Me Without You (13 page)

Jervais started laughing and Jonah
joined in. The rest of the siblings also laughed as Brice continued
to walk in like a ramp model. With his curly, blond hair and dark
blue eyes, he looked younger than his thirty years of age. Tall and
very lean, Brice was a beautiful young man, an androgynous beauty
which made a lot of women and men, both young and old,
disillusioned. He settled on the arm of Jane’s chair.

"Little girls," Brice addressed the
younger ones. "It ain’t funny to drive here to and fro. And it
seemed we will be holding a lot of these for the next few days, I
reckon. I mean do we really have to be gathering like
this?"

Jane put her arm around his waist and
squeezed him fondly, "Only for now, Bricius!"

"Brice!" Brice corrected
Jane.

"I don’t mind!" Jenssen joined in
looking up with her sparkling blue eyes. With her short, blond
curls in pigtails, she almost looked like she was barely out of
college. She smiled and her plump cheeks were all flushed, "It’s an
excuse to pig out on Jane’s sweets."

"You don’t need an excuse, dear!"
Jemmah commented while Jervais snickered softly in the background.
Jemmah looked at her watch impatiently and took a seat. "Let’s get
this started I’m late for—something!"

"Shouldn’t we wait for Aunt Judith?"
Jane remarked.

"We’ve already been waiting for a lot
of things…and people. Brice…for your mother to die…my patience has
been tested enough!" Jemmah said.

"Nasty!" Brice chimed in. "Very nasty,
sister!"

"I think it’s better for us to discuss
matter first within ourselves before Aunt Judith arrives," Jerone
said, putting the papers down on the coffee table.

"Let’s start with your mother’s will—"
Jemmah said.

Jane leaned over from her seat. She
said, "Nobody cares about the will."

"Oh, I do care!" Jemmah
interjected.

"Almost all of your mother’s properties
have already been settled extra-judicially—" In a soft voice which
was almost a whisper, she added, "I think it’s more important that
we discuss about—"

"Oh, the woo-hoo stuff!" Jemmah said.
"That’s crap! Whoever believes in that stuff now a
days?"

"Oh, Jemmah, please—" Brice remarked
flippantly. "I get goose bumps every time I think about it. Now,
ask me if I don't believe at all!"

"But what do we really know?" Jerone
asked. "That your mother was the greatest healer the world ever
had. That whoever killed her will be the next one in
line—"

"That she has tremendous powers," Jane
chimed in. "And gifted with immortality—"

"God!" Brice interrupted shivering
involuntarily. "This is freaking me out. Our family is
freakish."

There was another awkward silence
engulfing the whole room. Jonah closed her eyes and allowed herself
to listen to her surroundings.

"Jonah!" she heard a voice close to her
ear, whispering her name.

Opening her eyes in a slit, she
squinted at Jervais and mouthed, "What?"

"What?" Jervais asked and ruffled
Jonah's short hair.

Just then, they heard the undeniable
stiletto-steps of their Aunt Judith like a tap dance, just outside
of the room. For such a small woman, their Aunt Judith can create
so much noise with the way she handled herself wherever she
was.

"Good! I see everyone's here," the
elderly woman said in a strong voice even if her blue-grey eyes
appeared reddish and tired. Despite her expensive-looking
stilettos, she looked even smaller than her five feet flat stature
with her hunched back. Her jet black hair was pulled back in a bun.
She motioned for Jane to vacate her place, which the younger woman
willingly obliged, and sat on Rebecca's tall chair.

Jane playfully swatted Jonah's dangling
feet as she took her seat in the divan."Sit down properly, Jonah!"
she instructed.

"Why'd you call me?" Jonah asked
Jervais in a soft voice.

"Huh?" Jervais looked at Jonah
questioningly. "I didn't call you."

"Then, who did?" Jonah
inquired.

"Perhaps, it was your mother!" Jervais
jested.

