The Binding

Chapter Twenty-Three

Yisu looked bored. Obviously, the discussion of sex rites and temple priestesses held no interest for her. She jiggled her feet off the edge of the sofa and stared off into space. Finally, once we finished talking, she rolled over onto her stomach and looked at me, her chin resting on the heel of her hand. "How do you see a person's past?"

   "It happens when I touch them, but it doesn't happen every time."

   "Can you control what you see or go back to see the same thing more than once?"

   "I can't control what I see... I don't think," I answered. "But I can go back to the same vision if I want."

   Ezra looked at me, surprised. "In the car, outside of Esther's house, I returned to a vision of you several times. We watched a Charlie Chaplin movie together." His face bounced back and forth from surprise to amusement.

   "Have you tried to see a specific point in a person's past?" Sria asked.

   "Huh, well..." I thought about it for a moment. "No, I guess not."

   "Okay," Yisu jumped up. "Let's try." She flew off the couch and sat back on the coffee table facing me. She crossed her legs in front of her and held out her hands, bouncing with excitement.

   I smiled at the way her knees sprang up and down in a rapid cadence. "Alright." I placed my hands on top of hers. I waited, and nothing happened. I opened my eyes and shrugged.

   "Nothing?"

   "Sorry."

   "Try again."

   I rested my hands on top of hers and waited. Nothing. I wrapped my fingers around her wrists and tried to see. I tried to imagine her past. Nothing.

   "I'm sorry."

    Yisu pouted slightly.

   Sria suggested I try on her. I did, but again nothing happened. I was ready to give up, but Yisu demanded and then pleaded that I try once more, holding out her hands.

   I wrapped my hands around her forearms, with Yisu mirroring my movements. I closed my eyes and breathed. I tried concentrating without success. Then I tried relaxing, unfocusing my thoughts. Nothing. Ezra reached up and softly stroked the back of my neck. My pulse quickened as his fingers slowly trailed along my spine.

   Suddenly it was dark. A small fire flickered nearby. I was surrounded by tall green grass, and I could vaguely see clusters of trees in the distance. I walked toward the light and saw three mounds of people sleeping next to the fire. A man and a woman slept together under some kind of shaggy animal skin. A girl about ten years old was asleep near their feet. A few feet away under a smaller pile of red and brown blankets with large swirls and geometric designs, I saw Yisu. She was very young. She was awake, watching the fire. A firefly flew down and began crawling on a blade of grass near her hand. She reached out and gently touched the glowing end.

   I opened my eyes, and Yisu yipped in delight. "It worked!"

   "What did you see?" Sria asked politely, trying not to smile as Yisu whooped in enthusiasm.

   "People sleeping next to a fire," I said. "Yisu awake, watching a firefly."

   "Was I there?" she asked. I shook my head. "No, I don't think so."

   "Again! Again!" Yisu cried, thrusting her hands toward me. Ezra and I laughed at the same time. Her enthusiasm was infectious. I set my hands on top of hers again and closed my eyes. The vision came quickly this time.