She could feel them on the air, radiating from the girl, and they intrigued her. Sadness, frustration, guilt, anger, loneliness. This would be as close as the Angel would come to experiencing many of those things herself, and she paid close attention to all of it.
CHAPTER TEN
W hen the tears finally stopped, and the girl had regained her composure, she crossed the room glumly flopped down onto the bed miserably.
“ So ” she said, taking a deep breath “ where do we start? ”
“ That ” replied Leonara with a wry smile “ is the million dollar question. It ’ s not like I do this every day Mia. It ’ s never been done before. The boy has grown up with Angels, and knowing only Angel ways - don ’ t look so surprised Mia - I may not often refer to the Others as Angels, but essentially, that is what they are - albeit poor excuses for ones, not fit to bare the name. I suppose we ought to start with me Reading you. ” She cocked her head to the side thoughtfully, as she looked Mia up and down.
“ And how do you Read me? ” Mia asked with a nervous tremble in her voice, fearing that already knew the answer. She had seen it done once before - to the baby in the memory. Or the other Truth, or wherever or whatever it was.
“ Yes, you know how it is done. I need to touch you, and send my senses through your being, just to check what is there and what is not. It will not be so unpleasant, if you consent to it - if you simply allow it to happen. I think the pain is caused when a person tries to resist. It feels most unnatural, I would imagine, and the natural reaction is to fight it. When you fight it, it ’ s as though your soul contracts, trying to keep it ’ s secrets. So we have to try harder to get in, and that causes the pain, because it is force and not simple examination. ”
Reluctantly, Mia nodded and sat on the bed, fidgeting with her fingers, unsure of what she should do now.
“ Perhaps if you lie down, you ’ ll be more comfortable - I do not know how long this will take. Hopefully not too long. Please try to relax, Mia, I can feel the tension coming off you in waves. Just close your eyes and relax. I won ’ t start until you are ready for me to. ”
Mia obeyed and lay back on the bed, her feet hanging awkwardly over the end so that she didn’t get her shoes on the covers. She couldn’t settle in that position, and kicked her trainers off so that she could shuffle backwards further. That was much better. She stared at the pattern in the ceiling, trying to clear her mind of everything but the pattern. She tried to find patterns within the patterns, she spotted stars and clouds and faces, and soon, more quickly than she expected, she found herself calm and her mind devoid of anything but these shapes which had no meaning, no emotion attached. She nodded to Leonara, without breaking her focus on the ceiling, and the Angel took this as her signal to begin.
Mia felt the Angel’s cool hand touch her skin, as Leonara gently lifted the bottom of her shirt up, and laid her palm flat on Mia’s belly. Mia felt her heartbeat quicken, and instantly tried to correct it with some deep breathing. She didn't want this to hurt, and getting panicky about it would only make it worse than it had to be. She lay as still as possible, and tried to tune out what was happening.
What was happening was a warmth, spreading from Leonara’s cool palm, which felt as though it was entering Mia’s bloodstream. The sensation was disconcerting, but not altogether unpleasant. The warmth reached her fingertips and her toes, and set them tingling, as though she had just come in to the warmth after being outside on a cold wintry day. Gradually, her whole body warmed and became tingly. As soon as all her extremities were reached, her entire body temperature began to increase quite dramatically. It became quite uncomfortable, and as Mia began to think this, she felt a change in herself instantly. It was as Leonara had
CHAPTER TEN
W hen the tears finally stopped, and the girl had regained her composure, she crossed the room glumly flopped down onto the bed miserably.
“ So ” she said, taking a deep breath “ where do we start? ”
“ That ” replied Leonara with a wry smile “ is the million dollar question. It ’ s not like I do this every day Mia. It ’ s never been done before. The boy has grown up with Angels, and knowing only Angel ways - don ’ t look so surprised Mia - I may not often refer to the Others as Angels, but essentially, that is what they are - albeit poor excuses for ones, not fit to bare the name. I suppose we ought to start with me Reading you. ” She cocked her head to the side thoughtfully, as she looked Mia up and down.
“ And how do you Read me? ” Mia asked with a nervous tremble in her voice, fearing that already knew the answer. She had seen it done once before - to the baby in the memory. Or the other Truth, or wherever or whatever it was.
“ Yes, you know how it is done. I need to touch you, and send my senses through your being, just to check what is there and what is not. It will not be so unpleasant, if you consent to it - if you simply allow it to happen. I think the pain is caused when a person tries to resist. It feels most unnatural, I would imagine, and the natural reaction is to fight it. When you fight it, it ’ s as though your soul contracts, trying to keep it ’ s secrets. So we have to try harder to get in, and that causes the pain, because it is force and not simple examination. ”
Reluctantly, Mia nodded and sat on the bed, fidgeting with her fingers, unsure of what she should do now.
“ Perhaps if you lie down, you ’ ll be more comfortable - I do not know how long this will take. Hopefully not too long. Please try to relax, Mia, I can feel the tension coming off you in waves. Just close your eyes and relax. I won ’ t start until you are ready for me to. ”
Mia obeyed and lay back on the bed, her feet hanging awkwardly over the end so that she didn’t get her shoes on the covers. She couldn’t settle in that position, and kicked her trainers off so that she could shuffle backwards further. That was much better. She stared at the pattern in the ceiling, trying to clear her mind of everything but the pattern. She tried to find patterns within the patterns, she spotted stars and clouds and faces, and soon, more quickly than she expected, she found herself calm and her mind devoid of anything but these shapes which had no meaning, no emotion attached. She nodded to Leonara, without breaking her focus on the ceiling, and the Angel took this as her signal to begin.
Mia felt the Angel’s cool hand touch her skin, as Leonara gently lifted the bottom of her shirt up, and laid her palm flat on Mia’s belly. Mia felt her heartbeat quicken, and instantly tried to correct it with some deep breathing. She didn't want this to hurt, and getting panicky about it would only make it worse than it had to be. She lay as still as possible, and tried to tune out what was happening.
What was happening was a warmth, spreading from Leonara’s cool palm, which felt as though it was entering Mia’s bloodstream. The sensation was disconcerting, but not altogether unpleasant. The warmth reached her fingertips and her toes, and set them tingling, as though she had just come in to the warmth after being outside on a cold wintry day. Gradually, her whole body warmed and became tingly. As soon as all her extremities were reached, her entire body temperature began to increase quite dramatically. It became quite uncomfortable, and as Mia began to think this, she felt a change in herself instantly. It was as Leonara had
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