"Who killed our poor Rebecca Blood? I
am pretty sure that one of us here killed our poor Rebecca. But
there's nothing to be afraid or ashamed of. In our tribe, this is
not a morality issue—especially when the healer has not performed
her responsibilities well," Aunt Judith began. "Whoever is the new
healer, you will need the support of people who truly care about
you. We are family here. So please, speak now!"

The Blood siblings looked at each other
uncomfortably. It was Jemmah who spoke first.

"Aunt Judith," she started to say. "You
don't expect us to believe that, do you?"

Aunt Judith stood up shakily. She
directed a pointing finger at Jemmah and brusquely said, "Why
you—you could be the one! Rebecca had her eyes on you. She favored
you to take her legacy. And you hated your mother ever
since."

Everybody's eyes were fixed on Jemmah,
who was shaking her head vehemently."I could have very well killed
her. But I don't believe in this healer-crap!"

"Healer-crap? Crap my foot!" Aunt
Judith said and took her seat again. "Nobody is asking you to
believe. But the truth will not change. We came from a clan of
healers—our poor Rebecca was the greatest…most powerful. It is a
family secret. Nobody among you showed signs of the gift or was
even slightly interested. It should have stayed a secret if only
Rebecca wasn't murdered. However, the coroner is ninety percent
certain, poor Rebecca was poisoned. So whoever killed her has her
power now."

Jonah straightened up as the memory of
her Aunt Judith brewing a concoction she insisted Rebecca took to
get well, clicked through her mind. She looked at her Aunt Judith.
The older woman met her eyes without blinking. A small, hardly
noticeable sneer spread through her Aunt Judith's thin
lips.

It's her…she killed her own
sister
. Jonah thought as she looked away
and avoided her Aunt Judith's eyes.

"So, how is it now?" Jane asked
timidly. "What will become of the new healer?"

Aunt Judith explained, "The new healer
can heal and destroy and become immortal. But she can also be
vanquished—especially now that her power is not yet that
strong."

There's a healer…she can
heal
…
why in the
world am I thinking of X all of a sudden?
Jonah reflected amusingly as the image of Xavier suddenly
entered her mind. It was not as if she totally cared what will
happen to him. But Hugh and his mother did tell her Xavier was
terribly ill.

Jonah recalled she had gone for the nth
time to Xavier's house to have the chance to talk to him that day.
However, his mother had been the one who faced her and warned her
never to see him again.

"Xavier is terribly ill!" Mrs. Lively
had told Jonah. "But you should know since your mother—" she never
did finish her sentence then as she started closing the door. In
between gritted teeth, she added, "You will make Xavier sicker than
he already is. If you don't want him to die sooner, never see him
again!"

"The new healer is at her weakest now,"
Aunt Judith's voice interrupted through Jonah's thoughts. "Until a
year and fortnight after Rebecca's death will the new healer
complete her phase to become truly powerful. And of course, she has
to seal it."

"Seal what? How?" Jane
queried.

"She has to give life to a dying one,"
Aunt Judith said. "But even then, she needs to be taught how to use
her power. But this moment is the most significant because
vultures—from around the world, nameless, faceless, unknown— seek
the healer's blood."

"Oh, for God's sake!" Jemmah said out
loud. "This is nothing but a freak-show!"

"Jemmah!" Brice, Jane and Jerone said
in unison.

Kill the new
healer…
A voice in Jonah's head was
saying.
Then, heal X yourself.

Before Jonah could stop herself, she
asked out loud, "What for?"

"What are you saying, child?" Aunt
Judith asked. "You don't have any idea what the healer is capable
of— a lot of people are thirsting for power and
immortality."

"It's not what I mean—" Jonah
stammered. She was feeling hot all over as it dawned on her she had
spoken out loud what was on her mind. "I was really thinking of
something else—"

"Ssshh!" Jervais said. Her brows met in
a scowl. Suppressing her laughter and in a low voice, she added,
"Just go back to your daydreaming, huh! This ain't our
stuff."

