Coexist: Keegan's Chronicles by Julia Crane

patients was often enough.
Her family thought the patients sensed there was something
different about her. She also received more thank you cards than
any other nurse. Even the doctors asked for her when severe cases
arrived.
    Years before, Keegan had followed her mother
around one day to see what she did with herself. Keegan drifted
back to the day and recalled the memory. Using her power, she
followed her with her mind’s eye, which was prohibited by the
family unless they felt someone was in danger. They were supposed
to respect each other’s privacy. Keegan had always been too curious
for her own good.
    Keegan watched as her mother went to the gym,
the bookstore and then did some shopping. She gave up for a bit,
and when she checked back in one last time what she saw made her
proud to be her mother’s daughter. It was dark and dingy, wherever
Emerald was. Keegan saw a woman with three kids gathered around her
mother. The woman had been severely beaten, with blood coming out
of her mouth and a hunched over, on-the-brink-of-death feel. The
kids looked terrified.
    Emerald closed her eyes and a look of peace
came over her face. She held her hands over the woman’s body and
right before Keegan’s eyes the woman was healed. It was amazing to
watch. After some time, the children calmed down. Finally, the
woman grabbed her mother’s hands and said thank you. Emerald told
them to collect their things and say goodbye because they were not
coming back to this life. She gave them money, a car, and the keys
to a new place that was far away from their current
surroundings.
    Luckily, money was something Keegan’s family
never had to worry about. Her Uncle John’s gift was analytical. He
saw patterns in numbers which was basically like seeing the future
in stocks and business ventures. Because of his gift, their family
had always been well taken care of.
    That night when her mother had walked through
the door, she looked Keegan in the eye and said, “Now you
know."
    Her mother was hard to read at times. Keegan
thought she was annoyed that she had invaded her privacy. She also
felt her mom was glad she witnessed the healing.
    Keegan had followed her mother to the kitchen
where she was filling up a teapot which was something she always
did whenever she walked through the door.
    After a brief hesitation, Keegan asked, “Do
you do that often?”
    Her mom glanced over with a slight smile on
her face. “Only when they are ready,” she said. “I used to work at
a women’s shelter.”
    This surprised Keegan. She had no idea. “It
was before you were born. I spent days and nights healing many poor
women such as the one you witnessed today.” Keegan raised an
eyebrow.
    “Well, why did you stop?”
    As she grabbed the tea bags, she turned and
faced Keegan. “I was there for years and eventually I realized I
was not helping them. They usually went back to the abuser. I would
give them a full healing and they would feel wonderful. Somehow,
almost all of them managed to convince themselves that the abuser
would change. Of course they never did, and the women would return
to the shelter. I would heal them and the process would repeat
itself. My gift was making me miserable. I could not understand how
these women would take a fresh start and go back to their former
lives. It was your father who helped me see what I needed to do. He
told me to walk away. I was appalled, at first. How could I walk
away from those in need? He explained that my gift was mine to use
as I wanted. If working at the shelter was making me unhappy then
it wasn’t worth it. Those women were not willing to start over. He
asked me to think back and find the common thread in the small
percentage of women that took the opportunity at a new life. I
realized there was something. Almost all had children who witnessed
the abuse and they were a breath away from death.”
    Keegan had sat back, cup in hand, digesting
what her mother had said. “How do you find out when