Read Wisdom Spring for Free Online Page B

life-changing suggestions. It had to become part of you.”
    “Funny you say that, because at times The Voice brings me a lot of comfort, like it’s a part of me. Maybe you’re right and it has been training me.”
    It was getting late and I suggested we get some sleep. They had given me a king-sized bed and I didn’t want to raise any flags with the front desk by asking for two queens. But I figured we were adults and could survive being in the same bed. The truth was, I had become quite attracted to Jess, but this wasn’t the time or place to act on it. She had other things to occupy her mind at the moment.
    She had run out of her apartment quickly, without packing anything, so I knew tomorrow I would be in the women’s section of some department store stocking up on clothes and other items for her. In the meantime, I let her wear one of my shirts to sleep in.
    I took a shower first, so as to give Jess all the time she needed when she took hers. I had gotten into the habit over the last couple of weeks of sleeping in my underwear, but for this occasion I dug into my suitcase for my pajamas and put them on in the foggy bathroom.
    Jess’s shower seemed to go on forever. It must have felt especially good to her. Calming as much as cleansing. I couldn’t imagine having to leave home the way she did, without time to think, without time to prepare. But she was doing pretty well, considering. While I, too, had to leave my home under stressful circumstances, it was completely different. Like Jess, I was totally lost, but unlike her, I had had time to prepare—too much time maybe. Anyway, while I was heartbroken, she was scared. Terrified, really.
    I thought about The Voice. I’d always been a pretty common-sense kind of guy, and communication from the grave—or wherever it was coming from—didn’t fit into the realm of “normal” for me. But what were the odds of someone in her situation, being scared beyond rational thought, meeting up with someone who was no longer afraid of anything? And on the other side of that, her entering my life provided me with a purpose at the exact time I needed one. Okay, it was a little spooky.
    Jess finally came out of the bathroom. She was wearing the shirt I had lent her, but all I could think of was what was under that shirt. Oh, it was going to be a tough sleeping night for me!
    She crawled in next to me, again gave me a kiss on the cheek, and thanked me one more time for everything I had done for her. I looked at her again before we turned out the lights. The shower had been cleansing, but the stress in her face was still there. Add to that the sheer exhaustion she must’ve felt. If anyone needed a good night’s sleep, it was Jess.
    *****
    It turned out not to be a tough night for me after all. I must’ve fallen asleep the minute my head hit the pillow. I awoke to the smell of coffee. I looked over at Jess, sitting cross-legged on a chair by the window. She was staring into space. It was a dark day, with a light drizzle coming down. There were probably some hills in the distance, but the clouds obscured them. I looked at my watch. Eight-thirty. That was the latest I’d slept in years. Jess heard me moving and came out of her catatonic state.
    “The coffee isn’t great, but it’s coffee,” she said, stretching.
    “How did you sleep?”
    “Like I was in a coma.” She paused. “The Voice came just as I was waking up. Kind of a half dream. It was an actual sentence—maybe because I wasn’t awake yet.”
    I was alert now. “What did it … uh, he … say?”
    “ ‘It all starts in Homer.’ I have no idea what it means.”
    I did. I felt a shiver travel down my spine. “It means that, for whatever reason, I’m not supposed to drop you off along the road. You’re definitely coming with me to Alaska.”
    She cocked her head and looked at me.
    “I never told you where in Alaska I was going,” I said. “My brother lives in Homer.”
    “Whoa.”
    “Yeah. I guess