Read Online Secret of the Unicorn (Avalon: Web of Magic #4) by Rachel Roberts - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Rachel Roberts
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gaze, she started to hurry past. She just wasn’t in the mood for dealing with adults right now. Any adults.
The old woman clipped several magnificent yellow and red roses, carefully settling them in her bag, then held up her pruning shears. “Nurturing, care, and love.”
“Huh?”
“To flourish and blossom, it takes more than peat moss and plant food.”
“Yeah.”
“What’s the matter, dear?” Gran asked. “Your face is as dark as a thundercloud.”
“Sorry,” Emily snapped without thinking. “I didn’t know that being in a good mood was a requirement for coming here.”
She immediately regretted the sharp words. Her face flushed with shame, and she stared at her feet. But Gran hardly seemed to notice as she stood up.
“Come,” she said. “Walk with me.”
Emily sighed and walked beside Gran across the great lawn toward the maze of gardens. Gran took a deep breath, looking around. “The world is full of colors today, isn’t it?”
“Sure.” Emily glanced around, too, suddenly noticing the brilliant, ever-changing autumn colors of the maples and the oaks, the dogwoods and the sweet gums.
Gran was watching her. “It’s amazing what one sees when one’s eyes are open,” she commented. “What good is a rainbow if we only focus on one color?”
“Gran,” Emily began hesitantly. “Do you think someone who’s injured has to want to get better?”
Gran nodded soberly. “If the spirit does not desire healing, no true healing can take place, even if the body seems to recover.”
“But why would a person or animal just give up when there’s still hope?” Emily pressed on. “Especially if there are people trying to help?”
“Hope means different things to different people,” Gran replied. “And if you want to help, you have to be willing to give the kind of help that’s needed, not just the kind you think is needed.”
Emily wasn’t quite sure what the old woman meant. After all, her mother didn’t ask each dog what it needed before she treated it.
Gran must have seen the confusion in her eyes. “Think of it this way,” she said, leaning over to pick up a stick from the ground. “The physical and the spiritual often intersect. Like this.” She scratched a figure in the dirt—one strong line going up and down, another crossing it from side to side. “Sometimes there is suffering on the physical line only, or on the spiritual line only. But when the pain lies right here”—she pointed with the stick to the spot where the lines bisected—“that is when healing can be most difficult.”
“Oh.” Emily nodded, thinking of Lorelei. The unicorn—or whatever she was—had been badly injured by the Black Fire on the outside. What if she had been just as badly injured on the inside? “But how can you help someone like that?”
Gran shrugged, dropping the stick on the ground. “By remaining open to all possibilities. If one way isn’t working, try another. And another. And another after that, if necessary.”
“But what if you run out of ways?”
Gran shook her head firmly. “There are infinite possibilities in this world,” she said, “just as there are infinite shades within a rainbow. It’s just a matter of opening your heart to them.”
Emily chewed on her lower lip. “I guess,” she said hesitantly.
Gran smiled. “Emily,” she said, “you can never truly fail as long as you give all of yourself to the attempt.”
Emily watched the autumn colors dance through the forests, a bold display before winter’s gray grip took hold. Why was it her burden to feel so much pain and loss? How was she supposed to handle it? It took only one image of the wounded Lorelei in her mind to bolster her resolve. She was a healer and one thing she could never do was give up, no matter how difficult things may seem. She took a deep breath and braced herself for what lay ahead.
“T HIS ISN’T GOING to work.”
“Okay, guys, do your thing! Go ahead! You can do
The old woman clipped several magnificent yellow and red roses, carefully settling them in her bag, then held up her pruning shears. “Nurturing, care, and love.”
“Huh?”
“To flourish and blossom, it takes more than peat moss and plant food.”
“Yeah.”
“What’s the matter, dear?” Gran asked. “Your face is as dark as a thundercloud.”
“Sorry,” Emily snapped without thinking. “I didn’t know that being in a good mood was a requirement for coming here.”
She immediately regretted the sharp words. Her face flushed with shame, and she stared at her feet. But Gran hardly seemed to notice as she stood up.
“Come,” she said. “Walk with me.”
Emily sighed and walked beside Gran across the great lawn toward the maze of gardens. Gran took a deep breath, looking around. “The world is full of colors today, isn’t it?”
“Sure.” Emily glanced around, too, suddenly noticing the brilliant, ever-changing autumn colors of the maples and the oaks, the dogwoods and the sweet gums.
Gran was watching her. “It’s amazing what one sees when one’s eyes are open,” she commented. “What good is a rainbow if we only focus on one color?”
“Gran,” Emily began hesitantly. “Do you think someone who’s injured has to want to get better?”
Gran nodded soberly. “If the spirit does not desire healing, no true healing can take place, even if the body seems to recover.”
“But why would a person or animal just give up when there’s still hope?” Emily pressed on. “Especially if there are people trying to help?”
“Hope means different things to different people,” Gran replied. “And if you want to help, you have to be willing to give the kind of help that’s needed, not just the kind you think is needed.”
Emily wasn’t quite sure what the old woman meant. After all, her mother didn’t ask each dog what it needed before she treated it.
Gran must have seen the confusion in her eyes. “Think of it this way,” she said, leaning over to pick up a stick from the ground. “The physical and the spiritual often intersect. Like this.” She scratched a figure in the dirt—one strong line going up and down, another crossing it from side to side. “Sometimes there is suffering on the physical line only, or on the spiritual line only. But when the pain lies right here”—she pointed with the stick to the spot where the lines bisected—“that is when healing can be most difficult.”
“Oh.” Emily nodded, thinking of Lorelei. The unicorn—or whatever she was—had been badly injured by the Black Fire on the outside. What if she had been just as badly injured on the inside? “But how can you help someone like that?”
Gran shrugged, dropping the stick on the ground. “By remaining open to all possibilities. If one way isn’t working, try another. And another. And another after that, if necessary.”
“But what if you run out of ways?”
Gran shook her head firmly. “There are infinite possibilities in this world,” she said, “just as there are infinite shades within a rainbow. It’s just a matter of opening your heart to them.”
Emily chewed on her lower lip. “I guess,” she said hesitantly.
Gran smiled. “Emily,” she said, “you can never truly fail as long as you give all of yourself to the attempt.”
Emily watched the autumn colors dance through the forests, a bold display before winter’s gray grip took hold. Why was it her burden to feel so much pain and loss? How was she supposed to handle it? It took only one image of the wounded Lorelei in her mind to bolster her resolve. She was a healer and one thing she could never do was give up, no matter how difficult things may seem. She took a deep breath and braced herself for what lay ahead.
“T HIS ISN’T GOING to work.”
“Okay, guys, do your thing! Go ahead! You can do
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