Chapter Eight Healer of Pain

Chapter Eight

Healer of Pain

 Caleb woke up. 

“Huh?” He looked around. He was in some sort of hut. Avery was next to him.

He looked up and smiled. “Ah, you’re awake.”

“What happened?”

“You fainted.”

“Why?”

“You seemed to have a fright.”

Caleb suddenly remembered. “Are they gonna kill me?”

Avery stopped reading his book and looked at Caleb as if he were an idiot. He laughed. “Oh, no, child. Something extraordinary has happened. I do not know what. It was nearly impossible to get them away from you.”

Caleb was dumbstriken. “What’s going on?” He stood up. “I think I better go see.”

Avery stood as well. “I’ll go with you.”

The moment Caleb pushed aside the blankets that were used for a door, the same thing happened. People cried, stared, pointed, shouted, and even kneeled. 

Avery watched in shock. His lip trembled. “Extraordinary.”

“What is it?” Caleb turned to him.

Men seemed to chant some sort of prayer.

Caleb couldn’t stand the suspense. “Avery, what is going on?”

“It—It seems they see you as some sort of god.”

“What?!”

Avery interpreted their prayers and an elderly man came to him and spoke quickly in their language.

“Well?” Caleb grew inpatient. “What did he say?”

“He says…he says for two hundred years they have believed in some sort of legend. Their legend says, one day on a very certain day, a white man will come into their village wearing clothes white as snow. He will be called, The Healer of Pain, Bird of Hope. He will cease all sufferings and heal their every needs. The blind, the lame, the dumb—they will all come to you. Lepers, those will such diseases.”

Caleb was astounded. “I—I’m not a doctor, they must be mistaken!”

“No, Caleb, you are not. But I believe fate has brought you here. God has brought you here.”

People began bowing down.

Mothers carried sick children and those who can’t walk to Caleb. 

“Krpaya! Krpaya!”

“What are they saying?” Caleb could hardly hear his own words over the screams and cries.

“They are begging you, pleading, asking you to heal their children!”

“I can’t!”

A man pulled on Caleb’s pants. “Krpaya! Heal me!” He was blind. 

Caleb was being crowded in. “What do I do?” God, give me strength.

“Try, Caleb! Try!”

“I’m not a doctor! I don’t know how!” 

The cries were getting louder.

A boy tugged on Caleb’s arm. 

Caleb secretly followed him to a hut more distant than the others. “What’s wrong?”

The little boy took him to an elderly lady lying on a mat on the floor.

“Me mama! Krpaya!”

Caleb looked at the lady. She was sick. Caleb had been taught to cure a fever, but this—this might be worse.

He knelt by the mat. He felt her forehead. It was burning hot. Caleb picked up a pot. “See?” He pointed to the pot and then to the child. “Water. You—get—water.”

The boy understood.

When he returned Caleb dipped a rag in water and then placed it on the woman’s forehead.

A little girl came in and brought her soup. “Mama?” She shoved her, but she wouldn’t wake up. The girl turned to Caleb.

“You heal her?”

Caleb went to speak, but couldn’t. He had to try.

All night, he gave the lady broth, replaced a dirty rag with a new one, and kept her drinking water. 

It was something between five and four in the morning that that the woman stopped groaning. Caleb went to her. Her face looked lifeless and cold. 

He felt her heartbeat. No response.

The children woke up. “Is Mama better?” The boy asked.

Caleb’s eyes filled with tears.

The children gasped. “M—Mama?” 

Caleb inhaled a deep breath. There was no way he could do this. He wasn’t a doctor, he would just cause more pain.

Avery joined him. “There was nothing you could do.”

Caleb blocked out his words. “I failed. I caused the death of two poor innocent children.”

“No, it isn’t like that—”

“But you’re wrong! It is like that.” Caleb left to go back to the house.

Avery watched with the others as he left. 

Caleb plopped on his little mattress on the floor. He sighed heavy sighs. 

“Why, God, why? Why must I cause such grief?”

“Just who I wanted to see. It’s your highness now, right?”

“What?” Caleb wirled around. It was Matthew. “What do you want? I thought you left.”

Matthew grinned. “Only for the night. I had business elsewhere.” Matthew came in the room and left his spot in the doorway. “Apparently, from what I’ve heard and seen, they think you as some sort of god.”

