"Stand up, child," Nan instructed calmly. The candle between us had been knocked over, its wax running on the wooden floor. My knees felt wobbly and I was gulp' ing air, looking around wildly, orienting myself.

" Nan," I gasped, swallowing air like a fish. "' Nan, oh, deesse, that sucked."

"Tell me what you saw," she said, leading me out of the workroom and into our somewhat shabby kitchen.

I didn't want to talk about it, as if the words would recall the vision, putting me back into it, "I saw a tree" I said reluctantly, "A cypress, I was in a swamp kind of place. There was a storm, and then-the tree got hit by lightning. It got split in two. And then-blood gushed out of its roots."

"Blood?" Her gaze was sharp.

I nodded, feeling shivery and kind of sick, "Blood, a river of blood. And it split in two and started running over my feet, and then I yelled, Yuck," I trembled and couldn't help looking at my bare feet. Not bloody. Tan feet, purple painted toenails. Fine,

'A tree split by lightning," my grandmother mused, pouring hot water into a pot. The steamy, wet smell of herbs filled the room, and my shivering eased, "A river of blood from its roots. And the river split in two."

"Yeah" I said, holding my mug in my cold hands, inhaling the steam, "That pretty much sums it up, Man," I shook my head and sipped. "What?" I said, noticing that my grandmother was watching me.

"Its interesting," she said in that way that meant there were a thousand other words inside her that weren't coming out, "Interesting vision. Looks like copper's good for you. Well work on it again tomorrow."

"Not if I see you first." I muttered into my mug.

Thais