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Excerpted Inspirations #246

Writer: Linda Odhner, with photos by Liz Kufs
Linda Odhner, with photos by Liz Kufs
6 days ago
0 min read
[Charles Wallace, assisted by the unicorn Gaudior, journeys through time by entering the consciousness of different people in history, trying to prevent the birth of an enemy who is putting the world in danger. While Charles is Within Chuck Maddox, Chuck’s stepfather causes him serious injury.] “Charles Wallace!” He listened. Was it Gaudior? He could hear, but he could not see, and the voice echoed as though coming from a great distance. “Charles Wallace.” The voice was compassionate. “You don’t have to stay Within Chuck now that this has happened. We did not expect this.” Charles Wallace felt cold and confused and therefore cross. “But I am Within Chuck.” “Yes. And Chuck is unconscious, and when he comes to, he will not be the same. His skull has been fractured. Although the healing of the horn has taken away the worst of the pain it could not repair the brain damage. And so there have been instructions that you are to be released now if you so desire.” Charles Wallace felt weighed down by darkness and pain. The almost-Gaudior voice continued. “Within Chuck as he is now, you will have no control over his actions. His brain is short-circuited. If there is a Might-Have-Been which you should alter to avert disaster, you will have no ability either to recognize it or to change it.” “If you release me from Within Chuck, then what?” “You will be sent Within someone else, and then you will be better able to accomplish your mission. Time is of the essence, as you understand. And we do not know what may happen while you are trapped Within this injured child.” “Who are you?” Charles Wallace asked the invisible voice. “You sound like Gaudior, but you aren’t Gaudior.” The voice laughed gently. “No, I am not Gaudior. All the healing light went from his horn, but he could not cure Chuck, though he kept him from dying – and that may not have been a kindness. He has gone home to dip his horn in the pools of healing to replenish it.” “Then who are you?” Again the voice laughed. “You saw me when Gaudior took you home after you nearly drowned in the Ice Age sea. I am the unicorn you saw come forth from the shell.” “Why can’t I see you? Why can’t I see anything?” The words of the voice had reassured him, but he still felt foreboding. “While you are Within Chuck, you see only what Chuck sees, and he is unconscious, and will be for several days. Come, Charles Wallace, there is no time to be lost. Let us help you out of Chuck. If Mad Dog Branzillo is to be prevented from starting a holocaust you must not delay.” “I have to think – ” Something was wrong, and he did not know what. “Charles Wallace. Gaudior will corroborate what I have told you. Chuck’s brain has been damaged. He’s little better than an idiot. Come out.” “If I come out, will I see you?” There was something about the voice which was inconsistent with the visual image of the baby unicorn; but of course it would no longer be a baby. “Of course you’ll see me. Hurry. There’s a terrible urgency about what you are to accomplish.” “I?” “Of course, you. You were selected, weren’t you?” “No. Beezie – Mrs. O’Keefe – laid a charge on me.” “Because you’re the only one who can prevent Branzillo.” “But I can’t – ” “Of course you can.” The voice was tenderly patient. “Why do you think you were chosen?” “Well – Gaudior seemed to think it was that I might be able to go Within people, because of the way Meg and I kythe.” [A kind of telepathy.] “Exactly. You were chosen because of your special gifts, and your unusual intelligence. You know that yourself, don’t you?” “Well – I can kythe. And I know my I.Q.’s high, as far as that goes. But that’s not enough – ” “Of course it is. And you have the ability to see the difference between right and wrong, and to make the correct decisions. You were selected because you are an extraordinary young man and your gifts and your brains qualify you. You are the only one who can control the Might-Have-Been.” Charles Wallace’s stomach was churning. “Come, Charles Wallace. You have been chosen. You are in control of what is going to happen. You are needed. We must go.” Charles Wallace began to throw up. Was it in reaction to the tempting words, or because Chuck, with his bashed-in skull, was vomiting? But he knew that whatever the voice looked like, it was not a unicorn. When he had stopped retching he said, “I don’t know who you are, but you’re not like Gaudior. Gaudior would never say what you’ve just said. It was trying to use my high I.Q. and trying to control things that got us into trouble in the first place. I don’t know what I’m supposed to use, but it’s not my intellect or strength. For better or worse, I’m Within Chuck. And I’ve never come out of Within on my own. It’s always happened to me. I’m staying Within.” -Madeleine L’Engle, A Swiftly Tilting Planet (1978), pp. 212-215

 
 
 

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