Chapter 2

I did enjoy refreshments at the eatery, even if my late lunch turned out to be a rather noisome affair. Don't they keep pupils at school any longer? Rude crowds of them, screaming, shouting, slamming chairs about. Great fun to them, tolerated by the suffering waitresses because of the lots of easy cash they had to spend.

At home I retreated to my office and used my small unit with its Heavy Matter to chat with Alfred.

"Alfred, can you spare some time for a little talk?"

"Yes, Bert, I can do with a break in any case. The work never stops around here. I take it you have a problem?"

As always, Alfred got straight to the point. Since we spoke via our bio-feedback and saw each other regularly on the Island, I knew that he was still engaged doing heavy labour on his large estate. Just as he knew that I spent many of my leisure hours as man about town. I told him of my talk with Karla, told him that I would not think of interfering, were it not for the sake of the two girls.

"I do not want to do anything in the open. Do not want to expose our stuff. She would have to know that I am doing something, but not how. At the same time, I think that bio-feedback could be employed here for good effect. I don't want to punish the man, rather guide him to see the error of his ways. After all, the woman must be responsible for some of his misbehaviour. Nothing is as one-sided as she depicted it, don't you think?"

"Bert, I agree. I can make up some special kind of Heavy Matter for diagnostic use. But will you be able to get into their home and apply it? I will do it for you, if you would prefer that."

"Thanks for offering, Alfred. I feel that I should be doing this, since I decided to become involved. However, I insist that you will be my guide in each instance and will not do anything without your and Jake's approval. Of course, everything depends on her trusting me enough to call. If she doesn't contact me, the whole thing is off."

We discussed the options open to us but agreed that we had to know more about the situation before deciding on the appropriate action. In the meantime, he would prepare a few small discs of Heavy Matter with an adhesive backing, ready to be tacked on to any surface unobtrusively.

"There is a woman on the phone for you, Berthold," Elise, my wife, informed me. "She won't give her name, but says you are expecting her call."

It was now nearly a week after that first chance meeting and I had already accepted that Karla would rather forget we ever met.

"Hello, Karla, what can I do for you?"

"Look, I don't know if anyone can help me, help us, at all. But will you try? Will you listen once more, really listen, and not drown me in mumbo-jumbo? I could not take that. Please, Berthold, please."

"Karla, what you call mumbo-jumbo is essential if I am to do any good. I will listen, am prepared to help. But first, you must be willing to listen too. What I will tell you will be difficult to understand. Even harder to accept. Let's not talk on the phone about it. Where and when can we meet? I am free with my time. You decide."

She told me that her husband would be away on business for the remainder of the week. The girls had a full day of school on the morrow, her day off work. Would that suit me? If I was agreeable, we could meet in their out-of-the-way holiday chalet, rarely used of late, but fully furnished and stocked. She gave me directions, it was less than a two hours' drive away. It would do.

"Berthold, if I did not know and trust you, I would say that this sounded very much like an amorous assignment. Is there something you would like to share with me?"

Elise had a good point there, of course, and I did tell her the basics of the situation. Told her that the only reason I was even attempting this was the threat to the children. She pointed out to me that a call to Child Welfare would bring results immediately, but agreed when I said that this would destroy the happy family for once and for all. Shouldn't we aim to fix things first? So far, Karla hadn't even hinted at divorce. I would try salvage first.

"Alright, go saddle your old horse and ride on to save the world. I shall be ready to pick up the pieces."

Before I set out on my mission I had to replenish my supply of no. 2 and 3 potion at the Island and inform Alfred of my intentions. The jump to the Island was as quick as ever. After filling two litre bottles from ponds two and three, I called Alfred.

He joined me immediately, not without dropping off a nice parcel of goodies, solids and liquids, and listened to my story during our impromptu lunch.

"Berthold, first of all, you would have to gain insight into the workings and interactions of the whole family. The man at work and at home, what stresses are bearing on him, what flaws he may have in his make-up. Likewise his wife. Check whether he has beaten her recently. If he has, this may give you a chance to earn her trust by healing her superficial hurts gently. Do you want to bring her here?"

"No, Alfred, not at all. This Island shall remain our private place. Moving her would take the relationship to an undesirable level. Much too personal, intimate even. I want to avoid that. She is a highly-strung woman, ours should be a strictly professional association."

Alfred was doubtful whether I would be able to stick to my intentions. We knew that the bio-feedback would work in its entirety or not at all. How would I be able to avoid any personal involvement?

"Well, for one, Elise knows and you do, too. I depend on you not only for your help but also your guidance – and, if necessary, to stop me. I will not proceed otherwise."

No more needed to be said. Alfred handed me a small box and showed me the ten tiny round skin-coloured slivers of Heavy Matter.

"I prepared a few spare ones. You will have to get close to each person. I suggest a Sunday afternoon when they are all at home. Let her describe the house to you, become as familiar as possible. When you are there, you need to shift the time for only a few moments to give you a different phase to work in. There, I have re-activated the feature on your unit. You will be able to walk amongst them and place the Heavy Matter somewhere on their bodies, where it will work best.

