by Iris Kincaid
At least today, she would have good news to share. Incredible news. Life-changing, life- saving news.
It was wonderful to see the joy and surprise on their faces.
“I’ve been praying for this for over twenty years,” her mother exclaimed.
“Wow! You’re finally going to be able to have your own life!”
Well, it’s been a pretty crappy life, but it was certainly my own. What?
“You can finally move into your own place. I bet you can’t wait.”
Huh? I hadn’t even thought that far. Um, who can’t wait?
“How long is it going to take you to recover? You’re not gonna need our help, will you?”
What if I do? Just for little while?
“Oh, my God. I thought you’d still be here till you were seventy. Poor Mom!”
Poor Mom? I’m the dialysis queen with no kidneys.
“There are openings in Tom’s apartment building, aren’t there, Tom? You start working full-time hours now and you’ll be able to afford it, no problem.”
Again, that’s getting a little ahead of myself.
“Wait a minute. Kinda need my space. There are plenty of other apartment buildings in town,” Tom protested.
The overall mood was celebratory, but Erin wasn’t sure they were all on the same page about the cause for celebration. She was going to be normal and healthy and no longer have a body that let her down. Her family was already mentally redecorating and repurposing her room. She sat incredulously through a debate on whether it should become a craft room or a mini-gym. Tori had swimsuit competitions to prepare for. The gym won.
CHAPTER TWO
The grandfatherly Dr. Svenson had been as gentle, kind, and patient a doctor as Erin could have ever wished for. But she couldn’t help but notice that he was also a bit evasive. About her recovery time. About the donor. Even about the red tape and bureaucracy and forms that miraculously seemed to be dispensed with.
Hopefully, this was all on the up and up. Of course, she’d been so thrilled about the organ match that she hadn’t stopped to really research the doctor’s history or his success record. And as she drifted off to sleep under the anesthesia, it occurred to her that she should have found some of his other transplant patients. I wonder what they would have said?
If Erin could have been granted her wish, Dr. Svenson’s most recent patients would have told her that he was a maverick pioneer with a wanton disregard for medical law and standard procedure. That he invariably came to hold each transplant patient in the most tender regard and guarded their wellbeing as if each were a member of his own family. And they also might have said that they would have appreciated a heads-up before he’d transplanted one of the witch’s organs into their bodies.
For Martine was not the only one. Erin was, in fact, the eighth such transplant. All had their lives literally or metaphorically saved by these operations, and the witch’s organs always left behind an additional precious gift. The ability to see the future was Martine’s alone. The other transplant heirs had received a multitude of very specific capabilities. Dr. Svenson could only wonder and wait to see what portion of Lilith Hazelwood had been passed on to Erin.
Ruby Townsend, the doctor’s assistant, belonged to a very small group of people in Oyster Cove with an awareness of the presence and the powers of the transplant witches. She was honored to play a part in these revolutionary, awe-inspiring procedures and could hardly contain her excitement waiting for the patient to wake up and for the new powers to assert themselves.
“It has been a very long day, Ruby,” the doctor teased. “Why don’t you go home early and get some rest?” He knew this wasn’t even a remote possibility.
“But she’s going to be awake any minute. Every time is a big surprise, isn’t it? I can’t even begin to guess what she’s going to be like. Kidneys. What kind of witch powers could possibly be in the kidneys?”
“Do not be distracted by parlor tricks. Yes, she is very likely to be capable of some strange and unusual things. But, never forget that this is about health. Her life. That is more important than things that float through the air, or superhuman strength, or being able to see through walls.”
“I know. I know. Ten years of dialysis. Just putting an end to that is worth celebrating. And then what happens, happens. But it’s never dull, is it?”
“No. It never is. And guess what? I think she’s coming out of it.”
Erin was indeed stirring, and several hours earlier than would have been expected in a typical surgery. But this appeared to be a recurring pattern—in fact, a near certainty. In addition, Erin would require almost no recovery time, which was one of the reasons the doctor hadn’t wanted to misinform her by predicting a typical recovery period of several weeks.
“Doc . . . Doc . . . Dr. Svenson. Is it over? Am I okay? Did it work?” Erin asked cautiously. She could actually feel the new kidneys inside her. But amazingly, that sensation was not accompanied by any amount of pain.
The doctor came over, sat on a stool beside her, and took one of her hands into his. “It was a perfect procedure, if I do say so myself. All signs point to success, although, of course, I’d like to keep you here for a day or two to make sure no complications develop.”
“Thank goodness that every single one of the witch’s organs seems to be universally compatible. I just hope that when this young lady finds out that she is becoming a witch, it will not be an unpleasant shock to her.”
“What? What did you just say about a witch’s organs and my becoming a witch? Is that some kind of crazy joke?”
The doctor dropped her hand and stood up, startled. “I . . . I did not say anything. How is it that you know about the witch?”
“You just told me. You just said it. I . . . I couldn’t be hallucinating, could I?”
Ruby quickly dashed over to the sink in the room, filled a paper cup with water, and took it over to Erin. She handed the cup to Erin, holding the patient’s hands steady with her own.
