The Invitation(11)
“Was it painful?”
“No, just the opposite. I felt an incredible sense of wellbeing. I heard a voice telling me there was nothing to be afraid of. Then I looked at my stomach, and I could actually see my internal organs. I could see all that was happening in my own body.”
“That’s incredible. Were you afraid?”
“Not at all. It was both exhilarating and beautiful at the same time. I didn’t want it to end.”
“What was your husband doing?”
“Sleeping. There was no noise, and other than the light shining on me, the rest of the room was still dark.”
“You didn’t wake him?”
“This is going to sound strange, but I was so absorbed with what I was experiencing, I didn’t want anything to interfere with it.”
“Did you ever tell him?”
“I told him everything the next day.”
“What did he say?”
“At first, he thought I was dreaming. I showed him the night gown. He had no explanation.”
“What happened?”
“Over time, I just stopped thinking about it.”
“Have you ever told this to Ken?”
“No, I wanted to, but I never did.”
“Why not?”
“I didn’t want to say anything when he was a child because I thought it would confuse him. When he was older, I don’t know. It seemed so incredible that it was just easier to not say anything.”
“But you chose to tell me.”
“That’s right. I thought about not telling you, but that wouldn’t be right. Carol, something else happened that night.”
“What?”
“When that light, or energy, whatever it was, was shining on me, I don’t think it was interested in me.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was more focused on the baby I was carrying.”
“Ken?”
“Yes”
“Why do you say that?”
“This light moved to my womb. I saw, and when I say I saw, I mean in detail. It was incredible. , I saw his heartbeat, his respiration, his blood flowing. Then, it…”
“It what?”
“It centered on his brain. I could actually see inside it. The complexity was amazing. Then, what looked like a tiny thread of pure blue light found its way into the middle of his brain. All of a sudden, there was what I can only describe as a pulse of energy. I guess that’s what it was. I remember it clearly because I saw him twitch when it happened. His arms, and legs jerked. I felt it. It was unmistakable.”
Seeing an expression of incredulous amazement on Carol’s face, Kathryn asks, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
“It’s not that. It’s just that you’ve told me something amazing.”
“I know, and now you’re the only other living person that knows it. I’ve had to live with this for forty-six years. If I told anyone they’d think I was crazy, but I know what I experienced.”
Carol, nonplussed for a response, looks in silence at the nightgown, and its unusual burn mark, as Kathryn continues.
“That’s part of the reason I generally keep to myself. It feels like I`m always concealing something.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Carol asks.
“One reason, to let you know that it might have something to do with you not being able to conceive.”
“Do you honestly believe that?”
“I don’t know, Carol, but I do know what happened that night.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Carol says.
“There’s nothing you can say.”
“I’m confused.”
“I know it’s hard to believe, and you don’t have to say that you do. It’s enough for me that I told you. I’m glad I did, but we have to go on living. So”
“Can I ask you, when Ken was born, was he physically okay?”
“My doctor said he was perfectly healthy. I know that doesn’t help to corroborate what I’ve told you.”
“I’m just trying to make sense of it.”
“Well, that’s what I’ve been doing for forty-six years now, unsuccessfully. Maybe you can figure it out.”
After a pregnant silence, Kathryn says,
“Look, Carol, it really doesn’t change anything. We’re all doing pretty well. You are happy aren’t you?”
“Uh, yes, of course,” Carol says haltingly.
“Now you’re distracted,” Kathryn says.”
“Oh, I’m all right. It’s just that… Wow.”
“I know. Well, I’m sure you have to get back. Do you intend to tell Ken what I’ve told you?”