Sisters, Long Ago by Peg Kehret

Author:Peg Kehret [Kehret, Peg]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781101660843
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 1990-04-04T16:00:00+00:00

11

WILLOW TOOK one bite of her grilled cheese sandwich and shoved the plate aside.

She had to do something to help Sarah. Anything! But what could she do? If the doctors and nurses and technicians couldn’t help Sarah, what was a thirteen-year-old girl supposed to do?

She wished she had someone to talk to. Her parents were hardly ever home and when they were home, they were too strung out to discuss anything.

Always before, Willow could count on Gretchen to listen and sympathize and give advice. Now she couldn’t call Gretchen. They had not spoken since their argument. Willow missed Gretchen terribly but she still thought Gretchen was wrong.

Willow wished her grandparents were still alive. Grandma and Grandpa always had time to listen to her problems. Willow remembered how, when she was drowning, she felt that they were waiting for her.

She closed her eyes, pictured her grandmother in her mind and whispered, “What should I do, Grandma? How can I help Sarah?”

There was no answer. Willow opened her eyes, feeling foolish. I’m going bonkers, she thought. First I decide I’ve lived before and now I’m trying to talk to the dead.

She went to her room and got out her notebook. She would write to Helen one more time, even though Helen had not answered the previous letters.

As she opened the notebook, a small white card fluttered to the floor. Willow picked it up. It was the card that Mrs. Evans, the speaker at the library, had given her. Mrs. Evans had said to call her if Willow ever needed help.

The card said Mrs. Evans was a psychotherapist at a mental health clinic. Did that mean she worked with crazy people? Did she think Willow was crazy?

Maybe I am, Willow thought. Maybe I should call.

Without giving herself time to change her mind, Willow dialed the number on the card.

“Come right over,” Mrs. Evans told her.

Half an hour later, Willow sat in Mrs. Evans’s office, pouring out the whole story of Sarah’s illness. “I want so much to help her,” Willow said, “and I feel helpless because I can’t.”

“Have you tried sending your healing thoughts to her?” Mrs. Evans asked.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“When you are alone in a quiet place, close your eyes and think of Sarah. Imagine yourself holding her hands. Picture your strength and energy flowing into her body.”

“Once when I held Sarah’s hand, I felt a current between us, almost like electricity.”

“Love. You felt love. When it’s strong enough, it has a physical energy. It’s the one thing you can give your sister,” Mrs. Evans said, “and love is the most potent healing force there is.”

“If that’s true, shouldn’t I go and really hold her hands, like I did before, rather than just imagining it?”

“Of course. Be with her whenever you can. But if you can’t be there in person, visualization can still help. You may have heard about athletes who prepare for a race or a game by imagining exactly what they will do. A runner might visualize herself being the first to cross the finish line.

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