“The Saint”

“The saint looked directly at him, his eyes warm and paternally caressing. He was sitting cross-legged and wore a white cape wrapped round his body. His lips, though silent, still managed to speak comforting formless words. As Skylar stared up at him, he felt immense gratitude rising up out of his heart and flowing toward the saint. He knew that this silent connection with such a highly evolved being signified that a powerful blessing had been bestowed upon him. As his eyes maintained contact with those of the Indian, Skylar’s body began to change. Dense matter became amorphous; dark places grew light; a complicated internal network grew lively and began to race with impulses of sweet energy. It seemed as if an electric circuit had been completed between the holy man and him and that intense subtle pulses flowed out over that connection. Changes took place in his body, in his soul, that words lack the vocabulary to describe. He might have been a sealed-off factory brought back into production. Someone had turned on the master switch and a thousand lights shone; silent machinery began to whirr; motors kicked in; conveyor belts unfurled; huge fans spun up. What had been quiet and empty took on luminous life.”