He wore all off-white, a color that many would call cream. Tux, tie, cummerbund, shoes, socks and even a cream colored carnation. His jet black skin...and brilliant white-toothed smile completed the picture. He was the handsomest black man she had ever met. “Hey Tyrone. What are you doing here? Where’s my brother?”“He was called into work. Your cell must be off. He couldn’t reach ya’ to say I’d be picking you up.”“You know what? My brother’s a big jerk. I can’t wait ‘til next month when. It felt like sickness, a really bad one, but it was too painful for you to move or even make a sound, until suddenly, everything clicked into place. As the aches mysteriously disappear, there was a moment of clarity, your expression softening to placidity, calm and serene. All the stress and fatigue you may have experienced until now seemed to just bleed away, leaving you energized, light footed and alert. You blink a few times, words that only you can see beginning to pour across your vision.. For years following that fateful trip to the carnival, Helen kept her heart locked away from the world. She performed the rituals required by her power and used her gift of healing as needed, but she refused to feel anything for the people with whom she had contact. It was not until her travels brought her to Persia that everything changed and her carefully built wall cracked."It did not take much, either. It only took looking into your eyes and my defenses began to fall apart. It only took. The girls enjoyed being able to instruct their gran' mommy in weaving baskets with reeds and the fiber of leaves. They especially liked to experiment in mixing the island cooking with the items brought ashore by Allison. All in all, Allison had bonded with her grandchildren who had accepted her in every respect. When she thought about it, the extent of this bonding was truly astounding considering that no secrets were a part of their relationship. Anybody could ask about anything, talk about.