Free Omniscient Leaps by Kimberly Slivinski Page B

me for a moment. “I didn’t think anything of it until recently. Your entrance into my life was unexpected.” He immediately became flustered, like he was sharing or feeling something he shouldn’t. “You really want to hear about my past?”
    “Yes,” I said, taking a seat on the couch and slapping the space next to me. “Please Luke, I would love to hear your story.”
    His lips curled upwards as he lowered himself down gently on the cushion beside me. “Where to start.”
    I grabbed his hand. “Whatever works best for you. I’m not going anywhere, at least I don’t think so.”
    Luke returned the gesture by squeezing my hand firmly. He was obviously nervous and I found it upsetting that he had kept things bottled up inside of himself for over one hundred years, something I couldn’t even comprehend. Everyone needed someone to talk to. I was sure even a priest, rabbi, or other clergyman got to share his feelings with someone.
    “I was born in 1886,” Luke began. “I was an only child. My mom wanted more children, but it just never happened for her. It would have been nice to grow up with a sibling or two, but I was really close to my parents.”
    “That’s how I am with my mom,” I admitted. “She’s all I’ve got so we stick together.”
    “How did your father die?” Luke asked unexpectedly.
    “Cancer. It was a long hard road for my mom. I don’t really remember him. It’s tragic, really. She hasn’t dated anyone since he died.”
    “I can only imagine her heartbreak,” Luke replied. “I had to watch my mother die when I was only fourteen and then my father self-destructed. He gave up on God, on everything. It didn’t matter what I said, he didn’t care if he lived or died after she was gone. Then eventually he got his wish.”
    “Both your parents died in the same year?” I was horrified and deeply saddened for him at the same time. His Father had abandoned him during a time when he needed him the most.
    “Just months apart,” Luke continued. “It was too much for me to handle. There were other families willing to take me in, but I was too heartbroken and alone to reach out to them. One night I got my affairs in order, went to the nearest bridge and jumped.”
    Silence permeated the room. Luke had tried to kill himself. The man who appeared so strong and steadfast in his faith had actually been hopeless. There was no telling how tragedy could affect a person. I knew I’d be a wreck if anything happened to my mom. She was my whole world.
    “So He saved you? You said a prayer?”
    Luke nodded. “I was drowning in the icy water and hoping it would end soon. Then something inside of me pushed back. I began to panic and suddenly I didn’t want to die. I prayed to God, though I really didn’t believe in the power of prayer after my parents had died, and asked him to save me. I said I would serve Him however He needed me to.”
    “So when did you become a shepherd?”
    “Actually a few months after that incident on the bridge, I had my first flash. I was a leaper for five years before I became a shepherd.”
    “So you are frozen in time as you were at nineteen?” I guessed.
    “I think. I haven’t looked in a mirror in years,” he chuckled. “I guess men don’t really care about appearances.”
    “Please Luke,” I laughed. “You’re too modest. Guys as good looking as you probably spend most of their time in front of the mirror admiring themselves.” Why do I blurt things out without thinking? “So you don’t have to shave or anything like that?”
    “Yes, but I’ve gotten it down to a science,” he teased. “And before you think it, yes, I do eat.”
    “What do you eat?” I probed.
    “Manna and water.”
    “That’s it? How are you not emaciated and starved? Don’t you get sick of it?”
    “I stopped thinking about the pleasures of food years ago. I am just thankful to be alive and I can’t complain about what I’ve been blessed with.” His answers were