Of Gaea (4 page)

“I don’t like being in this chair.” Ari twirled an arrow
around her fingers nervously. There was no reason for the nerves.
She was as close to Kleisthenes as she was to Sasha and Nasya. They
had always been there when she needed someone. “I feel crippled. I
can’t use my recurve; I have to use this compound, and it feels
off.”

“The recurve isn’t going anywhere. We keep it clean and
ready for you.” He gave her a critical stare. “And you’re not
crippled, you’re hurt. You’ll find a way to get better. I’ve never
met anyone as stubborn as you so you’re bound to find a
way.”

“I really don’t know what to do anymore.” Ari slowly strung
another arrow. “There’s nothing left to try.”

“Sure there is.” Kleisthenes laughed as the bow twanged.
“You’re telling me you’ve talked to every kind of healer there is
on this earth? I doubt it. The problem is you need to find the
right one. When you do; you’ll have what you want.”

“All the doctors say nearly the same thing.” The complaint
rented the air even as another arrow struck the target. “I’m tired
of the false hope.”

“I didn’t say doctor, did I?” Kleisthenes leaned against
the railing and studied the target. “I said healer. There’s a big
difference between the two. Or at least in my book there
is.”

“What’s the difference?” She sighted another arrow and let
it fly.

“Look it up online. You’ll see the difference.” He ruffled
her hair as she released the arrow. It went wide of what she had
aimed for, but still hit a kill spot.

“Intentional target change?”
He was curious.

Ari shrugged. “Not sure. Unconscious?”

He looked thoughtful a moment. “Perhaps. You want me to
walk you home? It’s getting dark.”

“We live in a less than two thousand person community. Do
you really think someone is going to come out of the dark with a
knife and stick me in a few hundred feet?” she joked, but his face
was not amused.

“I’ll walk you home.”
He took the bow from her and stepped aside so she
could roll the wheelchair passed. “It’s getting late. We best be
off.”

“T
his is getting
ridiculous.” Nasya plopped into a chair in the living
room.

Sasha didn’t look up from his book or make a
comment.
Restless Nasya was too hard to deal with on top of a
hopeless Ari. He only had so much energy in a day.

“There’s not much more we can do. Sasha has given her hints
and I have as well.” Kleisthenes didn’t turn from the stove. He
continued sautéing the vegetables in precise even
movements.

“It’s Ghita that’s the problem,” Nasya sighed
unhappily.
“You sent her online?”

“Yes.”

“Hm.”
Nasya stood suddenly. “We all know the miracle healer that
will pop up if she does a Google search.”

Sasha shrugged. “So? Do you really think he’d see
her?”

“If Ghita interferes, yes. He would and all would be lost.”
Nasya paced half a length. “I think it’s time I take a more active
part. I’m tired of waiting, and Ghita cannot control what she
refuses to see.”

“What are you planning?” Sasha asked suspiciously. “I won’t
allow you to do anything that could bring harm to Ari. She’s
already been hurt enough. I don’t think she can handle anymore at
this time.”

“Relax. I am after simple conversation only. You have my
word.” Nasya walked away and vanished into the air.

“I hate it when she does that,” Sasha muttered frustrated.
“I wonder sometimes if she really does have Ari’s best interest in
mind or just her own.”

“No one knows the consequences better than Nasya.”
Kleisthenes commented. “Come set the table. Trust the Goddess,
Sasha. Gaea has a purpose for all that she does, or allows to
happen.”

“I wish she’d clue me in.” Sasha muttered but obediently
set aside his book to set the table.

A
ri
didn’t say anything
to
Sasha or Nasya the next day about her conversation with
Kleisthenes. Though she knew Kleisthenes would have told them at
least part of it. There were no real secrets in his house. She got
the impression Sasha and Nasya were a lot closer to Kleisthenes
than she was to Ghita. They probably had conversations she could
only dream of having with Ghita.

She wanted to tell Sasha what she did last night after
Kleisthenes walked her home.
She wanted to give him all the information she had
found so he could ponder through it with her, but at the same time
Ari didn’t want to see criticism or disappointment from him. And to
even think of discussing it with the ever logical Nasya gave her
chills. So for the time being she kept it to herself.

Ari almost revealed everything at lunch when Sasha gave her
a puzzled look as she excused herself to the bathroom.
She never used the
bathroom at school. It was an obvious indication that she was up to
something, though he never asked. Ari thought he would. If he had,
she probably would have told him. Him, she trusted absolutely; it
was her plan that she doubted.

She managed to keep her plans to herself until the walk
home.
Ghita
couldn’t pick her up every day, and though Kleisthenes offered, she
still liked the activity even if she wasn’t actually
walking.

