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The Child - Ten for Ted to turn around. “Keep your eyes closed,” Sydney directed. “Put your hand up to your forehead and try to clear your mind com- pletely. Shut out all thoughts, Ted, and concentrate. I’ve got something in my hand. Concentrate on getting an image of that. When something comes to mind, tell us what you think the item is.” A young man’s dignity is awkward and fragile sometimes, and Ted felt very silly, with his hand dramatically covering his eyes, but he obeyed Sydney’s instructions. “Tell us, Great Swami!” Bert joked, and everyone laughed, especially Ted. “Ignore them,” Sydney said, “and just focus on getting an image.” Ted squeezed his eyes shut and tried to blank out his thoughts. After a moment he said, “Well, it’s long and yel- low. Not too big.” He paused and then went on hesitantly. “T think, I think, it’s a pencil?” He opened his eyes and looked at Sydney’s outstretched hand. In it was a yellow pencil. His eyes widened in surprise, and then he grinned. “Wow, this is really fun!” he laughed, feeling a rush of excitement. The pit of his stomach winced as it did whenever he rode a roller coaster climbing to the top of the first deep, dizzying dive of speed. He could feel color and heat rising in his face. “Not bad,” Bert said. “Yeah,” Leanne echoed, “‘you’re a great guesser. Do you hire out for private parties?” Ted laughed again and then turned back to face the wall for a second challenge. Behind him, Leanne and Bert rum- maged around for an object. Leanne found a safety pin and handed it to Sydney. “Turn around, Ted,” Sydney said, “and focus on the image of the second item.” Ted pressed his hand to his forehead again and cleared his thoughts. Soon, another image began to appear, but it wasn’t as clearly obvious as the pencil had been. He sharp- ened his concentration and tentatively began to give a Masquerade of Angels 88 The Child - Ten description. Leanne, Sydney, and Bert sat forward. “Tt’s gray,” he began. “No, not gray, silver. Shiny silver, I think. A coin? No, not a coin. A paper clip? It’s about the size of a paper clip. You know, like a safety pin.” Ted opened his eyes, and when Sydney handed him the safety pin, he bowed his head in acknowledgement. This time, there wasn’t as much laughter from the others as before. Bert just stared at him open-mouthed. Ted was beginning to enjoy this little test less and less. The rush of excitement he felt when he identified the pencil now felt like a rush of something much less pleasant. This wasn’t the way the test was supposed to proceed. “Two guesses, and two correct answers,” Sydney finally said, breaking the silence. ‘That’s pretty amazing, Ted.” He looked at the young man before him as if scanning for signs of something that had been overlooked before. His close attention made Ted want to squirm. “Yeah, this is fun,” Ted lied, all his enthusiasm gone. “But it’s probably just beginner’s luck. I was just lucky.” “Let me choose the third item,” Bert said. He seemed to suspect that he was being tricked. Maybe Sydney and Leanne and Ted had all cooked this thing up, he wondered, and were trying to pull a joke on him. “Turn around, Ted,” he ordered, “and see if you can guess this one.” Bert made his selection, and when the chosen item was safely hidden in Sydney’s hand, he allowed Ted to turn back around. Eyes closed tight in concentration, Ted began to focus his inner vision, searching for an image. Almost immediately, he saw something. “Wait a minute, now,” he said, “I’m feeling like it’s round and small.” He made a circle with his fingers and showed them the size. “About like a quarter. Is it a quarter? No, no, it’s not a coin, I don’t think, because it’s sort of rough or jagged around the rim or edge. Like a bottle cap. A Coke bottle cap!” me - t ae ee ne Seas oe Cee 4 The image was crystal clear in Ted’s mind. When Sydney opened his fist and the bottle cap gleamed Masquerade of Angels 89