy.”

“I know…”

_____

In her senior year, Marian volunteered at the local hospital. She planned to be a pre-med next year, and thanks to Jack, she was doing well in biology and chemistry. While some hospitals must deal with a self-appointed angel of mercy, St. Joan’s hospital had a different experience. Children there survived at twice the expected rate. Marian was careful not to heal those who were making good progress on their own. Yet she couldn’t keep her abilities to herself when the prognosis was not so good. She used her talents in private. Often, she shuffled back to her car in gut-wrenching pain, or later vomited on the side of the road. The next day at school was hard, to say the least, even if she did her most difficult “work” on a Friday. Marian consoled herself by realizing that allowing a child to die would have been much harder for her than suffering their pain for a day or two. And besides, no one questioned her bedside manner. Comforting sick kids was part of her job description. Could she be blamed if they walked out of the hospital a couple of days after she held their hand and read them a story? At St. Joan’s she could be a secret angel of light.

Often, she saw a grey-bearded old man sitting outside St. Joan’s. He wore a black fedora and a wool elbow-patch jacket. She always greeted him with a smile. And he always replied with a tip of the hat and a, “Good day, young lady,” or words reflecting the time of day.

Clayton wasn’t the same. He wouldn’t admit it, but when Marian grabbed his wrist, he felt a lot of his emotional pain drain away. He had suffered, so he wanted Jack and other kids to suffer. Until he didn’t anymore. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t need Marian’s threat to motivate him. He somehow knew he could do better.

Dolly, the tiger, approached Marian soon after graduation. The park was only a few blocks from the hospital, and Marian loved to sit there and have a snack, or just take a break, reclaiming her strength and composure. She had helped many animals in the last couple of years, but always out of public view. The number of video recordings made that day worried her. Dr. Wilson worried her. What if someone started spreading the rumor that something “supernatural” was going on? She had certain abilities, but she couldn’t undo a viral video or go back in time.

_____

“Miss Lockwood. Come with me.”

“Who are you?”

“The question is, who are you?”

“I’m just someone doing a summer job before college.”

“Right. And I’m Saint Nicholas.”

“Nice to meet you, Nick.”

“Don’t get smart with me. I know what you can do, and you’re going to come with me and do it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think you do. Get in the car.”

The old man got up from his spot in front of the hospital and hurried to a battered silver Honda Civic parked across the street.

Marian tried to run, but there was nowhere to go. Two rather enormous men held her by the arms. The limo door slammed shut and she became a captive waiting for an explanation – if there was going to be one.

The car delivered her to a warehouse a few miles from the hospital.

“Marian. May I call you Marian? Have a look at these names. Every child on this list made a miraculous recovery. Leukemia, pancreatic cancer, lung disease, heart disease, you name it. Do you know what they all have in common? You spent time alone with them just before they walked out of the hospital completely healthy. We have you on video – holding their hands, reading to them, stumbling away holding your stomach or head, obviously in pain.”

“That may be what it looks like, but…”

“But what? You cured them. I want to know how.”

“Look, whoever you are. These videos prove nothing.”

“What about the tiger? Surveillance footage shows the impossible. You cured a wounded Bengal tiger, and she didn’t kill you. You spoke to her as you would a friend. Dr. Wilson said there’s no way she wasn’t injured when the car hit her. The street cam footage shows that too.”

“I have a way with animals.”

“And kids too, apparently. Your friend from school, Jack, says you took his injuries away. He also says you threatened his attacker, Clayton. But Clayton says you didn’t. Somehow, he believes you did him a favor.”

“Look, all I did was stop a fight.”

“So, you say. It seems the first order of business is for me to prove my point.”

“And how do you expect to do that?”

“All it takes is the right motivation. Bring Aunt Eleanor in here.”

“You wouldn’t…” Marian muttered.

“Let’s just get to it.”

“No!” Marian shouted. “You’re a monster.”

“How else do you suggest we proceed?”

“What if I can’t do what you think I can do? Then what?”

“Oh, I’m quite sure you can, Marian. Let’s begin, gentlemen.”

The super-sized men put on leather gloves and tied Eleanor to a chair.

A man’s voice shouted, “Enough!”

“Who the hell are you?” Marian’s captor replied.

“You know damn well who I am, Patterson.” It was the old man in the black fedora. “Are you alright, ladies?”

Marian and Eleanor nodded.

“I think it’s time for you to teach Mr. Patterson here the same lesson you taught young Clayton,” the old man spoke in a measured tone.

“But…how?” Marian searched the old man’s face for an answer.

“Never mind how…just take Mr. Patterson’s hand and show him.” The old man turned to Patterson’s men, “You gentlemen have somewhere else to be, don’t you? It’s time for you to go there.”

The men left and Patterson stood with his mouth open.

“Now, Marian, show Mr. Patterson how it feels to be you.”

Marian grasped Patterson’s hand. “This…is how I reached Clayton,” she said softly.

Patterson felt the pain and anguish Marian had collected in just two years. She had healed dozens of terminally ill children and wounded animals. Experiencing all that pain in a short time might have been enough to kill him. But Marian stopped far short of that.

