The Empath Cycle: 1949 In The Beginning

Martine is running the cross-country trail on the Mount Royal. She likes running. She gets up early every morning to run at least a mile or three, depending on the time she has available, even on days such as these when she has this last special class. Doctor Grisholm insists that all the personnel in her project do regular physical exercise. She has given them the choice between running, muscular training or one of the sports available at the university such as volleyball or badminton.

Usually they run around the football field or on the indoor running track when the weather is inclement, but today, they have gone off campus because the weather is ideal for cross-country. Not too hot, not too cold, with a light breeze to cool their sweating bodies.

Martine remembers the day at the beginning of this semester when she had overtaken the laggards group for the second time. Though she has tried often enough since then, she has never been able to understand what had come over her, but when she passed Catherine, she gave her a slap on the ass and shouted, "Come on, you can run faster than these bozos." When her brain caught up with her mouth, she was mortified and she started crying as she apologized profusely. When Catherine tried to diffuse the situation by laughing as she lifted her breasts in both hands and said, "When you have teats like these, if you run too hard, you risk getting two black eyes." Martine cried harder and ran off the field to the locker room where she sat for half an hour sobbing.

The next day was yoga day, she came in early so she wouldn't be in the locker room when the other students arrived. When she saw where Catherine put her mat, she went over and, eyes on the ground, silently gave her a pamphlet from the Athletic department saying they were looking for women to test sports brassieres and went to put her mat as far as she could from Catherine. She did the same thing at every class. She did her meditation by herself in the far corner of the room. She did not pass the slower runners' group again, but stayed across the field from them. When she had to go by Catherine, she kept her eyes on the ground and wouldn't speak to her.

She was unhappy and her grades suffered from it. This went on for three weeks until one day she again ran with her eyes to the ground while keeping a sidelong watch for the slower group across the field to make sure she didn't catch up to them inadvertently. All of a sudden, she felt a stinging slap on her ass and heard "Now who's the bozo?" She looked up to see Catherine leave her quickly behind. Stunned, she lost her rhythm and stumbled for a few steps. Then a great smile lit her face and she picked up the pace until she was running abreast of Catherine who said, "I've missed you. First to overtake the laggards gets a free pass to slap the biggest ass!" and sprinted ahead.

Today, they are running together as always. They pass each other as the terrain permits and they laugh. Martine is happy.

Martine is on the auditorium stage, receiving her diploma. The dean congratulates her on having achieved the highest overall marks in her class. He also remarks on the extra credits she earned in Psychology and Physical Therapy. She blushes as she is not used to such public praise.

Later, when her parents have gone to get the pick-up truck to take her out for a celebratory diner, she sees Doctor Grisholm, Sarah as she insists everyone call her, walk toward her. She is accompanied by a classy older woman whom she introduces as Doctor Karen Jackson, Professor in Clinical Psychology and her mentor.

Martine is impressed by their presence at her graduation. She asks if she has passed her classes for the special project as she has never received a grade. Sarah tells her that there are no grades in those classes. Martine is confused. Doctor Jackson tells her that she has a week's vacation and that she starts working at a downtown hospital the following Monday, but she must report sometime in the previous week to fill out the required paperwork with Human Resources. She also tells her that her working hours have been arranged so she could continue her special classes. They congratulate her on her diploma and leave.

Martine watches them walk away and wonders if Catherine will still be taking those classes.

Martine steps out the door of the hospital. Her shoulders are slumped. She drags her feet. She is bushed. She has just come off yet another double shift and she has only eight hours before she has to be back. She leans against the lamp post as she waits for the bus home where she will get a quick supper, a quick bath and as many hours of sleep as she can get. The strain of the long hours is showing. She has circles under her eyes, she rarely ever goes running in the morning anymore, she is listless though she forces herself to perk up when on the job. The only bright moment in her day is the special classes.

She is almost asleep on her feet when a gentle hand takes her arm and guides her. "Your bus is here." 'Must be one of the other regular passengers who saw I was going to miss my bus home.' She thinks. But the hand stays at her elbow as she is guided to a seat. It is a mark of her exhaustion that she doesn't look up to the Good Samaritan and only mumbles a 'thank you' as she slumps in her seat. She is fast asleep before the next stop. She is vaguely aware that the same hand guides her off the bus and up to her apartment. When gently asked, she fumbles in her purse and hands over her keys.

She wakes up in her bed. The sun shining through her window has woken her. She looks at her alarm clock to see if she still has a few minutes more to sleep and jumps out of bed with a cry of dismay. She is late for work. How could this have happened? She never forgets to set her alarm. She runs to the bathroom and sits on the toilet before she realizes that she is completely naked. She is confused. She never sleeps in the nude. Most of the time she wears an over-large old t-shirt, but she always wears undies. She must have been more tired that she had thought.

She rushes through her morning routine and is looking for her keys. She sees them on the kitchen table over a folded piece of paper. Bemused, she picks up the keys and the paper. She unfolds it. She has to read it twice before the meaning of the words sets in. 'Good morning, you can go back to bed for as long as you like. You have the next two days off. Yesterday was your last double shift. You are exempted from t'ai chi today, but I will be over in late afternoon for a session of meditation. After which, I will expect a light, but filling supper. Signed C. PS: I don't know if you prefer red or white wine so I will bring one of each.'

Martine has slept the morning away. She has just finished a late breakfast when there is a discreet knock at the door, as if the visitor did not want to wake her if she was still asleep. She opens the door and there is Doct... Sarah. She almost closes the door back as she tries to cover herself, afraid that her undies are showing below the hem of her large t-shirt. Sarah laughs and tells her not to worry about such a detail and that she herself is usually naked around her home.