“Have a drink. You could be very dehydrated. That can cause delusions.”
“Although, if you’re anything like the other transplant witches, your body is probably healthier and more efficient than anyone’s in this entire hospital. Or in this town, for that matter. Gosh, I can’t wait to see what kind of witch you turn out to be. The others are all so cool.”
“What do you mean, other witches? Other transplant witches? What does that even mean?”
It was all Ruby could do not to spill the drink right on Erin. She recognized the words and phrases of her own thoughts echoed in Erin’s response. But she hadn’t actually said those words out loud. She was sure of it.
The doctor returned to Ruby’s side. “Who has been talking to you about witches?”
“You two. Just now. You said ‘the witch’s organs,’ as if you had actually put a witch’s organs in me. Could this be a dream? Because now that I think about it, I heard you say it. But I didn’t see you say it. Or Ruby either. I didn’t see her say it.”
Both the doctor and Ruby drew a step back.
“That is exactly what I was thinking,” the doctor said. “She heard my thoughts. And yours. Erin . . . tell me what I’m thinking now.”
Erin shook her head in confusion. “How would I know what you’re thinking?”
The doctor turned to Ruby. “I’m thinking that it’s time to call Delphine Sykes and see if she can help us all to understand what’s happening.”
Ruby nodded vigorously and dashed out of the room to make the call.
“Who is Delphine Sykes?”
“A witch.”
“I don’t know if I believe in witches.”
“If that uncertainty is important to you, then you have about sixty more minutes to cling to it.”
*****
Delphine was a lovely older lady with eyes that were simultaneously sharp and watchful, and still playful at the same time. She was exactly how Erin would like to look when she was sixty.
“Thank you, my dear. That’s the loveliest compliment I’ve gotten in a long time,” Delphine said.
Except that she didn’t exactly say it—her lips didn’t move. Erin gasped. She had heard the words loud and clear.
“You’re not reading my thoughts, incidentally. It is I who am sending my thoughts to you.”
The doctor and Ruby stood by in anticipation, unaware that the conversation had already begun.
“For the sake of these two, I’m going to explain things out loud. The kidneys are powerful organs. They purify the body. And in the case of Lilith Hazelwood’s organs, they dissolve all of the body’s blockages, anything standing in the way of a full access to the senses. Including what you would classify as a sixth sense.
“Your abilities are at an undeveloped stage right now. They require close physical proximity and physical touch to access the thoughts of others. One thing to understand is that you will only hear their precise thoughts at that moment. Not what they were thinking five minutes earlier, nor the topics that have concerned them for the past twenty years. The human brain is a rather small bucket, and as a rule, it can only hold one thought at any moment in time. Those will be the thoughts available to you.
“As your powers mature, you will be able to walk into a room and hear the thoughts of a multitude of people as if you had just walked into a café and can hear chattering coming from all corners of the room. You won’t be able to make out which thoughts are coming from which person. It’s a rather dizzying sensation but an unavoidable stage.
“And then, afterward, you’ll be able to hone in on precisely one person and their thoughts. I cannot tell you how soon it will take to reach that stage. It is a matter of time and practice. Eventually, you’ll not only be able to read thoughts, but you’ll be able to send them. That is a talent that must be used very cautiously, particularly with commoners.”
Erin soon came to understand that commoners referred to people who were not witches, including Dr. Svenson and Ruby. But she was no longer one of them. She was something else.
“Yes, my dear. You can consider yourself to be a witch. I know it is a strange thought now. But I hope you will soon come to value it.”
Erin didn’t think so. But by the smirk on Delphine’s face, she’d obviously heard that cynical thought.
There was a fifth presence at this gathering, Lilith Hazelwood, the organ donor herself. She was invisible to everyone except Delphine, which was to be expected. But her ghost was a noisy, uncensored, and demanding entity, and it was Delphine’s reluctant burden to act as a go-between for the angry spirit and her transplant heirs.
“It is a pity that she cannot read my thoughts,” Lilith groused.
“Nor is she likely to be able to read those of any living witch, unless they allow it,” Delphine responded. “No, her communication will primarily be with commoners . . . and possibly a familiar.”
“That is far less useful to me. I was killed by a witch. I’m certain of it. How could she possibly be of any use to me in finding the villain and satisfying my vengeance if she can’t read the minds of witches?”
For Delphine, this was a comforting train of thought. “Maybe she won’t be of any use to you. Perhaps her powers and talents will be of primary use to her own life.”
“Her powers and talents have come from me. Her gratitude is owed to me.”
There was no convincing Lilith that the universe didn’t revolve around her agenda.
“There is a delightful, painful darkness residing in this woman,” Lilith noted.
“Yes. I hope to help relieve her of it,” Delphine said.
“And I intend to make use of it.”
“I’m sure it will just take a little time for her to ease into this,” Dr. Svenson chimed in, blissfully unaware of the donor witch’s presence.
“No. She should leap into it,” Delphine said. “Like jumping into a cold pool. It’s a shock, but soon, the water will feel very warm. Now, it’s probably time for you to go home and become better acquainted with your family.”
What did Delphine know about her family?
