The Biker Brothers simply stared at Loduvico, dumbfounded and too frozen to move. The people looked at them in return, confused at the same time why the man knew them. For a while, only silence could be heard around them except for the vendors shouting their merchandise from the nearby stalls."We have to move now," Bogart finally whispered.
"I think so," Kiko whispered back. "Who will lead?"
Gently, Bogart pushed Tonton forward who had no choice but to continue his steps going towards Loduvico. The three also lagged behind him.
"h.e.l.lo, Mister!" Tonton said when they were finally right in front of Loduvico.
"A blessed day to the four of you," Loduvico replied. "I know that you will be coming back for me."
Bogart: "Really? How?"
Loduvico: "The voices said so. The four of you are important in all the things that are happening and will soon happen."
Kiko: "Who told you? The voices?"
Loduvico: "Yes, the voices speak to me."
Tonton: "How? Do they speak with you in your dreams?"
Loduvico: "Dreams. Visions. Prayers. Anyway they want to, they speak to me. Even right now that we are talking, the voices are whispering things in my head."
The people gasped. Though his words were unbelievable, there was a hypnotizing force in him that drew people. It was almost irresistible and contagious that one would mock him only to be stupefied at the end.
"I know why you are here. I know it even before you came here. The voices spoke to me and showed me."
The four gazed at him, uncertain what to do next. Loduvico smiled at them and slowly, he lifted his right arm and reached out to Jamie.
"Come here, my child. You have been in pain and misery. Fear not for I will give you comfort. Worry no more for I will take away your suffering."
Uncertainly, Jamie walked towards him while the three also moved forward but kept a good distance from Loduvico. The people also inched forward, curious as to what would happen next. All the while, they were talking relentlessly.
"Look at the boy," one said. "He must have been suffering a lot. Sores and blisters are all over his body."
"I could not imagine the agony he is in, " another said.
"He must have been a handsome boy. Just look at that arched nose and tantalizing eyes."
"Pity him. This outbreak is really so bad."
"Please don"t come so close. We are almost elbow to elbow."
"Physical distancing please."
"Your mask please. It"s almost falling."
Meanwhile, Jamie was distracted from all the murmurs he heard.
"This is embarra.s.sing," he thought.
He closed his eyes to shut down the noise. When he opened them, Loduvico was already face to face with him. The man was kneeling on the ground on one knee.
Loduvico: "Do you believe?"
Jamie did not answer, unsure of what was the correct reply. In his heart, he had hesitations. He wanted to believe because he wanted to be healed and to act normally again. However, he had never experienced any miracles before, maybe except for Loduvico"s first miracle when he healed his friends. But then, he was only an observer and not the receiver.
Loduvico: "Do you want to?"
Jamie: "Want to what?"
"Be healed and moved on to normal life again."
"Yes."
"Do you really want to?"
"Of course."
"How much do you want to?"
"So much."
"Tell me how much."
"Like I"m gonna die?"
Loduvico stopped and looked him straight in the eye. Slowly, he moved his face forward and spoke gently in the boy"s ear.
"My child, you may see things that must not be spoken about," he whispered, so soft that the crowd could not hear him. "You must not tell anyone about what you may witness. They are meant to be kept secret; otherwise, a greater harm can happen."
Jamie froze upon hearing those words. Loduvico went back to his position and slowly lifted his hands and touched the boy"s face with them. Jamie was overwhelmed with mixed emotions. He was scared because of what the man had just said, but he also felt eagerness and peace. He was excited at what he might experience. Warmth also flowed from Loduvico"s hands that he relaxed, almost to the point that he felt sleepy. A soft glow emanated from Loduvico"s hands. He was both blinded and soothed by the light that he gently closed his eyes. Once he fully closed them, his spirit soared high, as if his soul was lifted out of his body. Indeed, his spirit and body became separated.
He saw his body surrounded by his friends and the peope. It was like watching himself from a large monitor and yet, the motions were slowed down. He had been moving a lot in his position but his visions lagged for several seconds. It was so slow that he could see how a man skillfully opened the zipper of the bag of a woman beside him and how a boy took off his mask and sneezed violently. The sneeze happened for several seconds that he could see how saliva droplets floated in air and danced around before finally dropping to the nearby people. Jamie chuckled at the things he saw.
"Is this what Loduvico warned me about?" he said rhetorically.
He looked around him and indeed, everything happened in slow motion. It was as if things moved more slowly in spirit than in body. But suddenly, everything turned dark. He kept blinking his eyes but there was only darkness that was so pitch black there was not a hint of shadow in sight.
"Be healed, my child!"
He heard Loduvico"s voice boomed from above him. He looked up but he could see nothing. His heart beat wildly. He panicked because his vision was then getting creepy.
"Free yourself from suffering!"
Again, the man"s voice echoed. It was terrifying enough that Jamie wanted to cry. He rubbed his eyes to erase tears that began to well up. Just then, a light shone from a distance. It looked like a flashlight directed downwards so that illumination was flashed down below. In the middle of the brightness, there was someone sitting. He could not make out the figure since he was far away. Though scared, he slowly went up to the light. The closer he got, the crazier his heart beat.
He was only a few meters away when he could finally make sense of the sight. It was a woman sitting on a chair, her back to him. He appeared to be naked, save for her long flowing hair that was covering her entire body. He could only see her hair as her head was bowed down. Her hair was blonde, almost shining yellow because of the bright light.
Jamie stopped in his tracks. He breathed hard and because it was dead silence, he heard nothing but his labored breathing. To his surprise, the woman gently moved her head, her yellow crown bobbing with each slight movement.
"h.e.l.lo," she whispered.
Her low voice echoed in the silence.
"Help me."
And suddenly, a strong grip touched Jamie"s arms. He screamed in fright....