A World Apart The Jake Thomas Trilogy - By Steven A. Tolle Page 0,60
store, walking over towards Cherise, who was playing with Maxis in an empty area across the street.
"What was that about?" Jake asked, looking over at Hailyn. "Why wouldn't he take any money?"
"He has a young son, eight years old." Hailyn replied quietly. "About a month ago, he and his friends were playing on a very tall ladder that is built into the side of a building. His son was near the top when he lost his grip and fell. He was badly injured and barely alive when he was brought to the Temple. If not for Master Jonas, I'm not sure he would be alive today."
"I don't understand. You and other clerics can also heal." Jake asked. "Any of you could have done it, right?"
"Jake, our ability to heal is not just the amount of power we can wield." Hailyn said. "While strength in the clerics' power can do many things, there is a skill in healing that is learned over time. The body is a complex thing; many things have to work together for it to function properly."
She gave a shake of her head. "I don't think I could have healed the boy, at least not completely. Your injuries, for example, were minor and any healing cleric could deal with those. Even most battlefield injuries are straightforward. With the types of injuries the boy sustained and his lack of strength, my attempt to heal him may just have easily killed him. He had multiple broken bones, internal injuries and swelling in his brain. Only Master Jonas, who was strong in his power and the most skilled at healing even before he received his staff, was able to save him."
"I didn't realize that." Jake said, mulling that over. "Jonas had told me that not all clerics could heal, but I just assumed that was whether they could access your power. I thought the power was like a cure-all; you simply apply it and it works."
"In many cases, the answer would be yes, but sometimes there are complexities that resist healing." Hailyn replied. Realizing the somber nature of the conversation, she changed direction and gave Jake a quick grin. "So it is better to stay healthy than hope that a cleric will be around to heal you."
"I'll keep that in mind." Jake said with a laugh.
They reached Cherise, who made gushing comments about Jake's new boots. As she was looking at his boots, she suddenly asked, pointing at his leg. "What's that, Jake?"
Jake looked down and saw an earbud hanging out of his pants pocket. It must have slipped out when he was trying on his boots. He reached in and pulled out his phone. "Those are speakers for my phone." Jake replied without thinking. "I put them in my ears so I can hear it."
"What is a 'phone'?" Cherise asked as she leaned in for a closer look. Hailyn, curious, also stepped closer to study Jake's phone.
Jake gave it some thought, turning the phone over in his hand. "In my world, phones allow people to talk with each other over long distances; both people have to have phones for it to work. Besides allowing people to communicate, a phone can take pictures and hold music, surf the Net…" Jake caught himself. By their faces, he could see that they did not understand what he was saying.
"Here, let me show you." Jake said, powering on the phone, conscious of its limited battery life. The girls watched as it powered up and Jake's background picture of him, Sean and Matt, at the beach appeared. The girls were clearly delighted to see this. Jake pulled up his music app and selected some slow songs, not wanting to freak them out with some of his more rocking selections.
"Stand closer together." Jake said, getting Cherise and Hailyn to stand shoulder to shoulder. He reached over and put an earbud in the girls' ears, then hit the play button. The girls' eyes widened when the music started playing, broad smiles on their faces. Jake let the music play for a minute or so, then hit pause. The girls pulled the earbuds out and handed them back to Jake.
"That was magical, Jake." Hailyn said happily. "How does it do that?"
"Uhh…that is a complicated question." Jake said, struggling for away to explain it. "I'm not sure you would understand the answer since some of the things don't exist here."
"That's ok, Jake." Cherise gushed. "I'm just glad it worked! What else can it do?"