It was Nasya’s Chemistry Club day, so she wasn’t with
them.
Though, if she hadn’t had an after school activity, she
still would have excused herself. Probably to study or come up with
some new nerdy thing to do. Ari really didn’t understand her, but
she was a sweet enough girl if a bit addled.

Ari stared at the intersection up the block. Instead of
crossing over it, she’d have to go left to keep her appointment.
She glanced up at Sasha but he was companionably silent.

It was one of his attributes she loved most. He never
cluttered silence with useless chatter. He was comfortable enough
in her presence to be silent and she was comfortable enough to be
the same. They didn’t need words between them.

She lost her nerve and instead of telling Sasha she made
the left and continued down the block.
Ari half expected Sasha to study her
back quizzically then walk the rest of the way home alone. Even
though that expectation was a farfetched action for
Sasha.

She was only a few feet down the block when Sasha appeared
by her side again.
Relief came first. Then she felt slightly giddy, slightly
guilty, and slightly sick. The sick feeling was likely a result
from the combination of the other two emotions. He still remained
silent.

Three blocks down Ari stopped to rest her arms and check
the directions she had written down from the internet the previous
evening.
Sasha stood patiently next to her as she checked her
notebook.

“Isn’t that the notebook I bought you for Yule a few years
back? The one you said was too pretty to write in?”
He startled her
with the random question.

She nodded slowly.
She had been so sure he would ask about where they
were going not about the notebook she had written in. It made guilt
the strongest of her emotions. “I’ve been writing down everything
the doctors have said since the accident; all the tests we’ve
tried, all the therapies, the drugs. It felt important enough to
write in here. I thought if I wrote it all down, then the book
would have to contain my cure in it somewhere.”

“It’s a good idea. I’ll get you another one. That one looks
kind of full.” He stroked her hair gently a moment. “If we’ve got a
distance to go, I’d rather you let me push you. I know you can do
it yourself, but I also know it tires you out.”

Ari glanced up at him completely stunned and his returned
smile was patient and caring. He still hadn’t asked her what she
was doing or where they were going. It was a testament to the trust
between them that was humbling and terrifying at the same
time.

If he didn’t comment then he trusted her decision.
It made the
decisions she made more important in a way. She had to be right or
he would follow her into the wrong. Ari would cut off her legs
completely before getting Sasha into trouble.

“You can push,” Ari held up the notebook so he could see
her hasty scrawl.
It was another point of their friendship, no matter what
kind of short hand she used he could read it. “We’re going to see a
man who claims the angels allow him to heal the sick.”

“Ah,” Sasha moved behind the chair and began to walk. “I
think I’ve heard of him. He was on TV wasn’t he? When he first came
to the area? Where’s he located?”

“The address is one Boulevard of Eden. It’s off Jefferson
Davis Place between Burnside Ave and Cornwall Street.” She flipped
the pages rapidly and held it up again for him to see. “He was on
TV?”

“If it’s the same man I’m thinking of, yes.” Sasha smoothly
pushed the wheelchair down the sidewalk. He smiled to himself.
Nasya had guessed right after all.

“We’re going
to see if he can help.”

“I don’t think he can, but it doesn’t hurt to try.”
Sasha mused. “If he
can’t help, I’m sure he’ll know where to steer you.”

“Good point.” Ari bit the inside of her cheek. She hadn’t
thought of the healer not being able to help; he was a healer,
after all. Though, Sasha had a valid point. The solution was very
rarely as straight forward as a visit to a man that claimed
miracles as a profession.

Sasha walked faster than she would have been able to push
herself so they arrived in a much shorter time than she had
anticipated when making the appointment.
They had an opportunity to study the
building from the outside while she clenched her hands in her
lap.

“Whenever you’re ready,” Sasha gestured at the
building.
There was no judgment, no rush to get it over with in his
voice.

“No time like the present.”
Ari breathed in and out a few times
slowly, and evenly. Nerves danced up her spine. She was more
nervous than she had thought she would be. Perhaps she had put too
much hope into this visit.

“Do you want to roll in or should I…”
He trailed off.

“Um… I don’t think…”
Ari laughed nervously and rubbed her arms. “I’m a
little jittery.”

“Completely understandable,” he maneuvered the wheelchair
once more. “Just… don’t get your hopes up too high.”

“A part of me is skeptical.” She voiced. “Part of me is
afraid this
will
work. It will throw all of Mom’s beliefs out the
window.”

“What about yours?” It was said so quietly she nearly
missed it under the whoosh of the automatic door.

“Welcome to Divine Touch!” The back of the receptionist’s
head sang even as she began to swivel around. Her smile was radiant
for Ari and faltered over Sasha a moment before it returned, not
nearly as bright as it had been originally. “What can I do for
you?”

“I have an appointment with Mr. Elias.” Ari forced her lips
to curve into what she hoped looked like a smile. “At three forty
five. I’m Ariadne.”