CHAPTER 9
Mid-fifties and in an attractive sky blue silk dress and delicate silver chain around her neck with a small cross attached to it, Madam Wu didn’t look that much different from many of the Western women in the audience in the hotel ballroom. She smiled warmly as she pointed to a woman at a table in the back of the room. The lady put down her coffee cup and pointed to herself mouthing: “You mean me?”
“That’s right, the lady in the white outfit with the silver hair. I can see three other people around you. Two women and a man. They all departed this life within the last six months or so and you are here in Hawaii for a kind of healing retreat.”
The sliver haired lady trembled.
“May I continue? I don’t want to be a source of pain to you, but rather a source of healing.”
“I suppose so,” the lady in the back responded hesitantly.
“Thank you. What I am trying to say is that although these dearly departed people have left this earth physically, they are still with you in spirit. Christians might call this the ‘Communion of Saints.’ We are all connected and will one day be together again fully. Do you understand any of this?”
“Yes,” the lady responded with greater energy and courage. “I am a Christian and believe that we will be together again one day. Thank you for reminding me that my mother, father, and brother, who were all killed in a terrible accident, are still with me in spirit. My grief causes me to forget that at times.”
“That’s true for most of us dear. God bless you.”
“There’s a gentleman in the room who recently lost a child of about five years of age. Would you be willing to stand up? If not, please do not do so.”
A sandy haired man in his early thirties at a table near the front of the rectangular room rose. He didn’t speak.
“May I ask if you just experienced such a loss sir?”
“Yes, my son died three months ago.”
“I am truly sorry for that. Will you tell me your name?”
“It’s Craig.”
“That makes it more personal. Thank you. Craig, some might say that your surfer looks give you away to me, but I will still say that you come from California. More importantly, you are here on business and feeling guilty because you are enjoying the ocean, sun, and hotel during your free time. Correct?”
“That is correct Madam Wu. My wife is at home mourning and I’m very conflicted about having even this little bit of happiness here after work.”
“So very human. Your little guy wants you and your wife to be happy and I believe that you will be again. Your son can never be replaced but peace can return. I’ll pray for that for you.”
Madam Wu struck a thoughtful pose for a minute. “Let’s see what else is touching my heart. Actually folks, I think some of you are wondering about what I do and where it comes from so I’ll tell you. I believe that any ability I have is a gift of the Holy Spirit so I always use it for good and never charge for any personal consultations.”
The woman was warm and very likeable. She made friends easily wherever she went and had a husband who adored her.
She became thoughtful once again. This time her serene countenance took on a look of fear, then pain. She mumbled something about an impending death and fell to the floor, her head thudding loudly on the planks of the wooden stage.
“It was a mild concussion but she will be alright Mister Wu,” the doctor explained. “Just keep her quiet and we will run some tests in the morning at the hospital. My greater concern is just why Madam Wu collapsed in the first place.”
“Why she was frightened of course,” her husband said.
“Apparently so, but what caused the fright?”
“My lovely wife is a very positive person but sometimes her gift gives her information that is not so positive. This time she picked up on an up-coming death. I have not been able to get more details from her and don’t want to risk upsetting her right now.”
“Good thinking sir. That can all be clarified later. See you in the morning.”
After the doctor left the hotel room, Mister Wu gently questioned his wife again. She was hesitant to discuss the matter further but encouraged her husband to take his usual nightly walk along the beach. He hesitated but she assured him that it would be best for both of them, a way to break the tension.
Mister Wu said that he would take a shorter walk than usual and pocketed his cell phone and placed Madam Wu’s cell phone on the night stand right next to her. When he returned ten minutes later--she was dead.
The same doctor returned, along with a dozen or so police officers and several emergency vehicles with flashing lights. They seemed to be attracting the attention of everyone they could.
The cause of death was obvious; there was a wound to her left temple.
Newspaper reports noted that the police were suspicious of Mister Wu, asking about his whereabouts during the time prior to his wife’s death. The alibi of a quiet and solitary walk along the beach seemed flimsy at best. He was asked not to leave the Island of Kauai for any reason. The man agreed.
Two suites down the hall “David the Illusionist” was preparing for his act, which alternated early and late evening time slots with Madam Wu’s. His phone rang. The management wanted David to do his act twice an evening until further notice due to the unfortunate death of Madam Wu.
“Very well,” he said with trembling voice when he heard the news. “I’ll do my best. I need to dust off a few extra illusions that I had not prepared to use on this trip and will need the use of the ballroom auditorium to practice in when no other functions are going on.”
“Whatever you need David,” replied the manager. “You will be rescuing us from disaster. Not only did we loose Madam Wu but the bad press and disrupted schedule is not good for business. Madam Wu’s death, certainly, is the prime concern here, however.”
“How did she die, may I ask?”
The manager became businesslike and actually evasive. “That is not entirely clear at this point. I’m sure Mr. Wu will release a statement at the proper time.”
After they hung up, David searched his mental files. Let’s see, shall I saw a woman in half? Maybe I’ll make someone levitate. Card tricks? I know; I’ll raise someone from the dead.
The next day he read and re-read the photocopy of the note found in his wife’s Bible the night before by the police. The newspapers knew that the police had Madam Wu’s original document, and that the authorities had provided Mr. Wu with a copy out of respect for his loss--and perhaps out of a desire to observe the widower’s reaction when they offered it to him.
My dearest Tian,
Now that things have calmed down a bit I want to share with you the fact that the reason I collapsed on stage this evening was because I had a premonition of a murder. A second wave of the premonition washed over me shortly after the first, and I realized that the one about to be murdered was me. I felt a third wave of the premonition stirring my heart but collapsed before I received the information that might very well save my life. If anything happens to me, please know that I love you very much and will be in touch with you from the other side, God permitting.
Your loving and grateful wife, Effie
His wife’s spiritual gift was very real. Many believed in her ability to read hearts and minds, some didn’t. It was much the same with the other person whom she loved, Jesus. Mister Wu was a devout Daoist. Much of his life was spent trying to live the principles of the great spiritual classic, Dao De Ching.
Much like the Gospels and other scriptural writings, it is not completely clear just who wrote down this Chinese classic. It is attributed to the Chinese philosopher Lao Tse, born around 604 B.C. Again, much like the Gospels, the Dao De Ching might well be the product of more than one author but in the spirit of Lao Tse.
The slim volume of eighty-one brief chapters is a type of manual for the practice of virtue and good living. Living in harmony with the cycles of life and nature is very much the goal of Daoists. Thus the practice of virtue and a life in harmony with nature, along with a strong belief that everything springs from and returns to the Dao, leads many to become monks and nuns in this tradition. Others live according to the Dao in whatever state of life they choose. Mr. Wu did this as a married man.
Scholars have translated the Dao De Ching many times over. At least one version of the Chinese spiritual classic juxtaposes its verses with Christian texts side by side in a single volume.
There are those who see a similarity between the primal chaos of the Dao, out of which everything else springs, and with the Rhuah or the breath of the creating God in the Book of Genesis. Still others compare the Dao with the Holy Spirit of the Christian tradition.
Many would hold that the Dao is less a person and more a creating force, whereas in the Judeo-Christian tradition, God the Creator and the Holy Spirit are Persons, as was the God-human Jesus. All of this is shrouded in mystery, but mystery is exactly what a mystic deals with and where that concept gets its name.
Mr. Wu was now dealing with life and death, creation and destruction on some level at least. Their marriage was based on mutual respect and inner freedom. Within this atmosphere, their spiritual paths were lived out and mutually supported.
Now everything was so very different.