"No, nothing else," Cindy said.
"Nothing," I added.
The doctor took out the light film and turned off the light box, leaving some little spots for dancing in front of my eyes. "If you have nothing else for me, I need to save Cooper."
Cindy put a hand on her heart. Her accent became heavier. "What happened to Cooper?"
The doctor pushed his glasses up and wiped the bridge of his nose. "The bullet hit the throat, just under the mandible. The first five vertebrae of his spine fell off."
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph," Cindy said. "How did this happen?"
"We are not sure yet," he said. "We don't know if this is a substitute for him, or if he is under attack like Fan Fan."
This explains why I did not hear from the charming Agent Garrison. Obviously, he was so busy, as if chasing Brinkley or threatening me was not enough.
"I was shot like that once," I said. "You need a bone donor."
"Are you a volunteer?" he asked. "Because we need a donor to perform this operation."
"I can't regenerate so many bones"
"We won't take up your time anymore," Cindy said, motioning to the door. "Go save Cooper"
After he put a piece of fresh nǎi oil candy on the palm of each of us, he disappeared. My eyes closed again. Cindy cursed and pushed me onto the chair.
"When you suggested that I go to the hospital, I thought you would stay awake to get through this visit."
"Don't criticize me," I said. "I am in pain. I need those pills. I am not a drug addict or something."
"I'm not judging you. Half of Americans are taking medicine," she said. "But when someone falls to the ground, it's hard to talk to them seriously."
"I'm sorry," I said. "I just want to help".
Cindy sighed. ""Yes. At least we know that there is no physical error. "
"Do we know?" I asked. I have heard the term "brain injury".
"He said my scan was normal," she said.
"We can be healthy and crazy," I said. "But at least we ruled out the tumor, yes."
She folded her hands on her chest. "Don't you believe in angels?"
"No." I knew there was a problem with my brain. The contents are changing, but I have to get excited. Maybe I will remember my dad next. Or I will ignite spontaneously.
"Raphael is not an illusion," Cindy said defiantly.
I don't want to debate. "They may not be hallucinations, but that doesn't mean they are real."
She tilted her head. "Let's go to bed. What you said makes no sense at all."
"Me too," I said. I'm taking drugs, but I know what I'm talking about. That's right.
"I'm listening," she said. Her lips wrinkled, as if her mouth was full of sour sugar.
"Sometimes Gloria sees something, but it's not true," I said. "She calls it a hint."
The mention of Gloria's name seemed to legitimize my nonsense. Her face gradually softened.
"Of course, she will see a real image, but it's actually more like a hint." I'm looking for a suitable phrase. "It's like the information we feel in the universe, but not necessarily understandable."
"How can we feel the things in the universe?"
"Like a spider," I said. "They will pick up the spider web before there is a cloud in the sky. You know. They feel a change in pressure or something, and know it will rain. Animals know that a storm is coming, right?"
It was difficult for her to recognize my vague words, so I had to repeat it twice until she understood what I meant.
"So we are spiders," she repeated. "But what do we feel?"
"I don't know," I said. "But this may be related to the death of the replacement agent."
Cindy changed her subject. "Cooper has been talking about how special we are for months. Alternatives have evolved naturally."
"Cooper is a bastard, a Jǐng freak." I went on to explain what Brinkley had told me about the agent attack. When I finished speaking, I was not sure if Cindy was frightened, or if she was angry with me because I was in a drug-induced state without meaning.
"Come on," she said. "We are leaving now."
The change of landscape is instantaneous. One minute ago, Cindy was pulling me out of the chair in the examination room, and the next minute, Gloria put me in the *** at home. My bed is super soft and cool on my face. I pressed myself with a pillow and listened to them, Gloria took off my shoes and stuffed me into the quilt. My eyes closed, and their soft voices turned into invisible sound waves, vibrating above my head.
"Where is Ryan?" I asked.
"I let him go home," Gloria said.
I pursed my mouth to express my disapproval.
Cindy didn't care about my son's troubles at all. "She said there was a murder."
"Do you think it has something to do with Raphael and Gabriel?" Gloria asked. There, she said. Say it all. Can't look back now.
