THE HERO'S HERO

"So, we have been told that you have some kind of magical healing powers...is this true?" Barbara inquired.

"No, no magical powers" I replied.

"What type of powers would you call them then?" as Barbara tried prying for more information.

"I'm truly not sure why you brought me here, on this set, or why you want to interview me. I'm just a normal man with nothing special about me." Trying to evade and escape any further questioning.

"Well, we have secret film footage of you in Bill Walton Jr.'s hospital room. Would you like to see it?" as Barbara waves her hand towards a large screen set up behind my left shoulder.

The footage plays and it shows me in Bill's room. I have one hand pressed on top of Bill's bald head and my other hand hovers over different areas of Bill's body. A golden glow manifests itself from my shoulders, taking a form that looks like wings coming out of my shoulder blades. As my hand crosses over Bill's body, the wings appear to drop down and penetrate into Bill's skin, without leaving a mark, but giving the impression that the wings are removing and fixing something inside of the ten year old's torso.

"Bill's specialists told us that he was terminal but after your visit, they could not find anything wrong with the boy. Are you still trying to tell us that you don't have some kind of healing powers?" Barbara ended with a long HMM.

"Somebody must have edited that clip, or altered it in some way. I might have used an ancient form of healing, similar to Reiki, but I do not have any magical powers. I only tried to ease the boy's pain. I am no miracle worker." letting out a long deep breath.

Barbara quickly replied in a high toned note "Well, we have done some research on you. We tracked your movements over the past few years and the records show that you only travel outside of your hometown on September 7th of each year. You go to Cedars Medical Clinic in California. You visit very sick children, who are terminal, and the child you visit, walks out of the clinic within a few weeks of your visit with a clean bill of health. Except this year, you went to a hospital in Arkansas to visit Bill Walton Jr., who walked out with no signs of ill health after your visit. Coincidentally, Cedars, who is a non-profit institution, received an anonymous donation for two-billion dollars the same week of your visit. Was this just a coincidence?"

"I don't know what to say. Not sure who made this all up. Just because I saw these sick children and they got better, must be a coincidence. Maybe my Reiki helped ease their pain enough that their body's natural resilience took over to make them better. And that video, couldn't you have gotten someone to make better graphics?" shaking my head and dropping it into the palms of my hands.

"Still trying to deny. Shame on you. We have two of your former patients, and three people that have worked at Cedars, willing to testify that you are a healing hero. Admit it, you are a hero!" as Barbara slammed her hand down on the arm of her chair.

I sat there speechless, eyes starting to water up. I had been helping terminally ill children for years, recover from the different diseases and sicknesses. Never accepting any form of payment until this year and that money wasn't even for me. I had the kids and their families vow to me, to keep a secret. All these years everyone's lips have been sealed. One little rich kid, who I didn't want to choose to be the one to be cured this year, is ruining everything. I didn't have a choice though, as Cedars needed funding to keep their doors open. The place that tried their best to save my son, so many moons ago.

"Okay, the cat is out of the bag Barbara" as I took a very deep breath.

"Even though I gained this great power, many years ago, it was the saddest day of my life. I was at the Cedars Clinic with my son. He was terminal. We had tried everything modern medicine had to offer but to no avail. My son convinced me into trying Reiki and some other forms of natural and ancient healing techniques as his days counted down. He was a natural and caught onto each technique and he mastered them within days. I was much slower at learning but continued, as it put a smile on my son's face. He was able to reduce my stresses and relieve the pain in my body but not the ache in my heart. I tried my best to do the same for him, he told me it helped but I'm sure he was just saying that to make me feel better."

Barbara interrupted me "You haven't mentioned your son's name."

"Josh Mesker" I replied, which made Barbara raise an eyebrow.

