My father looked at me, then past me, into the distance.  I thought maybe he can see through me, but I felt more, that he was at a different place entirely.

His smile came slowly, as he spoke with clarity.  He was somewhere.  A place that protected him and connected me.

“You will begin to learn the lessons you need to survive.  How to heal yourself.  How to focus your mind.  How to kill by just thinking it.  You will learn everything you need.”

His smile turned into a grin and at that point I was with him.  I was there in that special place, seeing what he was seeing and knowing what he knows.  I was with him.

J. Batten