"Fan Fan thinks we received, uh, sāo** from the Jǐng team or something."
"It is possible," Gloria said. "I believed long ago that my illusions are not supernatural. I am sensitive to the world around me. I can feel the order of nature and can predict how it will function in the current process. Humans are accustomed to xìng. Whether we realize it or not, each of us travels on the trajectory created by our habits."
Cindy has been talking and is probably very happy to talk to someone who speaks easily. "Why are Gabriel and Raphael so different, if they are hallucinations? If they are both signals, wouldn't they reflect the same information?"
"These metaphorical angels may be different aspects of the same situation, or they may be different from your xìng person to some extent."
"Or?" Poor Cindy went crazy.
"Or they are really jīng gods with goals and intentions, who indulge you for a specific goal.",
"That's really comforting," I said to the pillow. "I always wanted to be a puppet"
"Do you think they are souls?" Cindy asked her.
"No," I said. Gloria did not answer.
I opened my eyes in time and saw Cindy head down on the chair in the corner. "If they are angels, let me add that if they are angels, I will buy them. I am a Christian, so it comes with the package. But if they are angels, why are they different? Don’t they want the same Things? Don’t they all follow God’s will?"
"Does Raphael's tie change the face like an emotional ring?" I asked.
"No."
"Fanfan, my dear, what do you want to say?" Gloria asked, pulling the lid down to look at my face.
"If they have a tie preference, they have a taste. If they have a taste, they are different, right?"
Gloria turned to Cindy. "What makes you think they are different?"
"Gabriel is helping Van Fan, and Raphael is—he is really pessimistic and mean." Fresh tears filled her words. My God, I don't want to see this scene. I buried my face deeper in the pillow.
"Maybe this is what you think of this situation," Gloria said. "You have no reason to suspect that he wants you to suffer misfortune."
Cindy must have made a face, because Gloria was panting, as if being rejected. "What happened?"
"When I came to see you, I was very depressed," Cindy said.
"Yes, I think Fan Fan might comfort you."
"No, I didn't mean that," Cindy said. When she shook her head, I heard her earrings clinking.
"I came to you because I was scared"
"Did Raphael touch you?" I asked.
"Fan Fan," Gloria said.
"I heard they did this," I said. "Isn't this why they were kicked out of heaven? Because they had a lot of fun with the women, didn't they stop when God said no?"
Cindy was not in the mood to make a joke. "Raphael asked me to go to the church on Broadway. He wanted me to confess to the pastor there. If the church were to be held responsible for these attacks, it would be the worst place, right?"
"You don't know what he means," Gloria said. "I always misunderstand the signs"
"Can you be both a Christian and us?"
"Don't be silly," Gloria said.
Cindy became very quiet, whispering. "Maybe I am cursed."
"You are not," Gloria said, shaking her. "Do not be silly."
"I think it's very beautiful," she finally whispered. "When I was six years old, they aired "Merge" on TV. My mother called it a truce. Do you remember?"
"No," I mumbled, and I really don't remember the unity of the church.
"For several hours, they have shown fragments of all faiths and pledged to each other allegiance. Each of them is in various countries in the world. Hour after hour. Pastors, pastors, and pastors put their hands on the Bible and pledged Scholarships, and then their followers. Each church will do things its own way, but now they recognize each other as equal. Can you imagine? The church, they even mentioned themselves together. That's all Christ said. Don't. Fight again."
"I bet that Muslims like this."
"But here is the problem." Cindy screamed. "In the process of accepting each other, they also accepted others. The purpose of the merger is to end all religious struggles. Christianity tried to end this competition once and for all, and it succeeded."
"Because they have a new devil," I said.
"I remember martial law," Gloria said. Now it was her turn to be nostalgic. "We immediately mobilized to resolve internal violence, but it was not enough. Tanks rolled on our own streets."
"Keep on telling your story," I insisted. I don't like the development of things. "About Raphael."
"I went to church," Cindy said. She stared at the floor, as if imagining a scene. "I sat on the bench and began to pray. Then a pastor came over and asked me to go with him."
"If you look upset, he might give you advice," Gloria said. (To be continued) (End of this chapter)