W
ard awoke face down amongst the cushions on the living room floor as the morning news played on the TV. He yawned in the fresh coffee and baked bacon aromas, then rolled over to find his two housemates in their chairs watching him.
‘Morning sunshine.’ Sam raised his mug in a wave from his seat closest to the kitchen.
‘Is it morning?’ Ward on his back, stretched out.
‘Yep. How is it?’ Nick asked, scooping cereal from his bowl.
Ward blinked as it dawned on him—he’d slept, stretched on the floor, and could now raise his arms above his head. ‘Damn.’
‘What?’ Sam leaned closer, frowning with concern. ‘Are you in pain?’
Ward watched his left hand make a fist. He shook his wrist, and flexed his elbow, all while lying flat on his back. ‘That tingling’s stopped.’
‘Oh, thank god. It worked,’ cried Shirley from the kitchen doorway.
‘Mum, what are you doing here?’ How late was it? Amazed he could lift his head off the floor and see his toes.
Shirley sat on the man-couch and patted the dark leather. ‘I stayed on your couch, dear, it’s so comfy. I watched movies all night, and with your screen so big, I didn’t need my glasses.’
‘And your mum made us breakfast.’ Sam smiled as he tapped his belly.
‘I could do with a decent feed.’ His stomach grumbled. Was his appetite back? Would he be able to walk properly? Ward started to sit up.
‘STOP.’ Shirley jumped to her feet with her hands out like stop signs.
‘What?’ All three men froze
‘Zara said to take it easy. You’re to roll onto your stomach then we’ll help you up. No sudden movements, okay. Slowly, please?’ Shirley squeezed her son’s shoulders to control his pace. ‘Please help him up, boys.’
Ward saw her worry and felt the fear in her voice as he rolled gently to his side, then onto his front. He propped himself onto his hands and knees. There was no tingling. No aching pains. No shooting pulse down the arm from the neck. And no neck brace.
But no doubt gravity would do its damage as soon as he stood.
Determined, Ward said, ‘Okay, let’s do this.’ With Nick on one side and Sam on the other, they helped Ward to his feet.
‘I swear you’re standing taller, mate.’ Nick, always a head taller, grinned at Ward.
Ward arched his neck to face Nick. ‘Oh yeah, and there’s none of that damned ache.’ He rolled his shoulders in slow circles where there was no more hunchback. He was whole again.
‘Please go slow.’
‘I am, Mum.’ His muscles were tight, but not aching. ‘That was the best sleep.’ Thank you, Zara.
‘You’ve been asleep for fourteen hours, dear.’
‘Really?’ Ward twisted his neck towards his mother, he twisted it back to the left, then up and down, left and right.
Nick picked up his cereal bowl and headed for the kitchen, saying, ‘You were snorin’ a storm when we got home.’
‘I needed the sleep.’ Or was this a dream, where he’d wake into a nightmare of pain any second now?
‘Zara said you would. She’ll be visiting after she’s finished work at the racetrack this morning, dear.’ Shirley gave his shoulder a squeeze.
‘Was it the horse whisperer who fixed you?’ Sam asked, sliding back into his seat.
‘Yeah, but she’s a what, Mum?’ Ward raised his arms to the ceiling and stretched out his spine. To have his arms above his head he felt like doing a Mexican-wave dance.
Shirley pressed her palm against Ward’s lower back. ‘Slowly, Brendan.’
There was that warning of the first name. ‘I am, Mum.’ It was as if his body had begun to thaw.
‘Zara’s a holistic combinated Zen master, I think?’ replied Shirley.
‘A what?’ Sam asked.
Shirly tapped her lips in thought. ‘Zara did say she uses various techniques she’s been trained in, but she’s a master of Remedy.’
‘Reiki, now I remember.’ It was unbelievable that he’d fallen asleep within five minutes of meeting Zara. ‘How long was Zara here?’ He asked his mother who seemed so small, now he could stand tall again.
‘For hours, working on your back and shoulders. You fell into such a deep sleep and never moved. Even when we put ice and heat packs on your neck.’
Ward stretched the left arm across his chest as his stomach rumbled. ‘I’m starving, Mum?’ Giving his best pleading look that had regularly won him seconds of dessert when he was a child.
‘Shower first. Zara said to put hot water on your neck, then stand straight and stretch slowly from side to side. But no sudden movements.’ Shirley demonstrated, stretching her neck. ‘Zara’s predicting you’ll be tender for a bit, that’s why she’s coming back. She certainly gave your sister what-for too. Which reminds me, I must call your aunt to find out who she saw to make a hearing appointment for your sister. Go have your shower, I’ll start brekkie, dear.’
‘What was this horse whisperer like?’ Sam asked, folding the newspaper into quarters to start his daily crossword.
Ward picked up the neck brace that lay over the arm of his chair. He hated the thing. ‘Not what I thought she’d be.’ He dropped the brace and flexed his left hand into a fist. There were no pins and needles, no dull shooting aches. It felt normal.
‘What did she do to your sister?’ Nick asked, returning to his chair.
Ward grinned wide. ‘Apparently, Zara told Tina to piss off at the racetrack for spooking the horses. But I did witness Zara telling Tina to get a hearing test, to stop shouting, and then she told Ron to take Tina home. I like her.’
Sam chuckled behind his coffee mug. ‘How did your sister take that?’
‘Tina looked like she’d been bitch slapped. It was brilliant. I haven’t laughed like that since the fall.’ He stretched his arms across his body and copped a whiff of his armpit. ‘Yep, time for long shower and shave.’
‘Don’t rush it, young man,’ Shirley called from the kitchen.
‘I won’t, Mum.’
‘Hey, what did this horse whisperer look like?’ Nick asked.
‘Who?’ Ward grinned at the memory of a very pretty little lady he didn’t want to share.