"P–please… H–help me…"

Igisigukiza took the man's hand, kneeling beside him on the side of the road, and looked him deep in the eye. Broken glass crunched beneath his knee. "You do not have anything to fear," he whispered quietly, squeezing the man's hand comfortingly. The man's lower lip trembled as he fought back tears, struggling not to cry out in pain, a hitch in his breath. His leg had bent at an unnatural angle, with deep discoloration surrounding a protruding bump that pressed against the skin from within, threatening to poke through. A crowd had begun to gather around Igisigukiza and the man, a soft murmur running through air around them. Igisigukiza didn't take his attention off of the men, trying to put all of the distractions out of his mind. All that mattered was the suffering victim lying across the curb, one leg splayed on the road surface.

"Is there a doctor here!?" shouted someone in the crowd.

"Did you see that?" another voice demanded. "That maniac didn't even touch the brakes!"

"I thought he was dead for sure, the way it threw him like a rag doll there."

"How close is the nearest hospital?"

"It's at least a couple kilometers…"

"Anyone see the license number on that truck?"

"I called for an ambulance; don't know how long it will take."

Allowing the voices to wash over him, Igisigukiza took a measured breath and held it. He had been a couple blocks away, just walking back to his short-term apartment, when he had heard the screeching of brakes, cries of surprise and pain. It hadn't been a difficult decision for him to race in the direction of the cries, only to find this man lying on the ground, his eyes unfocused, matted blood on the back of his head.

Cars crept slowly past them, hardly slowing down to avoid hitting the man's injured leg – or Igisigukiza himself. As he knelt there, movement caught his attention in the corner of his eye as one of the bystanders, a taller man with broad shoulders, stepped off the sidewalk and moved out into the road, waving his arms to attract the drivers' attention. Igisigukiza let out a slow breath in gratitude to his unknown helper, refocusing on the victim in front of him. Traffic was so much heavier now than it had been the last time he visited Luanda, almost three years ago. While he had never needed help before now, under these circumstances he was acutely aware of just how alone he was. It was unfortunate that he was only a single man; without assistance from the crowd, how would he be able to treat the man and keep them both from being run over?

The man trembled, his arms shaking as he began to seize up from the pain.

"You are going to be okay," Igisigukiza whispered to him reassuringly, pressing one hand to the man's shoulder and the other to his leg above the break in an effort to hold him in place. "Try not to move."

"My–my legs…" the man whimpered, his voice breathy, his breathing labored. "I–I can't feel–"

"I know," Igisigukiza assured him, giving the man a sympathetic smile. Slowly, Igisigukiza took in a measured breath and moved his hand up to the man's forehead. Closing his eyes, he firmly intoned, "Healing Hands."

The man let out an involuntary gasp. Igisigukiza's hand lit up from within, a bright white light that pulsed for a moment before darkening back to normal from the outside edges inward. But as it did so, the light pumped down through the point of contact and into the man's forehead, flowing in small ribbons just beneath the skin which followed his veins back down to his heart and from there radiated outward until they spread throughout his entire body. When the light trailed down the man's leg, it reached the point of the break and glowed brightly as, with an audible crack, his leg realigned itself and the discoloration vanished entirely. With a series of pops like bubble wrap, the man's back reset, and he pulled in a shuddering breath before sitting up, staring at Igisigukiza in absolute shock.

A gasp ran through the crowd around them. "I–I can't believe it!"

"Did you see that!?"

The man's mouth hung open, a look of wonder on his face as he looked into Igisigukiza's eyes. "But–but how?"

"The 'how' is not important," Igisigukiza told him, sliding his other hand across the break to ensure that it had been healed before helping the man back to his feet. "All that is important is that you are healed."

"I–I have to tell my friends!" the man began, looking around. "I–everyone must know what you have done…! It–it's a miracle!"

Igisigukiza held out a hand to stop him. "No; please. I am just a man – one who was in the right place to help you."

"Th–thank you." The man clung to Igisigukiza's hand, pumping it vigorously. "But – please. What can I do to repay you?"

"No repayment is necessary." He chuckled ingratiatingly. "Just… perhaps be more careful next time!" Igisigukiza released the man's hand and finally looked around at the crowd that had gathered around them. People were staring at him, eyes wide in shock and amazement. To one side he could see someone holding up a smart phone to take his picture – or to record what he had done. He swallowed nervously, starting to withdraw into himself. Awkwardly, Igisiguikiza started to back away from the crowd, looking around himself for some avenue of escape.

"Can you believe what just happened?"