Jonah slouched back on the divan to
avoid further notice from anybody. But her mind was more vigilant
as the conversation around her turned more serious.

"Does our family have unknown enemies,
Aunt Judith?" Jerone asked. "People who are interested with the
healer's power?"

Aunt Judith smirked, her eyes glowing
with enmity."You don't need to create enemies to want power. Even
your loved ones will thirst for it."

"The whole thing will be a witch hunt!"
Jemmah declared. "Where in the world will we find the new
healer?"

"
A
witch hunt?
"
Aunt
Judith asked. "Of course not! There will be signs."

"What signs?" Jane asked.

Aunt Judith looked skeptical
for a moment. Whether it was deliberate or not, Jonah noted her
Aunt Judith did not want to reveal the signs as she changed the
topic."There's one more thing though, the
habak
that holds the secret teachings
of the healer is missing," Aunt Judith said.

"What
habak
?" Jane asked.

"The ancient belly chain? Is that the
one?" Jerone joined in."The one she always wore with
her?"

"Now, this is more interesting!" Jemmah
said sarcastically. She reached out for her purse and got her
lighter and a cigarette.

As Jemmah lighted the thin stick, Aunt
Judith tapped the arm of her chair twice with her three middle
fingers and the lighter refused to emit fire. Jemmah clicked again,
this time lighting the cigar successfully. Another tapping came and
the smoke just dried up.

"Did you see that?" Jervais whispered
near Jonah's ear. Apparently, only the two of them noticed as their
other siblings became busy mumbling to each other.

"This is getting surreal!" Jonah
replied.

"Until the new healer has not surfaced
yet, it will be safer for the world to speculate that we killed our
poor Rebecca to keep those who are interested at bay," Aunt Judith
said.

"But wouldn't that only put everyone in
danger?" Jonah asked in a small voice which was barely a whisper.
"Whoever is interested will be after each one of us."

Jervais nudged her by the elbow. "This
ain't our stuff, remember? Be quiet!" she instructed.

Jonah kept her mouth shut. However, her
mind was running amok. If the new healer was as kind as Jane, she
might oblige to healing Xavier. However, if it were someone like
Aunt Judith, Xavier will have no chance.

All the more reason to find
the healer, defeat whoever she is and heal X…
Jonah reflected, scanning the faces of the people around her
under her lashes.
For no matter how Xavier
treated her, she was still very much into him.

The Unexpected
Meeting

Jonah had to get out of the house for a
while. The excitement over the family's fate had totally drained
her. Fortunately, Jane had called a break to prepare for dinner
which the others had willingly agreed except for Aunt
Judith.

The hag is acting so
strange
. Jonah contemplated about her Aunt
Judith.
She is in a hurry to find the new
healer…but she doesn't even realize she's putting everyone in
danger.

The air was getting cold and daylight
was fading. All sorts of insect-sounds were beginning to be
audible. Dusk was already peeking at the horizon, but Jonah's
footsteps and her preoccupied thoughts, led her to the old trail
towards the woods at the back of their house. She hadn't ventured
into those paths ever since Hugh was feeding her information about
Xavier.

Jonah's thoughts pleasantly drifted to
Hugh. She missed Hugh. He had a way of making her feel very
comfortable with a lot of things, even the really awkward ones
which would terribly embarrass her if she shared them with
Xavier.

Each step she took crackled under her
feet with the dry leaves and twigs. In rhythm, she proceeded to the
clearing that separated both the Blood's property from the Lively's
family. Before she reached the clearing, she stopped, listening as
another rhythm, not far behind, disturbed her.

It could be an
animal
… Jonah told herself.
Or
s
omebody must be following me…

She looked back and saw
nothing. She went ahead until she arrived at a small dried up,
man-made pond. There was a rickety, wooden bridge which was built
at the end of the pond connecting the two lands. Her father used to
tell her, there was a point in the past when the two families had
shared raising
koi
,
a species of fish symbolizing love and friendship in
Japan.