Chapter 6

That did leave me in the casino area and made me wonder if there was some game of chance where my abilities gave me a boost. Obviously, poker would be easier if I could tell the true emotional state of the other players, but I was too young to be allowed to play. Besides, I would prefer to win against the casino rather than other players. I could touch the slot machines with my energy, but they were too complex for me to work out any advantages.

There was one machine that I thought would work. It was like a second hand of a clock. When you bought a ticket, the hand would travel clockwise and you had a big red button to press when that arm was over a gap. If the hand passed through the gap you won the money. Tickets cost seven dollars fifty and the payout was five thousand dollars. They made the gap appear large, but with the star on the end of the second hand, it was almost impossible to win. However, I could see inside the machine and could see exactly when to press. It was only a tiny spot to aim for, but you were given five chances per go.

The only problem was you needed a cruise card to play. Not that I had the seven dollars fifty either. I walked back to the empty nightclub. I was used to practising for a couple of hours a day on my violin, but I didn't have the stamina yet. The only way to get that strength back was to keep at it, so every day I had been coming here to practise. I have often heard the phrase that music can soothe the savage beast, so I had combined my energy work with my violin playing when working on Lisa. I felt it had added an extra dimension. Lisa wasn't completely fixed yet. I knew that I would need to work on her more and probably explain and get permission before doing it.

I didn't see Lisa or her family again until dinner time.

Her mum hugged me. “Thank you so much. Lisa said without you she wouldn't have had the courage to speak to us. Can you take me to your parents? I want them to know and be proud.”

“You are very welcome. My mum is not available at the moment, so maybe later,” I said, thinking very much later. “I did want to talk to you both about something. I think music can help heal emotional wounds, so I wondered if I could have permission to treat Lisa's wounds,” I said tapping my violin.

“Sure,” the father said, pandering to me, but clearly expecting a childish ineptitude.

“I don't want to disturb anyone here, but I have found somewhere if you are interested.” They had found me on a sun lounger next to the main pool.

With their agreement, I led them to the empty nightclub. I asked Lisa to sit close to me for full healing effect and started playing Vivaldi again while extending my energy to Lisa and working on her aura. I thought it would be a difficult challenge mentally to be doing two things at once, but in reality, working on Lisa with my energy left my body to play without interference. My body knew what to do considering the number of times I had practised, it just needed my mind to get out of the way. I had a brief pause between each season and only managed two seasons, but I was happy with Lisa's progress.

“I do feel better,” Lisa admitted. “Like the stain on my soul has been washed off.”

Both parents, frankly amazed by my violin performance and happy with Lisa's recovery asked if there was anything they could do for me.

“Well, there is one thing,” I said. “There is one game in the casino that I really want to play, but it needs a cruise card linked to an account. It is only seven dollars fifty. Do you think you could let me have a go?”

I had to take them to the casino and show them the machine. The father tapped his card against the machine and I had my chance. Even knowing the right zone to press the red button it was hard. I missed it the first two times but got it on the third. Five thousand dollars cash dropped into the holder.

“Yes!” I said exultantly.

“Hang on a second. You are a bit young for that much money. We need to go and see your parents. I'm sure they will let you keep it, but they probably want to put some of it into a savings account or something,” he said.

I sighed. I was going to have to tell them at least some of the truth. “Did Lisa tell you what I have been through?” I asked.

“No,” Lisa stated. “What you said to me was private and you didn't give me permission to share.”

“What is she talking about?” her mum asked.

“Can we go somewhere private?” I asked.

The casino wasn't that far from their room, so we went there, the father still holding onto the money.

“OK. I didn't want to talk about my issues, but I need that money and I can see that you aren't going to let me have it without explaining why. My step-father went a step further than Lisa's uncle. He threatened my mother and me to stop me from telling anyone, so I had to run away. I have a relative in Adelaide who will shelter me, but I need to get there and the money will help me do that. I am very good at sneaking, so I crept on board.”

“You are a stowaway?” Lisa asked.

I lifted up my lanyard to show there was no card attached.

“Where have you been sleeping?” her mother asked.

