I crumpled to the floor and pulled my shoes off. But there was no red sticky substance anywhere on them — not even the soles. The silence was deafening. But the feelings of terror, and the sharp pain in my chest, were subsiding. I took deep belly breaths, the way my mother’s healer friend, Orin, had taught me. I heard the door to the room open. “Katherine?” “I’ll be right out,” I called. I got to my feet a little shakily, and looked at my reflection. My face was pale. I flushed the toilet and ran the water in the sink to buy myself another minute to recover. I smoothed my hair back, pinched my cheeks to bring a little color into them, and put my shoes back on. Then I unlocked the door and went back into the room. “Here you are,” Mrs. Gray said, handing me a glass of water. I gratefully took a long sip, secretly registering surprise that the water with the fancy name did taste better than tap water.
