Demon of Truth by Richard Kurti

Author:Richard Kurti [Kurti, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-05T22:00:00+00:00

32: PULSE

Cristina chose the most serene time of day for the experiment, the hour just before sunset, when the low light caught buildings at a perfect angle and made their cold stonework glow.

“Do you trust me?”

Rosa nodded.

“You know I would never do anything to harm you.”

“I know.”

“Why don’t you lie on the bed?” Cristina suggested. “In the most comfortable position.”

Rosa did as she was told and lay on her back, her head cradled in the pillows, her arms resting on either side of her body.

“Now close your eyes,” Cristina said, “and breathe deeply and slowly. Count to two as you breathe in, five as you breathe out.”

Rosa started drawing deep, steady breaths.

“Yes, that’s perfect … keep going … in … and out.” Cristina watched Rosa’s body relax, then gently took the girl’s wrist between her fingers.

“What are you doing?” Rosa asked.

“I need to feel your pulse.” Cristina adjusted her fingers until she could feel the steady throb in Rosa’s radial artery. She counted the beats, waiting until the pulse was steady, then without letting go, she started talking. “I want you to think of a time in your life when you were happy. Perhaps you were with friends, laughing and drinking … or maybe it was on one of the feast days … you were at ease with the world … find a moment that could go on forever.”

Fleeting expressions fluttered across Rosa’s face as she remembered what it felt like to be at peace. Cristina focussed intently on the slowing pulse that was beating under her fingertips.

“Good. Excellent, Rosa. You’re doing well. Now, I’d like you to think about your family … your mother.”

Still, the pulse remained slow.

“Remember when you were a girl, and your mother brushed your hair before bedtime … how nice that felt … her warmth … the gentleness of her touch. You feel so close to your mother…”

“Yes,” Rosa whispered. “I do.”

“And now you hear the door open … it’s your father coming home from work.”

Cristina felt the girl’s pulse lurch.

“You haven’t seen him all day … you run down the stairs to greet him…”

Rosa’s pulse raced faster, but there was an edge of irregularity in it. Cristina glanced at the girl’s face and saw her forehead tense.

“He’s pleased to see you … he opens his arms to give you a hug —”

Suddenly, Rosa pulled her wrist from Cristina’s hand.

“What’s wrong?”

Rosa shook her head and sat up. “I don’t want to do this.”

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

“I don’t want this!” Rosa swung her legs from the bed and escaped to the side of the pavilion.

Cristina gave her a few moments, then walked over and stood next to her. Together they gazed out across Rome, watching the dying sunlight wrap itself around the curves of the Colosseum, as if clinging to the ancient stones to avoid being consumed by darkness.

“I thought you wanted to heal me,” Rosa said. “Not remind me of…”

She didn’t complete the sentence, but Cristina knew that they were getting to the heart of it.

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