Epilogue

The problem with supernatural healing is that it doesn’t take long for people to realise that you may hold the key to curing their terminal disease and relieving their suffering. We were forced to move from our refuge because the sheer volume of people who came threatened to overwhelm us all. Desperate people didn’t care that you were exhausted. Privileged people expected you to jump at their whim. Rich people demanded you perform for them, as if money was the only motivating factor.

One night we secretly packed up our belongings and fled. It was a difficult decision, but after many long nights arguing with the crew, we decided to split up. Antia, Julie and I would leave together, and the rest of the crew would slowly trickle away. If we ever found a safe place where we could all be together again, we would contact each other with a code word and coordinates to the new refuge.

I had become jaded during that time, and I felt that if rich people wanted - no, demanded - my attention, then they can jolly well pay for it. At the start I wouldn’t accept any financial reward for my gift - it was enough just to bring peace and health back into someone else’s life. By the end, I was getting angry at the entitled rich, so I would simply demand higher and higher “fees”, just to see how much these snobs were really willing to pay. Turns out, quite a lot.

We setup a Swiss bank account, and regularly transferred the money we received into it. It wasn’t long before we knew we would be set for life, and didn’t have to worry about work ever again. It was at that point we decided to “disappear”.

Being on the move didn’t appeal to me. It was unsettling for Anita and Julie; Anita craved farm life, and Julie needed a steady anchor for her young life growing up. Living out of a suitcase wasn’t really going to be a long-term solution. The problem was this: how could we settle down somewhere, and still be able to help people, without drawing attention to ourselves? Where could we go, where Anita could farm, Julie could have a regular life and schooling, and I could still help people without being discovered and hounded? The solution came to us by accident really.

We had decided at one point to try staying at a church retreat house - if anyone could keep our confidence, we were hoping that a group of nuns might be able to. We made contact with a retreat and spoke to the Mother Superior, and made arrangements to stay there for a period of “silent contemplation”. We would work in the kitchen and gardens, and Julie could attend the school attached to the retreat.

One evening as I was working in the kitchen on the preparations for dinner, there was a clatter of metal and a cry of pain. I turned around and saw that one of the nuns had cut herself badly, and blood was flowing freely from a nasty gash in her hand. I quickly went over to her, held her arm and directed her hand under a tap in the sink and turned on the water. I closed my eyes and concentrated, and soon the blood stopped flowing, and the wound closed up before her amazed eyes. When it was completely healed, I let go of her arm and opened my eyes. There was a look of wonder on her face, and she started crossing herself furiously.

“Glory be to God the Father,” she said over and over. “This is a miracle, an absolute miracle!” She turned to me and asked “How did you do this?”

I stood there, stunned for a moment. I didn’t want to inadvertently reveal my gift and be forced to go on the run again, and I was at a loss for words. Before I could say anything, she continued on. “Maybe it was the water - just like in Lourdes! I must tell Mother Superior about this - it’s a miracle!”, and she rushed from the kitchen.