The Strange Healing Read Free Page B

you’re sure you don’t mind.  I guess I’m not really looking forward to spending tonight alone.”
    Though her last comment was said very quietly, it confirmed Heath’s concern.  “Sara, now that you’re staying here tonight, would you take a walk around the pool with me?  It’s such a nice night, and it’s not that late yet.  Are you up for it?”
    She looked at Heath a few moments before saying, “I think I’d like that.  It is a beautiful night.”
    “ Good.”  He offered his arm, and she slipped her hand in and let him lead her off.

Chapter 2
    Heath slowly walked with Sara toward the pool, making pleasant small talk.  He noticed she stiffened a little when they started their stroll, so he tried to calm her back down.  He explained that he and Heather were twins, and his condo was in the same complex, the next building down.
    When he felt her relax again, he was able to get her talking a little.  He found out she was from Indiana, but was considering moving.  She hadn’t decided where to, but she used her computer and the mail for her job, so she could live pretty much anywhere.  He was impressed when he found out she illustrated children’s books.  They talked about that, and his lack of artistic ability, for a few minutes.
    Sara noted, “I know twins usually are pretty close, but you and your sister seem to get along exceptionally well.  Have you always been this close?”
    Heath thought about that a little while before answering, “It’s just the two of us, we never had any other siblings, so we’ve always done stuff together and have been close, yes.  Our family moved frequently, so I guess we were the only constant friends we had growing up that we knew we could count on when we needed a friend.  We became a little closer when our parents died when we were 20.  We were both in college, luckily the same one, and we kind of helped each other through it.  I never really thought about it, but now that you mention it, yeah, I guess since then we have been closer than most siblings.”
    Heath felt Sara stiffen when he mentioned his parents’ death, and wondered if she had fresh wounds from losing a loved one.  He decided he’d give her a chance to talk if she wanted to, but wouldn’t force it.  “I was really glad she was there at that time.  You need someone to talk to when you lose someone.”  He patted her hand in his arm.
    After a brief silence she tentatively said, “I talked to my best friend when I lost my dad, and I was okay with that, but she was on her honeymoon when I lost my mom, and they moved out of state, so I didn’t really get to talk to her much.”
    “So you’ve lost both parents, as well?  I’m sorry to hear that.  It sounds as though it wasn’t at the same time?”
    “ It was about three years ago.  Dad had cancer and suffered the last year, so when he passed away I was ready for it, or as ready as you can be, I guess.  I’d actually been grieving that whole last year while I watched him deteriorate, so in a way I felt kind of relieved when he passed on.  I knew at least he wasn’t suffering any more.  Mom died in a car accident, though, and that was rougher.  It was only five months after Dad died, and I wasn’t prepared for that at all.”
    “ Wow,” Heath sympathized.  “Five months apart would be rough.  That was about three years ago?
    “ Yeah,” she said, and grew quiet again.
    “ Did you have someone else you could talk to when she died?”
    “ Not really.  I was pretty new to the area and hadn’t really made any close friends.”
    “ Did you try talking to a counselor or therapist?”
    She frowned and said, “Actually, yeah, twice.”
    “Do you mean you only went twice?”
    “ No, I went to a therapist, but she wasn’t really helping any.  So I switched and went to a psychologist, but –“
    “ That didn’t really help much, either?”
    “ No, but it wasn’t really their fault.”
    “ What do you mean?”
    “