*****
They were all at home, puttering around after a late lunch, including Tom. His stomach was still essentially a resident of the house. They were all loudly surprised to see Erin at home so soon.
“They can’t have discharged you this soon!”
“They didn’t cancel the operation, did they?”
“No. It’s all finished. And it was successful. My body has accepted the organs and everything is working just fine. I’m going to be fine now. No dialysis. Long, healthy life. I’m good now. I’m finally good.”
“That’s amazing,” Tori commented. “And you don’t even look as if you need any help from us, getting dressed or fetching you things. That’s great. That would’ve been a pain.”
Erin’s mother approached her slowly, incredulously. “You really are healed, aren’t you? You’re okay now. Perfectly okay?”
Erin could only imagine what it must feel like to see your sickly daughter finally well. “Did you ever think that we’d see this day?” She threw her arms around her mother.
“No, I never thought I’d be rid of you. Almost from the moment you were adopted, you have been nothing but trouble. It is your fault that I lost Jack, the only man I will ever love, as well as their father, that toad of a loser, Scott. But they both left for the same reason, having to take care of a sickly child who wasn’t theirs. That adoption is the worst idea in my life and I’ve paid for it for nearly thirty-eight years. And now you can finally be on your own. Doctors and hospitals and kidneys and illness. I can’t believe it’s over. I wonder how soon you can move out.”
Erin drew back sharply.
“What’s the matter? Are you feeling some kind of pain? That’s probably normal,” her mother said.
Yes, there sure was pain, and plenty of it. Adopted! That was shocking all by itself, but the fact that she was a deeply regretted burden by her mother was a fact almost too painful to take in. But, then of course, this woman was not her mother, not even in an ‘I love her like she was my very own” adopted sense of the word.
As Erin processed through the shock, Tom came up for the next obligatory hug. “Congratulations, dude. I knew things would work out.”
“And I’m so glad that I never got tested for a kidney match. But it was Mom’s idea that we should fake being tested and then tell you that we weren’t a good match. Which was great, because who knows what I could have been guilt tripped into? That was when Mom finally told me that you aren’t actually my sister. Geez. This family has really been put out by all of your drama. And you aren’t even a real half-sister. Thank goodness you can leave now.”
All of a sudden, the ground felt very unsteady beneath Erin’s feet. “I need air. I need to go for a walk.” She ran out of the house without even waiting to see their responses.
So her entire life had been a lie, a delusion, a mirage. Erin had tormented herself for years, alternately wanting to be closer to her family and wanting to be independent of them. Now, she knew that they had never been her family.
The moment was traumatic enough that it was just as well that Erin was unaware that she was being trailed by her donor witch, a companion who could not have been less sympathetic about Erin’s plight.
“Family is a weakness and a burden. How fortunate you are to be rid of them. Particularly in light of the fact that a family you were more attached to would have divided your loyalties. Now, you will have more time and energy to devote to the far more important cause of helping me to find my killer. Delphine says that you can’t read witches’ minds. Perhaps you will prove her wrong. After all, it is my superior abilities you have inherited.”
Erin continued on a long hour and a half walk that took her through several residential neighborhoods, straight up to an inviting apartment building—with a one-bedroom available. By the time she returned to her “home,” she had already moved out.
*****
The apartment cost quite a bit more than the rent Erin had been contributing at home. She really would need more money eventually, and more hours at work. But she had saved diligently for over fifteen years and had plenty to tide her over for several months.
The shock of losing her family had eroded the joy of her new lease on life. But now she tried to let that sink in. She was going to have a future. No more dialysis. She would actually be able to go on a two-week vacation. She could go on a date and not agonize over when she would have to tell the guy about her condition. She was going to live a normal long, healthy life. In fact, the doctor and Delphine seemed to hint that her life would be extra-long and extra-healthy.
A new apartment calls for a lot of new purchases. Erin didn’t want to ask for anything from her family. She was rapidly starting to think of them as her exes. So . . . pots and pans and towels and dishcloths. It was a useful task to preoccupy her, and to help her forget about the whole strange witch thing for a while.
Except when she would inadvertently have physical contact with someone, like accepting change back from a cashier.
“That is ugliest blouse I have ever seen. Even my grandma has more style. Maybe she works in the back of a warehouse and thinks it doesn’t matter how she looks. But there are cute guys everywhere. She needs to step it up.”
Erin had had to endure rude cashiers before, but what do you do when they have actually kept their rude thoughts to themselves and still managed to insult you? Ouch! Clothes had never been a top priority for Erin. Between her office uniform, the dingy, sad clothes she had worn to dialysis, and her nonexistent dating life, she had really given very little thought to her wardrobe. Now, she was going to be exposed to an endless critique on her bad fashion sense, especially when the thoughts of everyone around were pouring it. Great.
*****
The large central park seemed like a great place to grab a bit of peace and keep any possible physical contact with anyone from a distance. School had not yet let out for the year, and Erin had a wide swath of the park all to herself. Except for a very fluffy white cat with black paws and black on the tips of his ears who climbed on the other side of her park bench and tentatively made his way into her lap.