THE THREE LIVES OF CHRISTINA THE ASTONISHING (#45)

As Told by the Holy Woman in Her Own Words
A Hundred or So Years after the End of the World

How I learned to remember the future

The next day the two oldest sons were missing from the dais. Thanks to Chickie, the Duke had averted catastrophe, but he preferred to give the credit to me. From that day on, he had me seated on his right on the platform, with his younger sons and the animals crowded together on the left. What happened to the two elder sons wasn’t spoken of. But the Duke seemed well satisfied with me and we conferred in a whisper whenever he had to make important decisions.
My new status made me well satisfied, too. Though I spoke only to the Duke, never to those assembled, the very fact so many eyes were on me helped assuage that old hunger of mine. It was the first time I’d been in front of a large group since the fiasco in the white city, but this audience was composed of decent ordinary folk, not freaks. They did stare at first, in the hope I would perform marvels, but this expectation diminished as time wore on and I remained demure and silent in my seat. Just being looked at was enough, I found, and it left me free to concentrate on exercising my mental powers.

(to be continued tomorrow)