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breathe from her belly, pulling the air deep into her lungs, letting her abdomen expand then her chest. When her collarbones rose and lifted up and out, she held the breath for several heartbeats then began to slowly release it.
    Twice more she repeated the process, feeling the calm that washed over her. When the final cleansing breath was done, she opened her inner eye and let her mind fill with whatever impressions came to her.
    She was unaware of the motions of her hand moving quickly on the tablet. Unaware of the picture taking shape on the oversized monitor perched on her desk. She lost track of time and even of herself, caught up in a swirling eddy of images that she didn’t even try to interpret. She simply let them come and go, and remained a silent observer.
    Time passed without acknowledgement or realization. Sara was lost, once more a traveler.
    * * * * *
     
    Morgan watched the digital display on the clock change. It was three in the morning and sleep would not come. The moment he walked into the house the demons returned, plaguing him with their whispered voices.
    If only he could understand what they said. He’d tried for years to silence them, to no avail. No amount of alcohol, drugs, sex or therapy could quell the whispers. He’d learned that the hard way.
    He’d hoped the positive glow he had while around Sara would last at least for the night, but that obviously was not to be.
    “What the fuck do you want?” he shouted and hurled his pillow at the clock, sending it tumbling to the floor where it lay like a sentinel, its bright red eye of time silently watching.
    The whispers grew in volume, their number increasing until it seemed that every voice on the planet was speaking in a raspy hiss, competing with all others to be heard and creating a dissonance that threatened to send him spiraling into madness, back into that dark place that so frightened him.
    Morgan jumped out of bed and threw on a sweatsuit, hurriedly putting on his shoes to race out of the house. His pace was fast as he ran, pushing himself to the limits of his endurance, as if he could outrun the voices that clamored to be heard, to be understood.
    It was the course of his life. Always running. From what, he wasn’t sure. Toward what, he didn’t have a clue.
    * * * * *
     
    Sara jolted back to reality at the shriek of the phone. Her hand stilled on the graphics tablet and she blinked her eyes to restore moisture. How long had she been sitting there? The level of light in the room told her it was day.
    She put aside the question of time as she reached for the phone.
    “I was about to hang up,” Kelly announced before Sara even had time to say hello. “Where’ve you been?”
    “What do you mean?” Sara asked.
    “You sound like you just woke up.”
    “Ummm…” Sara didn’t want to lie so she tried to avoid the question. She had never made Kelly privy to certain aspects of her life.
    “So are you coming to the class or not?” Kelly asked.
    The question didn’t register in Sara’s mind. Her eyes were glued to the image on the monitor.
    “Sara? Sara?” Kelly screamed her name.
    “What?” Sara asked, scooting her seat closer to the desk to study the image on the monitor.
    “Are you coming to class?”
    “Class?”
    “Duh, Earth to Sara. The rock-climbing class we signed up for last week. I’m at the center now. The next class starts in half an hour.”
    “Oh!” Truth be told, Sara had forgotten about it. “Ummm, no, not today. Maybe next time.”
    “But we’ve already signed up! And I don’t want to do it by myself.”
    Sara grimaced at the whine that came into Kelly’s voice. As much as she loved her friend, her tendency to whine was one thing she could live without.
    “I have to go, Kel. Call you later.”
    She ended the call before Kelly could argue. The image on the monitor held her captive. The more she looked at it, the more agitated she felt. She broke into a sweat, and her breath hitched in her chest. Eyes