Danit summoned me today. She wanted to speak of something serious, she said. I admit that this made me nervous—she has not done this in a very long time. I went to her trying to think of something I had done to earn her disapproval.
“No such thing,” she told me when I asked her. “You are doing very well, Asa’el.”
I demurred. “I am only doing what I can.”
“You truly are doing well,” she said, and her voice was kind. “I know you were doubting yourself for a time, but you have come past the time of difficulty now, I think. It has been a privilege to watch you grow, and just as you feel pride and honor in helping your charges, so I feel it in having been your mentor.”
I saw the truth of her words, and it warmed me. “I am equally proud to have had your guidance.”
She waved this away with one wing. “Tell me about Shannon, if you will. How is her progress?”
I was a bit surprised by the question, but I answered, “I have just come back from her. She presented her proposal to Jace’s supervisor two days ago, and she just received word this morning that it has been approved. It won’t be a permanent exhibit, just a three-day show later in the summer to be set up in the museum courtyard. But Shannon is pleased. She thinks the temporary nature of the exhibit suits the art form.” I laughed to myself. “She was not very happy that she will not be in charge of the exhibit preparation, but after all she is still very junior among the museum staff. Still, I think that Jace will let her be quite involved if only to keep her from harping at him.”
Danit was watching my aura as I spoke. “You have come to care very much for her,” she observed. “There was a time when her faults would have caused frustration for you, not amusement.”
I acknowledged this as truth. “That was before I saw that her faults are merely defenses. She is uses them to cover up the void in her spirit.”
“And what causes this void, do you think?”
Very serious indeed. I gave the question a long moment of thought. “I think that she was not taught compassion as a child, and so instead she learned pride and entitlement. I think that this has caused her to be isolated, and so she is lonely. She does not even realize why others find it difficult to be in her company. It is heartbreaking, truly.” I could feel it as I said it, the heartbreak of Shannon’s loneliness and confusion, her despair at not knowing how to make it right.
“And how are you trying to repair this damage?” Danit asked.
I lifted my wings in a shrug. “I would like to teach her compassion if I can. It is not easy, but I believe that the first step is to give her passion for something, and from that I hope she can learn it for someone.” I smiled ruefully. “It will be a long process, I think.”
Danit looked up at me then, and her smile was gone. I wondered what it was I had said that made her so serious, but I could not read her aura. “You believe that Oliver may be the one to teach her this?” she asked.
“I do,” I said. “His passion is compassion, after all. He came to America to learn to help his own people and fell in love with the people there. His career, his entire life, is built on helping others who are in dark, difficult places. Even if a relationship between him and Shannon is not possible, I think that she can learn from him what she most needs to know.”
“Is a relationship possible?” Danit asked.
“Well, she has already invited him to come with her to the exhibit’s opening, and he agreed,” I said. I was so pleased by this—she did it without even my having to suggest it. “So I think the plan is sound.”
Danit nodded slowly. “I agree with you,” she said. “But have a care, Asa’el. Shannon is coming to a crucial point in her life, and in such moments every action and word is significant.”
The weight of this settled on my shoulders. “A crucial point? How so, Danit?”
“I am not at liberty to tell you more,” she said. “And frankly I do not know very much, only what the Readers have told me.”
At that the weight grew heavier. If the Readers of the Choice Web have seen something worthy of relaying to Danit, it must be significant indeed. They would only intervene if my actions in the next weeks might have an effect on many lives.
“I will be careful,” I said, subdued.
Danit came toward me then, curving her wings around me. “You need only continue as you have,” she said. “I do not tell you this to make you doubt, but to assure you of the importance of your work and the difference you could make.”
She dismissed me then, but I cannot stop thinking about her words. If Shannon is approaching a branching of ways, then any small thing that I do might change her life completely, and what changes her will change others. Who aside from the Readers and the Father-King can know how far the repercussions of my actions may reach?
But Danit is right. While I must know this to give me appropriate deliberation, it changes little. I will still act in love and care with Shannon. To me, it would be no less satisfying to save her than it would be to save many. She has become deeply significant to me of her own right, and if I can at all, I will give her light and strength to be good and to have goodness. May the Father-King let it be so.