I grab the little girl’s hand and tell her she is free now.

“You saved me,” she says. “I knew you would.”

A release. A thousand sparks inside as if each of my cells is rejoicing all at once. A radiation. A lifting. So many thoughts: I did not cause this. It was not my fault. I was helpless. He was a pedophile who preyed on children. Something was wrong with him, not me. Nothing is wrong with me.

Do you see now?

I am silently overwhelmed.

We have not registered your response. Do you understand?

“Thank you” are the only words that manage to leave my lips. “Thank you.”

I sit in stunned silence and return to the present moment.

“How do you feel?” Jennifer asks after she unfreezes. “Did you discover anything new?”

“I feel like my whole life paradigm shifted.”

“Wow,” she says. “That’s the power of EMDR. It is a deeply transformative practice. I’ve seen it change lives more than once. I think that’s enough for today. Go home and rest.”

I walk slowly toward the door, trying to process everything that just happened—the enormity of the shift that has occurred inside of me.

“Beloved,” Jennifer says, prompting me to turn around, “I pray that in all respects you may prosper…”

“And be in good health, just as your soul prospers. John 3,” I respond.

Loving gazes pour from each of us and fields of healing erupt where walls once were.

And so, Luke Skywalker discovers her abilities and joins the Jedi of Chosen Ones, answering the call to heal what was broken, and defeating Darth and his army of wicked creatures. The darkness is legion, but so is the light, especially once you learn how to wield it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Second semester, unlike the first one, is a breeze. Three weeks in, I feel renewed, like I’m on top of the world. I’ve finally figured out this college game. The course load is a mix of interesting and daunting. I’m taking Government Two: The International Political System, Religion One: Patterns of Religious Experience, Theater One: Introduction to Theater, Introductory French, and my least favorite, most daunting class this semester, Economics One: Economic Principles and Policies. Even though I hate economics and anything to do with numbers, I’ve learned how to study and work with a tutor.