“Turnabout is fair play,” The old man remarked.

Marian broke the connection. Patterson then felt what he would later describe as a sensation of peace.

“Does that clear it up for you, Robert?” the old man asked.

“I knew it. You’re Rob Patterson, the televangelist!” Eleanor exclaimed.

“You’re right, Aunt Eleanor. I thought he looked familiar. But who expects a TV preacher to abduct a high school kid?”

“Indeed,” the old man chimed in.

“Frederick? I thought you were dead,” Patterson sounded contrite.

“Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”

“Marian, it’s time to meet your grandfather, Frederick Lockwood,” Eleanor sighed.

“But you told me he disappeared. He was presumed dead.”

“The key word is, presumed. I have been keeping a rather low profile,” the old man replied. “Patterson, perhaps you would like to tell Marian what happened to her parents?”

Patterson turned towards Eleanor. “It seems you haven’t told Marian about me, Eleanor. I suppose you haven’t mentioned my forbearer, Jackson Thorne, either.”

“The Reverend Thorne?” Marian asked. “I know about him.”

“Not everything,” Patterson replied.

Eleanor broke in, “Reverend Thorne was absent the night Elizabeth wiped Merrybell off the map, Marian. He let the town do his dirty work after putting them up to it for weeks. The old son-of-a-bitch spent the rest of his life trying to track Elizabeth down. And his progeny has harassed our family for centuries. Patterson, I thought we were done with you the night Marian’s parents died.”

“OK. OK. Here’s what really happened. For 300 years, my family has been trying to discover the secret of your family’s powers. 17 years ago, we were about to take a major step – genetic testing your parents. For the first time, science might have unlocked the mystery, but your parents wouldn’t cooperate. They stole our samples and tried to escape, but their car slid off the road…and…well, you know the rest.”

“So…first you kidnapped them, then stole from them, then they took back what was theirs, and then they died trying to keep their…our secret. Does that about cover it?” Marian was not taking the news in stride.

“You make it sound like I killed them.”

“As if you didn’t?”

“Well…kidnapped is a pretty strong word…”

“Look, if it weren’t for you and your accursed family, I might still have parents.”

“I’m sorry, Marian. I don’t know what else to say. Other than it seems to me it’s your family that’s cursed. It is a miracle you are here after, what…13 generations. Your family came close to dying out at least a half-dozen times, but here you stand.”

“Stop right there, Patterson,” Frederick interjected. “Your family tried to make us die out. For God’s sake. Your father killed my wife!”

“That was never proven.”

“Dammit, Patterson. You know full well how much your father resented my family. And it’s sure suspicious that he was the last to see Helen alive before the fire. I’m here only because I was called away at the last minute. Furthermore, what about the accelerants found in his garage?”

“Planted evidence. Fake news. It was just an unfortunate accident.”

“No, Patterson, a homicide! Plus, my son and daughter-in-law had no other reason to be out on the highway that night.”

“I can’t go back and change the past. I said I’m sorry about your wife and kids. I’m being sincere.”

“That may be,” Eleanor replied. “But I suspect your contrition has more to do with Marian’s little demonstration than your conscience.”

“I won’t insult you by saying it doesn’t. Your great-great-great…grandmother would have ended me, from what I’ve heard, Marian. She didn’t put up with anything. So, I’d say we’ve made progress here.”

“Really!? What makes you think I’m done with you?” Frederick declared.

“Good point. But I don’t believe you’re a killer,” Patterson observed.

“We all are – given the right circumstances, Patterson. If you try any more crap with anyone in my family ever again, don’t count on my goodwill.”

“Alright. Alright. But I’m still going to keep an eye on you.”

“Stay away from me!” Marian commanded.

“Look, Patterson. I’ve been watching my granddaughter from a distance for 18 long years. I’m proud of the woman Marian has become. She’s not going to hurt you, but don’t think for one minute that I won’t. Here’s what you’re going to do: Stay away from us. I had hoped you would stay away from my family after what happened to my wife and children. I went into hiding to protect Eleanor and Marian from the likes of you. If you value your so-called ministry and all the money you make from it, you will mind your own business from now on. With a few words, I could unravel everything you’ve built. With a few more words, I could persuade you to jump off the nearest tall building. And if you kill me, Marian could snap her fingers and make you wish you were never born. Am I making myself clear?”

“Crystal clear, Frederick.”

“Go home, Patterson, and thank God you’re still alive.”

Patterson left without delay. Marian hugged the old man she had seen so often in the periphery of her life.

“Will you come live with us, Grandpa?”

“Oh, I’ve been close all along. Two doors down. I’m a man who can be seen only when he wants to be seen.”

“If you can convince people to do what you want by saying a few words, like you did with those men, why haven’t you used your power to keep Rob Patterson away?”

“I believe people should be given a chance to do the right thing before anyone makes them do anything. I also believe I should avoid using my abilities unless there is no other way…I sometimes suggest good to people, just as you do good for them. By the way, nice work with Dolly. We should go and see her tomorrow, don’t you think?”