For all those anxiously waiting here it is finally, Chapter 11. This chapter deals more with the people around Johnny and finally brings Johnny's Aunt Rosa into the picture and revisits the two children Johnny rescued. The chapter also deals with some new age spiritual healing. I am by no means a practitioner of Reiki, I have friends who are, and I have had Reiki performed on me. All that I have written in this chapter on that subject are personal experiences with it and what I have found on the internet.
As always I love feedback, so I encourage you, even if you have given me feed back before please do so again to let me know how you think the story is coming along, if you would like to see more or less of something. I can't promises I will follow your suggestions, but I will consider them. Thanks again to all those who regularly post feedback.
The legalese was mentioned at the beginning of the story so please review it there, no use in repeating it here.
Chapter 11
"Are you up to this?" Rosa asked, looking over to the woman sitting next to her in the car.
"He is important to you, so he is important to me. We are family." Barb smiled, "How could I ever deny you?"
"There will be a lot of hurt people in there, both physically and mentally. I don't want you to get too overwhelmed. I know you, you will want to heal them all." Rosa cautioned.
Barb reached over and affectionately took the hand of her life partner, "And I know you, you will be there to make sure I stay grounded and sane. Now let's get in there and take care of that nephew of yours."
Rosa squeezed the hand holding hers, smiled and then mouthed the words, 'I love you.' With that the two ladies exited the car and walked toward the main entrance to Rampart Hospital. With the assistance of the Information Desk Volunteer, it didn't take them long to locate the room they were looking for. Opening the door Rosa breezed into the room, all sunshine and smiles.
"Aunt Rosa, Aunt Barb," Erin exclaimed as she stood up and hugged the two ladies as they came into the room, "I am so glad you could make it. Let me introduce you to Johnny's best friend and Soul Brother, Roy De Soto. Roy, this is Johnny and my Aunt Rosamund Gage and her life partner Barbara Visser."
Roy stood and shook each of the ladies hands. Rosa was tall with an athletic build. Her long dark hair sprinkled with grey was pulled back into a pony tail at the nape of her neck. Barbara was shorter with a softer rounder figure. Her light blondish grey hair was cut short. With formalities out of the way, Rosa looked around the room and sighed, "Why do they have to make rooms where people are trying to get well so dreary. If I had to stare at these four walls day and night, I would close my eyes and refuse to wake up too. Well we are just going to have to make this place more desirable to wake up in." Bending down she pulled out of one of the bags a bushy green plant, sat it on the table and the opened the curtains wide, letting the sunshine stream in. Meanwhile Barbara had walked over and replaced the drab fading blanket covering Johnny with a bright multi-colored quilt with symbols on it
Roy walked over to look closer at the quilt as Barbara traced each one of the symbols and said a word three times. When she was done, Roy asked with curiosity what the symbols were for.
"These are Reiki symbols, they will help heal Johnny where the medicines can not. The first symbol is Cho Ku Rei and it represents Power. It will help me draw energy from around me and focus it where I need it. The second is the Sei Hei Ki and it is the Mental or the Emotional Symbol. It helps calm the mind, heals past traumas, and removes negative energy. I feel a lot of negative energy around your young friend. The third is the Tam A Ra Sha or the Balancing Symbol. It will help unlock the Chakras and balance and ground the energies as they flow. The last is the Dai Ko Myo which is also know as the Master Symbol. It is used to help heal the soul," Barbara paused and looked up at the tall man standing next to her. "Erin introduced you as Johnny's Soul Brother, is this true? Are you the protector of his soul?"
Roy looked down at his friend and with out hesitation answered, "Yes."
"Good, then once I have cleared away all the negative, hurtful energy that is surrounding your brother you will need to talk to him about hope and love."
"Talk to him?" Roy asked a little skeptically. "He's unconscious."
"Just because his eyes are closed, doesn't mean he can't hear you. Isn't that right Johnny?" Barb said as she turned and patted his hand. "You need to talk to his soul. He will hear you. I would like to get started right away, before anymore damage is done. Will you be able to stay the night with him to reassure him and encourage him and let him know there are those here who love him?"
Roy nodded his head and then said he would call his wife and let her know he would be spending the night. Barb turned to Johnny and laid her hands on either side of his head near his temples. After a few seconds she slid her hands to the back of his head near where the base of the skull attaches to the neck and from there her hands slid to either side of his neck. She then moved on to place her hands over his heart, his solar plexus, his abdomen and his hips. Stepping back she shook her head. "There is a lot of work to be done. The energies are all tied up into so many knots it will take a while to release them all. Roy, why don't you and Erin go get something to eat. Rosa, why don't you go with them and see if you can find some chocolate. I am sure I will want some when I am done."
"Maybe I should stay here," Rosa said as she put her hand on Barb's shoulder. "I'm sure Erin and Roy can bring back some chocolate."
