A character study
This one can be a bit disturbing.
"This man will die, if I wish him dead."
It's a chilling thought, really. I can see all of the connections within his body, and I can reach out and touch them. I can see where cancer is beginning to take root in his jaw, legacy of a chewing tobacco habit. I can see the old war wound that he tries to hide. I can see the hearing loss that is cropping up in the higher registers on the left side.
I can see them, and I can touch them.
Sometimes, just for fun, I wander through hospitals, and cure terminal diseases. There's one doctor in particular I've focused on. Every six months, like clockwork, I cure everyone in the ward who is not his patient. This last time, he finally figured out the pattern. I'm curious to see what he'll do about it.
On a whim, I've just fixed the cancer and the hearing loss. He'll never miss them. On the other side of the ledger, he'll be bald within the year.
I know I sound callous, but I just can't afford to care. I tried that when I was young, when the powers were bright and new. I cured everyone I could find, of everything I could see. I went to hospitals and hospices and old folks homes, and I cured everything. Within a month, I was exhausted, nearly dead from lack of sleep and not eating and constantly pushing myself to do more for everyone. I got deathly ill, and I realized that, even with all my powers, I couldn't heal everyone. I couldn't heal myself. What I can do is so awe-inspiring that if I give myself to it, there won't be anything left. I can't afford to care.
The man I'm speaking with has one other problem that I haven't mentioned. His liver has failed, and the ironclad rules of the organ banks have determined that he does not warrant a replacement. It is his own fault after all, with his drinking problem. Karma's a bitch. He is a loving husband and a caring father, and his alcohol habit, while excessive, invariably leaves him mellow. He is telling me stories about his time in the service, trying to pass them along to as many people as he can before he goes.
His children have graduated college. His doctor is the doctor whose patients never get miracles.
This man will die, if I wish him dead, and no one will know that I was why.
I thank him for his time, and walk away.