"That was amazing!"

"Could you heal my father?"

Igisigukiza stifled a groan. He had never wanted attention; he had never courted the spotlight. When he had discovered the belt buckle, he had simply agreed to use it in order to help other people, traveling from one side of Africa to the other and slipping into different hospitals in the middle of the night, using his Healing Hands on as many patients as he could before disappearing back out into the night. He had been so careful never to act in public… before now. But this time circumstances had forced his hand – if he hadn't acted, the man surely would have died before help could arrive or else been left grievously maimed. His stomach clenched. Seeing a break in the crowd, Igisigukiza quickly pushed himself through it. He could see the open street, just beyond his reach. A matter of moments, and he would be free.

"Miraculous…"

Igisigukiza froze on hearing the feminine voice speak the familiar word beside him. "I'm sorry?" He turned to find a fair-skinned young woman standing beside him, watching him with intense interest, an evaluating look in her eyes.

"The ability you just used," the woman explained, scanning him from top to bottom before starting to move away from the crowd. "It looked a lot like a miraculous."

He followed her, only to stop mid-step, staring at her with his head cocked to one side. "How do you know about–I'm sorry, did you say a miraculous?"

"Oh, there are a lot of miraculous around," she told him, waving her hand dismissively. "In fact, they're not very far from here." She furrowed her brows in confusion. "Didn't you hear about what happened? About the Heroes of Paris fighting against that Tarasque and having to escape from it?" Igisigukiza shook his head slowly. "It's been all over the news."

"I have been busy," he explained, pursing his lips and humming. As the crowd began to follow them, Igisigukiza picked up his pace, jogging away from the man he had healed and trying to leave the crowd behind. "I do remember hearing something about a group of refugees in the area, but not who they were, where they were from, or why they had come."

"That's them." The woman kept up with his pace easily. "I actually arrived here in Angola with them a few weeks ago; I just came into the city today to look for some supplies."

"And you say that these Heroes of Paris use other miraculous?"

"Some of them do," she confirmed, nodding. "There are a lot of miraculous users there, actually."

"Huh." He examined her carefully. "I – had no idea."

"Do you want to meet them?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure they would like to meet you."

"Can you show me where they are?"

"Of course."

"What's your name?"

"Susanna."


Thirty minutes later, Igisigukiza and Susanna stood on the edge of the forest, across the road from the Miradouro da Lua. Without hesitating, Susanna strode straight into the forest, following a new path between the trees, which seemed to have been formed by the passage of several sets of feet over a short period of time. Curious, Igisigukiza followed her, looking around in confusion at the undergrowth around them. The forest was silent, with hardly the sound of a birdcall to disturb it. "You're sure this is the right way?"

"Of course," she assured him. "I've been here for almost a month; I think I can find my way!"

"It's just… this path doesn't look very used," he pointed out. "With how many people you said would be here, shouldn't it have been used a little more?"

She shrugged. "Not many people have really left the camp," she explained. "Most of them have just stayed there, waiting until we can figure out our next move."

He nodded slowly and continued after her, curious in spite of himself. He had never realized that there might be other miraculous out there – that his belt buckle was just one of many. He had never thought to ask Runna about it, and Runna hadn't volunteered the information. But now he might find some answers: where did the miraculous come from? Why was it just hidden inside of a cave in Rwanda for a young boy to discover? Why had it come to him, instead of anyone else? But if there were other miraculous – if there were other miraculous users – what would that mean for him?

Certainly it would mean that he was not alone!

"It's just up here, around this bend," Susanna called behind her, disappearing around a curve between two trees.

Igisigukiza hurried to catch up, jogging through the trees and out into the clearing beyond to find a small encampment consisting of a dozen or so tents arranged haphazardly around a large tarp. People who were all wearing similar dark brown robes mingled about in small clusters, walking in and out between the tents. Igisigukiza cocked his head in confusion. As a group of them were passing, one of the robed men caught sight of Igisigukiza and froze, staring at him openly. Igisigukiza turned in either direction, searching for Susanna. An older man strode toward him.

"Don't worry; everything is fine," Susanna assured him, appearing next to him and patting him on the shoulder, smiling brightly. Igisigukiza tried to nod, but his body wouldn't respond. He couldn't move; he was frozen in place! All he could do was stare at her in shock. Susanna's smile turned into a smirk, and Igisigukiza's stomach dropped. "Thank you for your cooperation, miraculous abuser."

The other man put a hand on Susanna's shoulder, staring at Igisigukiza maliciously. "Well done, Prodigy."