Barb smiled and reached up and put a hand on Rosa's cheek, "No offense my love, but your nervous energy is creating a bit of a distraction. I am going to need some quiet time with Johnny."
Rosa leaned over and kissed her life partner gently on the lips and smiled, "I'll be back in an hour to check on you."
Barb hugged Rosa and then turned back to Johnny, again placing her hands on Johnny's head, but this time leaving them there. Rosa and Erin gathered Roy, who was also hesitant to leave, and headed for the door. Erin stopped at the desk and asked the Head Nurse, Doris Parks, if it would be okay to place a 'Do Not Disturb' on Johnny's room for about an hour and to limit hospital staff from going in too. Doris looked skeptical and turned to Roy, who knew Doris from previous occasions. Roy reassured her that it was in Johnny's best interests as a friend was working on a spiritual healing. Doris smiled and nodded and then took out a blank piece of paper and wrote on it, 'Please Do Not Disturb, Please see Doris Parks at the Nurse's desk before entering.' She handed Roy the note and a piece of tape and asked if that would do. Roy thanked her and taped the message to Johnny's door before heading down to the cafeteria.
Roy hadn't realized how hungry he was until he reached the cafeteria. Sitting down at the table he listened to Erin and her Aunt catch up while he ate. Roy asked about the clinic that Rosa and Barb ran and Rosa asked about the Paramedic Program. During their time in the cafeteria, several Nurses and a couple Doctors stopped by to ask Roy how Johnny was doing.
As they were cleaning up their trays to leave Rosa commented, "Boy, Johnny sure knows a lot of Nurses. He hasn't been hospitalized that much has he?"
Roy smiled and shook his head, "Johnny has been in Rampart a couple times, and he does seem to make an impression on the Nurses, but most of those were young ladies Johnny has either dated or tried to date."
"So my nephew is quite the charmer like his father was. My brother could just smile at the girls and they would fall all over themselves."
"Well…. Johnny definitely has the smile and the charm, but I think anytime any of them get too close, he gets cold feet and either they break things off or he does. Johnny unfortunately just doesn't know how to stay the course, and now that I've gotten a chance to learn more about his back ground I can understand a little better why he has some commitment issues."
"So you've known Johnny since he joined the Paramedics program and you know the story of his up bringing, what about the time from when he came to L.A. through his beginnings in the Fire Department?"
"Unfortunately that area is still a little grey. I know he lived with Carol Kemp's brother Nick in a Hippie Commune when he first got here."
Rosa snorted, "I'm sure that made quiet an impression on a young boy from a very sheltered life. I bet there are some interesting stories there."
Roy looked thoughtful for a moment; he had heard stories about the free life styles in those communes. He shuddered as he thought about an emotionally and physically abused child in the beginning stages of becoming a teenager, being thrust into a world of no boundaries. "I bet those are some interesting stories. Maybe someday Johnny will share that part of his life too."
"Maybe when I get back to Montana I'll see if Carol knows anything about that time in Johnny's life." Erin offered, and then looking at her watch she suggested, "We still have some time, do you want to meet the little girl and boy Johnny rescued?"
"That sounds wonderful," Rosa said as they turned and headed toward the elevator.
When they arrived at the Pediatrics Ward, Erin approached the Nurse's Desk and spoke with a petite blond haired Nurse.
After a few minutes, Erin returned and advised them that the kids had just finished dinner and were in their room playing before bed time. Walking down the hall, they came to the room and peeked in. The young girl was intently playing with a ball of Silly Putty, stretching it out and then rolling it back again into a ball, then flattening it out, pressing it to a section of the Comic's page of the newspaper, pealing it back up, stretching it out and then repeating the process. The young boy sat opposite of her playing with the egg shaped container the Silly Putty had come in, spinning it around and around on the floor.
Leaning back away from the door Erin whispered to Roy and Rosa, "The little boy spooks easily so don't make any sudden moves or loud noises."
Slowly the three entered the room. "Hi Susie, remember me? I came by and visited you earlier today," Erin said with a smile on her face and in her voice.
"I remember you, you're Erin. You're the cousin of the man who rescued us." Susie said, returning the smile. The smile quickly faded as she looked behind Erin to the other two people standing there. Scooting quickly over to sit beside her brother she put her hand on his leg. The young boy stopped moving and became as still as a statue. "Are they here to take Billy away?" she asked with both fierce determination and fear mixed in her voice.
Erin smiled again and stepped to the side, "No Honey, they aren't going to take Billy away. This is Johnny's best friend Roy, he's a fireman like Johnny, and this is Johnny's Aunt Rosa. They are here to visit with Johnny and help take care of him. They also wanted to meet you and Billy."
Rosa stepped forward and crouched down to the little girls level, sticking out her hand she smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Susie and you too Billy."
Susie looked to Erin, who smiled and nodded, and then took the proffered hand and shook it, "It's nice to meet you too." Once Billy felt his sister relax he went back to spinning his egg.
