own life. You know I will, and this time no one will
find me until it’s too late.” He’d nearly been too late before. “Do
you understand me?”
“ Yes.” He took the step
toward her, and she held her ground. “But when he comes to you, and
he will, what will you do then? Shove him out of your heart, too?
Make him suffer for caring about you? Or will you have him there to
watch you die? He won’t leave you, no matter what I tell him. You
have taken his heart and he will not let you go.”
“ See that he does.” She
was gone before Boss could say anything else. He wasn’t sure what
He might have said to her, but He sat back down. When Agon appeared
in the room a few minutes later, He asked him to have a
seat.
“ She does not want you
here.” Agon stood up, only to sit when He asked him to. “I must
tell you everything. Judith is…she will not…I’m not sure where to
begin. I suppose at the start would help.”
Agon nodded.
“ She was born to a mother
who was clinically dead. They kept her alive so that Judith, only
about five months old in the womb, would have a better chance to
survive. I visited them both often and helped more than I should
have to keep the babe alive. And because of the way she was helped,
her abilities—her horrors, as she calls them—were something that
came because of what I did to keep her safe.”
“ She is blessed.” Boss
shrugged. “I know that she does not see it that way, but she has
been. You saved her for me. You knew that we would be a couple, a
single being.”
“ I did.” Boss touched
Agon’s hand and they went to His office. There He brought up the
day that Judith took her first breath. “From the start she was
special. Nurses could see it. Her time in the nursery was spent
quietly. No one bothered her until her father, his grief profound,
came for her. She never caused him any problems, but he began to
hate her.”
Fast forwarding to her early years,
Boss paused a few times to show the father ignoring his little girl
in favor of the drugs he took. Medicine he called it. But Judith
had known, even as a small child, that it was more than that. It
was what took him from her.
“ When it became apparent
that she was different, he worked hard to get her to not show off.
Not allow others to see what she could do. At first it was the
simple things…moving a cup to her, lifting a book from a shelf far
across the room. Then Judith showed him that she could find out
things from other people. That was when he decided that he could
profit from her. A drug deal going down or money left somewhere
that would be retrieved later. A robbery from a store, and it would
happen so he could be there when the thief came out, to take from
him what he’d stolen. All things he could be there to get the cash,
or in some cases, the drugs to sell for even more money.” Boss
stopped the pictures—memories of her at one place—and didn’t speak
as He and Agon looked at the child.
She’d been put into a cage, an animal
cage that was much too small for her, and left there without a
blanket or food for two days. He moved on before stopping at yet
other picture of her tied to her bed, and a slice of bread nearby
that looked moldy and hard. When Agon spoke from behind Him, Boss
turned and saw the tears on his cheeks.
“ No one ever cared for
her.” Boss nodded, then shook His head. “How did we allow this to
happen? Why did her protector not help her somehow?”
“ He did all he could. But
she ignored him for the most part. Her father told her she was
insane for believing in us, and he beat her more when she mentioned
when someone came to her.” Agon nodded and sat down. “She soon
began to see us not as a protector but as someone who would cause
her pain.”
“ I heard her this morning.
She said she would kill herself if I returned to her. I don’t know
what to do.” He looked at Him, and Boss had a feeling Agon didn’t
want to hear what He had to say but would ask
find me until it’s too late.” He’d nearly been too late before. “Do
you understand me?”
“ Yes.” He took the step
toward her, and she held her ground. “But when he comes to you, and
he will, what will you do then? Shove him out of your heart, too?
Make him suffer for caring about you? Or will you have him there to
watch you die? He won’t leave you, no matter what I tell him. You
have taken his heart and he will not let you go.”
“ See that he does.” She
was gone before Boss could say anything else. He wasn’t sure what
He might have said to her, but He sat back down. When Agon appeared
in the room a few minutes later, He asked him to have a
seat.
“ She does not want you
here.” Agon stood up, only to sit when He asked him to. “I must
tell you everything. Judith is…she will not…I’m not sure where to
begin. I suppose at the start would help.”
Agon nodded.
“ She was born to a mother
who was clinically dead. They kept her alive so that Judith, only
about five months old in the womb, would have a better chance to
survive. I visited them both often and helped more than I should
have to keep the babe alive. And because of the way she was helped,
her abilities—her horrors, as she calls them—were something that
came because of what I did to keep her safe.”
“ She is blessed.” Boss
shrugged. “I know that she does not see it that way, but she has
been. You saved her for me. You knew that we would be a couple, a
single being.”
“ I did.” Boss touched
Agon’s hand and they went to His office. There He brought up the
day that Judith took her first breath. “From the start she was
special. Nurses could see it. Her time in the nursery was spent
quietly. No one bothered her until her father, his grief profound,
came for her. She never caused him any problems, but he began to
hate her.”
Fast forwarding to her early years,
Boss paused a few times to show the father ignoring his little girl
in favor of the drugs he took. Medicine he called it. But Judith
had known, even as a small child, that it was more than that. It
was what took him from her.
“ When it became apparent
that she was different, he worked hard to get her to not show off.
Not allow others to see what she could do. At first it was the
simple things…moving a cup to her, lifting a book from a shelf far
across the room. Then Judith showed him that she could find out
things from other people. That was when he decided that he could
profit from her. A drug deal going down or money left somewhere
that would be retrieved later. A robbery from a store, and it would
happen so he could be there when the thief came out, to take from
him what he’d stolen. All things he could be there to get the cash,
or in some cases, the drugs to sell for even more money.” Boss
stopped the pictures—memories of her at one place—and didn’t speak
as He and Agon looked at the child.
She’d been put into a cage, an animal
cage that was much too small for her, and left there without a
blanket or food for two days. He moved on before stopping at yet
other picture of her tied to her bed, and a slice of bread nearby
that looked moldy and hard. When Agon spoke from behind Him, Boss
turned and saw the tears on his cheeks.
“ No one ever cared for
her.” Boss nodded, then shook His head. “How did we allow this to
happen? Why did her protector not help her somehow?”
“ He did all he could. But
she ignored him for the most part. Her father told her she was
insane for believing in us, and he beat her more when she mentioned
when someone came to her.” Agon nodded and sat down. “She soon
began to see us not as a protector but as someone who would cause
her pain.”
“ I heard her this morning.
She said she would kill herself if I returned to her. I don’t know
what to do.” He looked at Him, and Boss had a feeling Agon didn’t
want to hear what He had to say but would ask
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