"Are you still trying to deny your healing powers? We researched your family history in case your powers were hereditary. We went back one-hundred and fifty years and I do not recall a Josh Mesker....Yep,uh-hu, okay, affirmative...my crew just informed me that they went through your family tree, no records of a Josh. Although all of the pictures of the men in your family have an uncanny resemblance to you. The strange thing is, all of the pictures are of a man that looks the same age as you. No pictures of when they were a baby or child, or teenager, or an old man. All of the pictures are of a man in his later thirties. No wife, no children, just someone who looks just like you, other than the haircuts and clothes. Is there more that you want to tell us?" Barbara ended with a quick short HMM.

"Barbara, you might not believe me right now, but if you would let me finish, I am sure I will convince you by the end." Barbara nodded for me to continue.

"It was September 7th., Josh's tenth birthday. He had been growing weaker and weaker over the days leading up to it. I didn't want to over do it for his birthday, so I made Josh a double chocolate chip muffin with a single candle in it. That was Josh's favourite type of muffin. He smiled at me as I tried to light the candle, it took me a couple of attempts as my hands were trembling. Thinking this might be the last birthday that I would share with my little man. After I finally got the candle lit, I sang Happy Birthday to Josh. He was smiling at me with the biggest smile that I had ever seen out of him, he looked pain free for a moment. Which caused the tears to flow even harder down my cheeks and dropped onto the double chocolate chip muffin. Luckily my tears did not put the candle out. Josh let out a laugh. I told him to make a wish and to blow out the candle. Josh closed his eyes tightly and clenched his hands together in front of his chest. Josh opened his eyes, strained to take his deepest breath possible, he exhaled with all of his might. I might have helped him a little to make sure the candle went out. I asked Josh what he had wished for. He leaned into me and whispered 'Can you keep a secret?'" I leaned back and looked him straight in the eyes.

"My lips are sealed" as I moved my hand across my lips as if closing a zipper.

"You must also get anyone else that learns about your secret to promise to keep it a secret." as Josh put his little pinky up in the air for a pinky promise.

I could see that Barbara was beginning to tear up. Even if she did not believe me yet.

Josh leaned into me again, giving me a tighter hug, tighter than I thought his little frail body could give. He whispered into my ear "Dad, I know it is too late for me, but I'm going to give you all of my healing powers. I had a vision if I willing give them to you, it will make them more powerful. Although, you will only be able to use these powers once a year so you need to choose wisely. I would like you to choose someone around my age if you can. Josh gave me the tightest hug ever, it felt like he was squeezing his life force into my body. I started to see clearly what Josh's final wish was. As if our minds were connected as one and my mind replayed his final wish as he blew out the candle. Even though I have my view of Josh blowing out the candle, I now have the point of view through Josh's eyes as he blew out the candle and he was staring at me. As my own vision restored to my perspective, Josh's lifeless body slipped from my arms and back to his hospital bed." I took a long soft sigh. Feeling relieved that I had finally told my story. Feeling tired from keeping the secret for so many years.

"A year later I cured a nine year old girl, a seven year old boy the year after that, a twelve year old boy the following year, and I just kept going to the clinic year after year to keep my dying son's wishes alive" as I slouched deeper into my chair.

"You still haven't explained the pictures, not having any record of Josh, the golden wings coming out of your shoulders?" Barbara put both of her palms skywards and shrugged her shoulders in question.

"I have no reclamation of the wings, I just go in there using my hands to heal. During these sessions I blackout and only see the vision of Josh looking at me through the flickering of the birthday candle. The pictures, you will not believe me, as they are all me." as I slip deeper into my chair.

"That can't be...that would put you over one hundred and fifty years old! What about not having any records of Josh? It is a nice story that you whisked up, but how do you expect any of us to believe you?" Barbara put her forearms on her lap and leaned towards me.

"Barbara, you see, your research crew only went back one hundred and fifty years, Josh died one hundred and sixty one years ago. I have fulfilled my hero's wishes for as long as I could. I can move on to my next life and be reunited with my son, now that the secret is no longer a secret." I give Barbara a wink and a wave good-bye.

Barbara screams and scrambles backwards falling over her chair. Where I was sitting, are skeletal remains wearing my clothes.