"It looks like you were having some fun with the Silly Putty when we came in." Rosa said sitting on the ground opposite the young girl. Roy and Erin made their way over to the bed and sat down.
"It's magic," Susie said with wide eyed amazement. "You wanna see?"
"Sure, I love magic."
Susie rolled the ball up again and then flattened it. "Who is your favorite Cartoon Character?"
"I would have to say Ziggy."
Susie searched through the paper and located the Ziggy cartoon and placed the Silly Putty on top of it and pressed hard. Slowly pulling the Silly Putty back up she proudly displayed the fact that the image on the paper was now on the Silly Putty, and further more, when you stretched it in different ways the image was distorted. First she made Ziggy very tall and thin and then very wide. Rosa giggled with Susie as the middle of the imaged sagged and became even more distorted.
"If you like Magic, I can show you another trick." Rosa said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a nickel.
"You know magic?" Susie asked all wide eyed again.
"I know a couple tricks." Rosa said as she began to roll the coin around in her hands and between her fingers, making it disappear from one hand and appear in the other and then miraculously appear behind the young girl's ear. During all this Billy had stopped spinning the egg and stared transfixed on Rosa's hands. Noticing this, Rosa rolled the coin around between her two hands in several quick movements and then closed her fists and held them out to the little boy and asked, "Which hand is the coin in Billy?"
Without hesitation Billy pointed to right hand which she opened to reveal the coin. She did this five more times, each time making her movements more complex and each time he identified the correct hand. Erin and Roy had leaned forward to watch and even they had guessed the wrong hand on some occasions. They had even admitted on the times they did choose the correct hand that it was pure random guess, but Billy never waivered. As soon as the hands stopped his hand was out pointing to the correct hand.
Susie smiled and looked up at the group of adults, "Billy sees things differently, he's special that way."
"Yes," Rosa agreed, "he is a very special little boy. And you, you are a very special young girl too for watching out for him and taking such good care of him."
Susie looked at Rosa with eyes that were way too old for such a young face, "I'm all he's got. No one else wants him, not even Mama. He can't help it if he's different; it's just the way he was born."
"You are so smart Susie, and so sweet." Rosa looked at the clock on the wall, "We have to get back to Johnny now, would it be okay if I came back tomorrow to play with you and Billy some more?"
"Sure, Billy and I would like that." Susie said, all smiles. Then her face grew serious again, "Would it be okay if we came to visit Johnny too? I want to think him for rescuing us."
"I think that would be a lovely idea, how about tomorrow after lunch time?"
The trip back to Johnny's room was filled with talk about the kids, about all that had happened to them, and questions and concerns about what would become of them.
Arriving back at Johnny's room, Rosa slowly peeked in to find Barb sitting in a chair next to the bed. Her hand lay resting on Johnny's arm, her eyes closed as she hummed a soft tune. Without turning her head or opening her eyes Barb invited the group to come in.
"Sorry, didn't want to disturb any thing," Rosa said as she came in and laid a hand on Barb's shoulder and bent down to kiss her lightly on the cheek.
"Its okay, Johnny and I have gotten about as far as we can tonight. It was a rough go of it there for a little while. There was a lot of negative shit that made the waters murky and dark. I was able to get past most of it and shed some light in there, but he seemed reluctant to except the path I had created for him to reach the surface. He didn't know my voice so he was too afraid to follow it. When I leave he is going to be looking for that light again, he is going to be listening for a voice he recognizes and one he can trust." Barb said as she looked up at Roy.
"That sounds like my queue. Let me hit the restroom, give Joanne a quick call, and get myself together before I settle in for the night." Roy said as he turned and headed into the bathroom.
Johnny sat in the pool of light that had come to surround him and ease his aches, even though he couldn't understand the words, a feminine voice conveyed understanding and support. But he didn't recognize the voice and he was afraid it was a trap, so he just sat there. Soon he saw other rays of light and each one carried a different voice, but they were muffled and hard to understand, but some of them felt familiar. He so much wanted to reach those voices but he couldn't move. He felt like shouting, 'Hey over here, please help me.' But he couldn't even find his voice. He seemed to choke on the words. He fought the choking sensation, he couldn't breathe and he wanted to breathe, he needed to breathe. The lights gathered close, assured him, eased him and then he was able to breath again, but he was tired and the lights were getting further away and the voices got quieter. And then it was dark again, but he felt more at peace. He would lie there quietly and wait for the light to come back and find him, because he knew that one of those voices was someone he could trust. He knew that one of those voices belonged to Roy.
A half an hour later after one of the Doctors had removed the vent, Roy walked out of the room with Rosa, Barb, and Erin. "Well that's encouraging. He must be getting closer to consciousness if he fought the vent and is breathing now on his own. Well I better get back in there before he thinks we've all abandoned him. I'll see you all tomorrow." Roy said with a hint of optimism in his voice.