“Here and there. There is a games room that tends to be unoccupied and during the day I like the nightclub. I was doing some busking to earn some money to pay for food and travel, but someone started looking for me, so I sneaked aboard the ship.”

“That is not acceptable, young lady. You can stay here, although I am not quite sure where,” her mum said looking at the lack of available space.

“She can sleep with me,” Lisa said. “Charlie is only small, we can both fit in the single bed.”

I held out my hand for my money and the father reluctantly handed it over. The thing is I could read all their emotions. The mother and daughter were appalled at both what I have been through and what I was doing at such a young age without help. They wanted to help me. The father had less of an emotional reaction. I could see him justifying handing me in as the right thing to do. Then he could keep the five thousand. I was pretty sure that at some point he was going to suggest putting the money in the safe and I would never see it again.

I said I had to go and gather my things and agreed to meet them at the buffet restaurant. As soon as I was out of sight, I pulled my energy in and ran away. The good news, I now had enough money. The bad news I was pretty sure he was going to report me.

At first, I thought I would just find somewhere to hide the money, but there really wasn't anywhere safe and if he reported me to the crew, would I be placed somewhere I couldn't escape from? It was a frightening thought. I would probably find it difficult to hide from the family for the rest of the cruise, especially after I had revealed my favourite sleeping places. If I could just stay away from them for one night, I could get off the ship the next day as we were docking at Noumea, New Caledonia. Then I could stay there until the next cruise ship and then get on board that one.

I hid from them for the rest of that day and slept outside in a covered cabana in my sleeping bag. At least the weather was warm. I did think about telling Lisa that her dad seemed a little too concerned with the money, but I didn't want to affect her relationship just because of the emotions I sensed. Just because someone feels a particular emotion, that doesn't mean they are going to act on it. Still, I couldn't risk it. I knew greed was a powerful emotion.

I pulled my emotions in and walked off the ship with no one the wiser.

I had thought that I had done the hard work so staying on Noumea would be easy. I mean I had five thousand dollars, a sleeping bag, mattress and tent, but there were a couple of factors I hadn't counted on. Everyone spoke French with only some people speaking English and more importantly, they had their own currency.

If I was an adult, changing the money would have been easy, going to a hotel or a restaurant, child's play, but since I wasn't, I struggled for the week that I was there. My violin came to my rescue, earning me enough to cover buying food. I had to use my vanishing act when someone took too much notice of me and I camped in the wilderness. I would periodically have a swim in the ocean to keep myself somewhat clean. I was very grateful when the next cruise ship appeared. I waited until others were boarding and then joined them.

It was a different ship, but with similar features. I was able to get myself clean using a public shower and I explored to find the hidden spaces I could go to find peace and quiet for sleeping. Most of my clothes were dirty and I didn't really have any place to wash them, so I visited the ship shops and bought some new dresses and underwear.

The rest of my journey back to Sydney was uneventful, but I did come up with a plan. I wanted an adult that I could trust to help me. I decided that I was going to look amongst the homeless for a man or woman whose soul shone with goodness. If they were damaged I would heal them, but I needed to find a protector, someone who knew the difference between right and wrong, who always took the right path. A hero or heroine.

That was how I found Michael, a diamond in the rough. He was suffering, oh how he was suffering, but only because his main drive was to protect others. It was such a core part of him and his identity that when he felt he was a danger to others his whole world collapsed. He was a true hero although he would never admit it. His soul couldn't lie, it shone with greatness.

Healing him and giving the world back one of its heroes gave me such satisfaction that I knew I wanted to do it again. A new path opened up in front of me. A spiritual healer. I told Michael everything, holding nothing back.

With an adult and money, my journey to Adelaide was laughably easy. There was a slight delay while Michael got his life back together which included a trip to the American Embassy. I bought him a phone and a sim card that he used to make some phone calls. I was mostly in my hotel room while he was sorting himself out. Once he had organised his circumstances, we bought a ticket for the train and since I was a child I was free. It included a place to sleep. Twenty-four hours later we arrived in Adelaide.