26
“Can I ask you a few questions before we start the session today?” Nia was sitting in the break room at Helping Hands with Sunny.
“Absolutely. What’s on your mind?” Sunny settled back in the chair and waited.
Ask questions. Dr. Danforth had told her to do that. So she’d asked a few questions. “You believe in God, right?”
“Absolutely.”
“And you believe in Jesus?”
“Absolutely. He was the greatest teacher of all time. In fact, He’s the reason we do what we do here at Helping Hands. He said do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If I was hungry, I’d want someone to give me food.” She shrugged. “So that’s what we do.”
“But you believe Jesus was more than just a teacher, right? He’s the Son of God, right?”
“Why all the questions, Nia?”
“I just want to make sure I’m doing the right thing. You know coming here instead of going to my classes.”
“Doing the right thing is important to you, isn’t it?”
Nia nodded.
“Knowing what the right thing is isn’t always easy. What may seem right on the surface may, in fact, be just the opposite. College is a wonderful thing. For some people. But for people like you with such a strong gift, you need a different type of education.”
Sunny’s answers to her questions made sense. “OK, let’s get started.” She held her hands out.
Sunny didn’t take them. “As I was saying, college is usually a good thing, but I’m not so sure it is for you. I sense some negativity surrounding you, Nia. Someone or something is blocking your gift. Your power.”
“It’s all good. I just needed to make sure you believe in God. And Jesus. You do, so I’m good with that.”
“Of course we believe in God, but certainly there’s more than one way to enlightenment, or God. Whatever you want to call it. It would be ridiculous to think that there’s only one right way. The important thing is for you to find your way so you can own the power to help others.”
Rachel had explained it was by God’s power that people were healed. Rachel was only the cord. The means of getting the power where it needed to be. “You mean God’s power, right?”
Sunny gave her an intense look. “All things come from God so in a sense you’re right, but it’s your power. You need to own it, or you won’t be able to use it.”
Something about Sunny’s answer unsettled her.
“Anyway as I was saying, something dark is surrounding you. I can see it in your aura. I think you need to move in with us. Let us surround you with light so you can access your power. There are dark forces trying to stop you from using your gift.”
“Move in with you? I…uh…I don’t know. I can’t just quit college. I’m getting really far behind as it is.”
“Sometimes we have to make choices. Hard choices. Just because other people think you should go to college doesn’t mean you should. You need to follow your own path.”
Sunny wanted her to quit school? But she’d worked so hard to get there.
“You have a gift. Don’t you want to use that gift? To heal others. To help them?”
“More than anything.”
Sunny gave her a bright, inviting smile. “So what do you say? Would you like to move in with us? If it doesn’t work out, you can always leave.”
“Who’s us?”
“Several of us from Helping Hands live together. We save money that way.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Sunny leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees. “Nia, I don’t think you can afford to think about it. The darkness surrounding you is diminishing your gift a great deal. We can’t let that happen. I’ll call Tanya to pack up your things. I don’t think you should even step one foot back on that campus. It’s dangerous there for you.”
Her words shocked Nia so much that she simply stared at Sunny.
“Not that there’s anything evil about the place. It’s just not the place for someone as gifted as you. If you live with us, we can nurture your gift. Isn’t that what you want?”
She opened her mouth to say no. “Yes, that’s what I want.”
“Wonderful. After my shift here, I’ll take you back to our house. You’ll love it there. It’s a great house with a pool.” She smiled. “Can I use your phone to call Tanya?”
Nia handed the phone to Sunny after pressing Tanya’s icon and putting the phone on speaker.
Sunny waited for Tanya to answer.
“Hey, Nia.”
“It’s not Nia. This is Sunny from Helping Hands. I’m using Nia’s phone.”
“Oh…Hi, Sunny.”
“We’ve been missing you, Tanya. We think you’re so special and have a gift. A gift that we could really use here at Helping Hands.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. That’s why I’m calling. We want you back here with us.”
“You do?”
“And not just here at Helping Hands. We’ve invited Nia to come live with us, and we want you to do the same.”
“Live with you.”
“Absolutely. And there won’t be any of those tiresome rules like they have at college. You can come and go as you please. Do what you want. We believe people should be happy and free.”
“That’s what I’m talking about.”
“Is that a yes?”
“I think it is.”
“Great. I’ll just need you to pack up your things as well as Nia’s. Meet us at Helping Hands when you’re finished, and we’ll all go home together.”
“See you then.”
Sunny handed the phone back to her. “Great. That worked out well, don’t you think?”
Nia kept her opinion to herself. “What’s Tanya’s gift?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll think of something.”