Seer

Timothy’s

Timothy is anxious as he rides back home in his mother’s car. This has been a difficult few days for him. As anticipated, Jonathan’s Guardian has continued to provoke cruel acts, and Timothy has been the unfortunate recipient on several occasions. Jonathan has taunted him, has called him names, and has even thrown small objects at him. Timothy as always tries to ignore it, but it is increasingly difficult.

The Seer is dismayed, attempting repeatedly and unsuccessfully to intervene. Her Jonathan Project is clearly failing, and she begins to wonder what is actually going on. She is far too perceptive to overlook the fact that the escalation in Jonathan’s behavior is unusual even for him.

The conversation that Angel anticipates will be coming soon.

In the meantime, Timothy is trying hard to focus on his reunion with his father. Natalie has discussed this extensively with him, knowing that in the past the two have had problems connecting. She has even tutored him in how best to greet his father, playacting the scene together so that Timothy will feel comfortable. Timothy intends to fulfill her instructions precisely, and is running over it in his mind.

I whisper to him, imbuing my words with energy, as I always do now. He is not making an effort to open his mind or create the dreamlike state which would be required to actually perceive my words. He is too focused on remembering Natalie’s instructions. But he feels the support and love I am sending to him, and it helps him to face the upcoming event calmly.

When we arrive home, Timothy’s mother tells him that his father is very tired from his deployment, and would appreciate a nice peaceful evening. Timothy does not recognize the subtle hint, that she hopes he will be able to avoid becoming overwhelmed with the new situation. She remembers all too well prior times when Timothy’s reaction to his newly arrived father was very negative, even hysterical. But Timothy simply nods, and his mother hopes for the best.

As we enter the front door, Timothy sees his father waiting in the living room. As rehearsed with Natalie, Timothy greets his father. “Hi Dad, welcome home,” he says, and proceeds to approach his father, reaching out to give him a brief hug. This is precisely as Natalie had scripted the scene for him, and he carries out her instructions exactly.

His father is surprised and delighted, and returns the embrace. “Hey, kid, good to see you,” he says. “I think you’ve grown taller. How are you doing? How is school going?”

“I’m fine,” Timothy says, feeling relieved that the initial contact has proceeded as planned. “School is fine. I like second grade.”

“Glad to hear it,” Michael responds.

There is a silence, as neither can find anything else to add. “Ok,” Timothy says, “I’m going to go do my homework.” He takes his backpack and climbs the stairs.

His parents regard each other with some amazement. “That went well,” Laura chuckles.

Michael’s Guardian watches the exchange, pleased that the child did not reject contact as has occurred in the past. His Guardian is concerned about Michael’s emotional well-being, in the wake of his long deployment. I see the memories the Guardian has of the last difficult six months, and understand better the problems that Michael has been facing. I am all the more pleased that Natalie has helped Timothy prepare to accept his father’s presence once again.

Timothy settles in on the floor of his bedroom and pulls out his homework, resigned to an evening without seeing Natalie. Again, this is as they discussed. Natalie felt it would be best to allow Timothy’s family to have the night to themselves, and Timothy reluctantly agreed.

Natalie

“How’s it going over there?” I ask Angel.

“Very well, darling. Timothy remembered everything you practiced with him, and he greeted and hugged his father exactly as you planned. Both of his parents are very pleased, and Timothy is calm. He has finished his homework and is reading one of the books about the mind that he checked out from the library.”

“Ok,” I sigh. “Have Guardian tell him that I say Hi when he gets the chance.” I know it was my idea not to see Timothy tonight, but it’s hard, knowing how bothered Timothy has been about Jonathan the last couple of days.

“Very well,” Angel says. “You will also be pleased to know that Timothy is not thinking about Jonathan at the moment. He is very engrossed in his book.”

“Thanks.” It’s nice how sometimes I don’t have to ask Angel what I want to know, he just tells me.

I’ve finished my homework too, so I pick up the children’s bible again. I’m done reading it, but I want to look through the pictures and stories. There’s boring parts, and confusing parts, but I think since this version was written for children it’s mostly simple enough to understand. I guess I need to read the real grownups bible someday, to get the whole story.

Some of the stories are really nice, but a lot are just awful. So much of it is people being really mean to each other, not just during wars, but other times as well. The way it is written, people are always saying that God is the reason for stuff, but I know better. A whole lot of it just has to be people making stuff up for their own reasons, like to get power over others. A lot of the stories have people talking to angels, or even demons, and I figure that those must be times that people were hearing their guardians talking to them. There are prophets who say that they talk to God, or know what God wants, and I’m pretty sure they were hearing their guardians too.

Angel watches me, waiting to see if I want to ask any questions. I have a lot of questions, but I don’t really even know where to start. I wish Timothy was reading the bible too, because I know he’d be able to find all the right questions to ask. But he’s too busy reading his books about science and stuff like that. He finds that way more interesting than a bunch of old stories.

“This was all a long time ago, right? Who wrote this, anyway?” I ask.

“Yes, darling, the stories were written thousands of years ago. It is reasonable to surmise that the tales were told orally for a long time before they were recorded in writing. Many different people must have written the stories down, as I am aware that there were several conflicting versions of each story in circulation, which were eventually compiled into the collection that passes for today’s bible.”

“Do you think any of it really happened?” I ask. “Well, actually, you have been around guarding other people for a long time, right? Were you here that long ago? Did you ever see any of this stuff yourself?”

“I believe that much of the background information is true. Many of the cultures and civilizations referenced did actually exist, and you can study the archeological evidence which has been found regarding those regions. It is more difficult to know if any of the tales of most individuals in the stories really happened. Except for some documented historical figures, such as the Pharaohs and Roman officials, modern historians do not have records of the people named. As for your second question, no, I did not personally witness any events that seem similar to the stories you have read. Although, over time stories can change in the telling, so it is hard to know for certain.”

Maybe I need to read some history books, to try to figure out how much of this could have been real. I wonder if there are books for kids about archeology and stuff. Maybe I’ll try to go along with Timothy to the library next time.

I’m thinking of more questions that I could ask Angel, but he says “It is eight o’clock, darling, time for your word.”

I grab my notebook and turn to the page where I write the words for Timothy. On the next line, I write “Navy”. I figure that is a good one for the day his Dad gets home. It’s time for me to get ready for bed, so I go in the bathroom to brush my teeth and stuff. When I come back, I ask Angel, “Well?”

“He heard the word very quickly, my sweet girl, as he has almost every night lately. I also asked Guardian to pass along your greeting, while Timothy’s mind was receptive, and he heard that you told him Hi. He told Guardian to tell you Hi as well, and that he will see you in the morning.”

That’s good. I’m glad that Timothy is hearing Guardian, and I’m glad that it went ok for him when his Dad got home. I’d be glad about everything if it wasn’t for Jonathan.