Ten Twists

“Angelika” Annie had been sitting motionless, breaking her pose only to take a sip from the refilled mug Naomi returned with. The sound of snapping branches immediately brought her thoughts back to her front porch duties. She firmly gripped the rifle and squinted focusing her 20/20 eye vision in the direction of the approaching beast of prey. “Come on out,” she whispered, “I’ve been waiting for you.” “Do you see it?” she asked Naomi, still trying to get a visual on the creature. It’s probably that large red fox spotted by the local farmers or maybe even the elusive cougar that’s been creating havoc in the tri-county area, Annie tried to figure out what it was she was about to face. Sensing danger, the entire hen house and the miniature goats started getting restless and agitated. The noisy animals slightly distracted Annie, but she regained her poise, and concentrated solely on what was coming out of the woods. “They know it’s coming,” she whispered to Naomi. They caught a glimpse of the culprit as it emerged out of the thick brush. It was low to the ground creeping in stealth like manner. Snorting and audibly wheezing the dark shadow appeared. Annie rose up from her chair, slowly and quietly. Alright Annie, she thought to herself, be careful not to frighten off the creature. Naomi silently stood behind her. Like a sentry alerted by the advancement of the enemy, Annie too, was prepared to do battle. “Katie” He thought back to the first time he saw Nurse Katie’s face. He sat at the computer and typed as his mind drifted back in time. I don’t remember much of what was going on when I first started coming out of the drug induced coma. I vaguely recall lying in a bed, unable to move, with a tube going into my mouth that was pushing air into my lungs. Later I learned that I was hooked up to a ventilator, which helped me to breathe. I also seem to remember, that I was completely naked and someone was wiping my body with a cool wet washcloth. The dampness evaporated into the cool ambient air and I could feel a cold chill come over my entire body. I started to shiver uncontrollably. “You’ll be all right Mr. Logan,” a soft sweet gentle voice assured me. “I’m just finishing your morning bath. My name is Katie. I’m your nurse and I’ll be taking care of you,” she said as she pulled a sheet over my body. I tried to focus in on the caregiver but gradually drifted back into a deep sleep. It seemed as if every time I woke up Katie was there. Throughout the weeks of his recovery, he and Katie spent a lot of time talking and getting to know each other. She played an important role in his recuperation both as a health care provider and as a friend. She was a great source of encouragement and he cherished the days she was there. Room 318, in the ICU, had become a little heaven on earth when she was there with him. “The Life of Lu Wang” “I never knew who my parents were. The monks at the Tao Temple told me that I was left at the main entrance to the temple on a cold wintery night. When the tall twenty foot gates to the main entrance were closed the night prior, the streets were abandoned. Surely, no one was fool enough to be out that cold, snowy night. But at the crack of dawn, when the gates were opened to allow early worshippers access the temple, a baby was found outside the gates. The newborn swaddled in strips of dirty, stained cotton cloths was left in a basket covered with a large piece of yak wool to protect it from the frigid winter temperatures. That baby was me. The basket I was in was placed with other baskets containing vegetables and fish donated by the local farmers to help feed the monks and as offerings to the deities.” The monks later told me, “A note, which was hastily scribbled in Chinese characters, simply read, ‘Take care of baby’. A set of small footprints, almost completely covered by the windswept snow, led up to the temple gates and retreated in the same direction from whence they came.” The two monks, responsible for opening the gates, immediately took me inside. After rescuing me from the inclement weather they, along with their fellow brethren, made sure that my immediate needs were properly addressed. From the condition of the umbilical cord, it was estimated that their abandoned baby was probably no older than a week and for obvious reasons and to the monks’ relief, it was noted that I was a boy.”….. ..…The baby left in the street was found by Lu and Wang. Destiny played a role in these monks being assigned to open the temple gates that wintery morning. It was meant to happen as it did and the monks of the Tao Temple were not in the position to go against the course that divine forces had put into motion. “The eldest monk’s name was Wang and was bestowed the honors of giving his surname to the baby. The name Wang derives from an area from which some ancient Chinese dynasties originated. It literally means ‘prince’, Lu Wang told the interviewer. “The younger monk’s surname was Lu. Lu was the name of an area in China that is currently known as Shandong Province. Through interpretation and rewriting of the Chinese character representing the word lu, it has come to be translated as one of several words for “street”. All the monks of the Tao Temple believed that the sequence of events, leading up to that point, dictated that the baby, from that day forth, be known as…Lu Wang.” The former monk gave Dexter a few seconds to write notes on the origin of his name.