"Yes, Bert, I know. This is a bit distasteful, but it cannot be helped. The tabs are so thin and small, the adhesive works so well that they will not notice them at all. Put them behind their ears. You can do that without fear of them seeing or feeling anything. They will disintegrate after about four weeks. Are you certain you can do it? My offer to do it for you still stands..."

But I knew that the responsibility had to be mine alone. I made him show me how to apply the stuff. It was very easy. Press down a finger on one little speck and it came off its backing, ready to be transferred to any surface. Alfred made me practise with time shifts too. He stood there as I made a small shift of only five minutes and was able to touch him, move him, turn him around, without he showing any sign of feeling anything.

"Alfred, this must be the most deadly feature of the Heavy Matter, by far. It would be devastatingly easy to get carried away by the power it gives you. Can you change the healing liquids in a way that they only work when applied by me? As a safety measure? You and Jake have to be ready to assist at all times, please. It scares me almost beyond reason, especially since I never wanted to have this particular ability."

"Bert, Jake knows about this caper of yours. He was very much puzzled about why you went back on your waiver in this instance."

"Hell, I don't know, Alfred. I don't even like the woman very much, don't know the rest of her family at all. Maybe her husband is right, those eyes of her gripped me. She looked so haunted, so full of despair that I had to reach out to her. Still, it's the daughters I'm worried about. Maybe I am a softie at heart, who knows?"

The potions were altered to make them exclusive to me. Alfred was very happy with my decision. We agreed on extremely close monitoring during all stages, though I asked Alfred to not use his bio-feedback with me during the time. I would report back to him frequently, would plan my actions according to the advise I got from him and Jake. Once we had decided on this I wanted to go home immediately. Alfred had other plans.

"Bert, you are in too sombre a mood right now. Let's go to the gym and get rid of a few cobwebs. You have become lazy and are getting fat as well."

We ran, we swam, pushed the trees in the gym around, and feasted as usual. Alfred was right. The exertions and banter cheered me up sufficiently to face my task more optimistically.

I took my leave from Elise after packing my precious bottles and arrived at the chalet well within the agreed time. Karla opened the door before I had a chance to ring the bell. It was obvious that things had taken a drastic turn for the worse. She moved like an old woman, in shuffles and tiny jerks. Holding on to the bannister next to the few steps, she flinched when I put my hand on her arm in greeting, inviting me inside with just a nod.

The chalet was quite pleasant: a bright room with large windows and comfortable-looking furniture with an open kitchenette on the left side and two doors leading to, presumably, bedrooms on the far right. The other door, off the hallway, would lead to the bathroom. No secrets, nice and simple.

"Karla, I can see you are not well. You are hurting terribly. Whether I can be of any use with all your big problems remains to be seen. But this I can help you with. While we do this, we shall talk. Do you have any milk here? Condensed milk perhaps?"

"Berthold, what..." Her lips quivered, her eyes watered once more.

"Please, trust me. We have to start somewhere. Quite simple, really: I need some milk."

Without another word she went to the fridge and took out an opened milk container, showing it to me questioningly.

"Yes, this will do. Please warm up about half of it, body temperature more or less. It is not crucial, we are not going to drink it."

I am certain that I lost her completely by now, but bewildered as she was, she took out a small saucepan, poured the milk, and set it onto the gas cooker. When done, I went over to her and asked her to show me her arm. Damn, more tears as she turned her sleeve up to show me the large bruises, the older ones yellowish and fading, the fresh ones purple or almost black, lots of them all over her bare arm.

"Tell me, Karla."

She was very succinct. An important deal had fallen through for her husband. A bid for a housing development to be built by his company had been rejected at the last moment. Nobody knew the reasons, yet he was blamed, he in turn venting his frustration on her, practically raping her on a few occasions and hitting her whenever the children were not around. She was close to breaking.

The milk was warm enough now. I took a bowl, poured some of the milk and added water from my bottle of no. 2, mixing the emulsion with a table fork. I had found out that milk was the ideal carrier for the liquid. It mixed well and felt good on the skin. After washing my hands at the sink, I took Karla's hand and smoothed my concoction over her bruises and abrasions. She gasped as her arm healed before her eyes. She turned into my arms and cried her heart out. Gently I led her over to the large leather couch and made her lie down.

"This, Karla, is what it is all about. By helping you first you will be able to once again think clearly. We can then plan what should be done to protect your daughters, and, perhaps, help your husband and save your marriage. If you want that.

"The stuff I added to the milk is the healing potion I told you about. The mumbo-jumbo, as you called it. It works beautifully, doesn't it? In the other bottle is more of the same, but a much stronger formula. That is for really serious stuff: fractures, organic disorders, even cancer. I used up a whole pond-full of this to get healthy again when it was my turn."