“Leave me alone.”

“But isn’t that what happened? Or are you so embarrassed, you refuse to admit it?”

“Matthew, stop.”

“You know, usually the guest doesn’t give the host orders.”

“Oh, so you’re the host?”

“The host’s son. But nevertheless, this is my room.”

Caleb fumed with anger. He could feel the heat rising in his face. “Well, while I am here it is also my room. So please do yourself a favor and leave.”

Matthew grinned and neared the door. “Whatever you say, your majesty.”

“Don’t call me that.” Caleb could still hear Matthew’s chuckling from down the hall.

“Whatever you say.” He repeated.

Caleb felt like giving Matthew what he deserved. Getting even with him. But he knew he couldn’t. There was no use. Matthew was way stronger and broader than he was. He would just make himself look like a fool in front of others.

There has to be a way. He thought. There has to! 

“Avery?”

“Yes, Caleb.”

Caleb stepped into the room. Avery was reading his Bible.

“Sir?”

“I’ve already said yes.”

“Oh, right. Of course.” Caleb laughed sheepishly. He sat down by Avery’s side.

“Is something the matter?” Avery questioned, the look of concern on his face.

Caleb let it all out. “I feel something. Something surging within me. I really, really want to help those people. And I was thinking, what if a doctor came out here, and he taught me?”

Avery narrowed his eyes and adjusted his over-expired glasses. “Here? You want a doctor from America, to come here? To the Amazon?”

Now that Caleb heard it from someone else, it sounded silly and unrealistic. It made sense it my mind.

“Well…?” Caleb said nervously.

Avery eyed him closely for a moment and then said in a series tone, “I think that sounds magnificent! Extraordinary!”

“Really?”

“Yes. Now, Caleb. Thinking up ideas such as these may be easy. But making them come alive may be impossible. Who would be crazy enough to travel across the world just to help tribespeople without any pay?” 

“Me.”

“Miss, are you sure?” 

“Postive.” 

“It’s a very long way. You could be potentially risking your life.”

“Isn’t that what you’re doing?”

The voice on the phone sounded very sure of herself.

Avery contained talking. “What do you mean, isn’t that what you’re doing?”

“Well, the only signal you can get in the Amazon is to climb a tree high enough. You must have climbed a long way to be able to talk to me like this.”

Avery looked down. “Yes, I suppose you are right. Well anyways, cheerio!” Avery hung up. He cupped his hands around the edges of his mouth and shouted down, “We’ve got a volunteer!!” His throat hurt after the scream.

He heard faint whooping and hollering.

People jumped up and down and hugged.

“I can’t wait!” Marion exclaimed.

“Me neither!” Andrew added.

Caleb sighed with a sense of accomplishment. 

A voice came up from behind.

“So, what now Peters? Or do I have to call you your highness again?”

Caleb groaned and turned around to face him. “Can’t you just be happy for people? Just once? Look—” he pointed towards the circles of huts and campfires. “There are people dying, begging to be healed. What if you were lame, and you couldn’t walk or run, wouldn’t you want to at least know if there’s a chance to heal? Or if you had a disease, wouldn’t you want help? What if you were isolated from your family, from leprosy?” Caleb stopped to take a breath, and Matthew only grinned. Caleb despised that grin. “What if—what if you were blind. Wouldn’t you want to see?”

“If there was a way to heal that, why don’t you heal your friend over there?”

Caleb glanced at Theodore. “He understands. He's mature. Unlike you. He'd do anything to help something. But some things--he just can't."

“You wouldn’t want him to be a useless animal, now would you?”

Caleb gasped. “What do you have against him? He did nothing to you.” Caleb looked at Theodore again. “Why would you say that?”

Matthew shrugged. “Truth hurts, doesn’t it.” It was more of a fact than a question.

Caleb looked his cousin, smiling and talking. “I’m proud of my cousin. He’s learning, he’s happy, and…and he’s my friend. You could be like that too.”

“Only I won’t. I changed my name for a reason.”

Caleb sighed, getting annoyed. “What reason?”

“The only reason. If you don’t know why I moved across the world, than you are plain pathetic. That’s right, Peters. That’s exactly what you are. I could say anything, anything, and it would bring you tears in an instant.”

“Like what?” Caleb stepped forward, preparing himself.

“What if I told you your mother passed from cancer?”