Martine blushes as she lets her in. She shuts the door before running to her room where she puts on a pair of pants. When she comes out of her bedroom, Sarah is pouring herself a cup of coffee from the pot on the stove. She asks where she keeps her sugar. Then they sit at the table.

Sarah tells her that Catherine had come to her home yesterday evening and that she was furious. Sarah tells her that she had been afraid Catherine may have caused some traffic accident on her way there, but that she has listened to the news this morning and that there was nothing out of the ordinary. She says that she had to give her one of her special massages so she could calm down enough to tell her what had gotten her so riled up.

Sarah tells her that she herself had gotten hopping mad when Catherine told her why she was so angry. That they had to give each other one of those special massages to calm themselves enough so they could sleep.

She says that she had called Dr. Jackson this morning and that they had gone to the hospital to 'kick the Director's ass.' She says they told him they had an agreement and that he couldn't burn out one of their most promising girls as he did his other nurses. To which he answered that he couldn't give preferential treatment to young nurses who 'couldn't hack it', that it would create jealousies and undermine staff morale. Sarah tells her that Dr. Jackson had gotten very angry and told him that effective immediately every one of their 'girls' were pulled out of his hospital and that he could kiss his extra grant from the university goodbye.

Martine is confused. The only clear thing that stands out is that she is out of a job. How will she pay her rent? What about food? She gets teary-eyed as she contemplates a bleak future indeed, but Sarah tells her that she starts next Monday at the external clinic at the university on a 8 to 6 shift and that since the special classes are at the university or nearby, it will make it easier for her and their other 'girls' and here is her full last paycheck from the hospital. She says that they had refused to leave before they had gotten them for all of their 'girls'. Then Sarah has to leave because she has to go see the other 'girls' and she had been the first she had come to see. She tells her to keep her spirits up and that there was only another six months to go in the first part of her apprenticeship.

Martine sits on her couch, dazed by the whirlwind visit. She looks at the check in her hand and decides to go shopping for fresh food for her guest.

Catherine starts to undress for their meditation session but she did not bring her sports bag with her usual lightweight robe. Martine tells her that one of hers might fit her, but that she doubts it. She replies that they don't need the clothing because she is going to show her a new meditation technique. She asks Martine if she is going to go all prude on her after they had been naked in front of each other so often in the last few years.

Martine says no, of course not, but that she is afraid to be distracted and not be able to attain their usual level of meditation because Catherine is the most beautiful woman she has ever seen. Catherine puts a hand on Martine's cheek, smiles and tells her that she is sweet. Then she continues disrobing telling her to do the same. She says they close their eyes anyway when they meditate but that she will show her a way to make sure she doesn't cheat and peek.

When they are naked, she takes Martine's hand and pulls her to her bedroom. When she sees where they are going. Martine wants to hold back because she says she is not like that and that she only loves men. Catherine looks at her with an expression of surprise and asks her what she is talking about. Martine stammers, afraid she has offended her friend. Catherine tells her she will teach her another technique and that it worked better if they were comfortable, so Martine follows her.

They sit on the bed. Martine assumes the lotus position, but Catherine tells her that it is not comfortable enough. But that she must first explain the new technique and that it will do for now. She goes on to ask Martine pointed questions about the three different special classes. As she answers, she begins to get a glimmer of where Catherine is guiding her.

A few minutes later, Catherine concludes by saying if she combines the centering exercises of the meditation class with the breathing and awareness exercises of the t'ai chi class and the reaching for permanent peace of the yoga class, she will reach a higher level of meditation than any other student. She tells Martine that the students that do not make the connection by themselves will be taught this new technique when they begin the second part of their apprenticeship within the special project. She tells her that she will be six months ahead of the class. Martine is happy that her friend would help her so.

Then, Catherine props some pillows against the headboard of the bed and sits with her back comfortably against them. She spreads her legs apart and asks Martine to sit between them with her back to her. She leans forward and snaps her finger before Martine's face who starts and is mortified to realize she had been staring at Catherine's close trimmed vulva. She lowers her eyes and is about to dissolve in tears when Catherine gently puts a hand under her chin and lifts her head so she can look into her eyes. She softly says that a woman's body is a beautiful thing and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with looking at one. She says that she often looks at Martine's naked body and that she has done so again yesterday when she put her to bed. She says that if Martine wants to look at her body, she can do it whenever she wants and that it will make happy to know that her friend finds her beautiful and wants to look at her body. Martine is unsure of her feelings about this but she tells Catherine that she can look at her body when she wants too.

When Martine leans against Catherine, she is uneasy because she feels the soft breasts against her back so she squirms a little, but Catherine tells her to stop because she is causing her to be distracted, so she stops, but now there are hard nipples poking at her. She wants to pull back, but before she can do so, her friend takes Martine's hands and crosses her arms against her chest and puts them square on her own breasts saying that it will help her be aware of her breathing. Martine is dubious about the idea because she can feel her nipples harden under her palms.

Catherine crosses her arms over Martine's chest and puts her hands on Martine's. She tells her that they should breathe together as in the normal meditation exercises, but to take slightly deeper breath. She says that she would lead the respiration cadence and that Martine should follow her rhythm. Unfortunately, when she begins, Patricia's nipples trace lines of heat at her back. Martine is quite certain she will never be able to center herself and meditate.

Martine becomes aware that hands are gently squeezing hers and that she is in turn squeezing her own breasts producing sweet sensations in them which in turn seem to echo deep within her vagina. She also becomes aware of a gentle, she would almost say loving, voice that calls to her, telling her that is has been long enough for a first time and that she must come back.

Has she fallen asleep? She feels refreshed as if she had just woken from a full night's sleep. She looks at her clock and sees that a full hour has passed. Languidly, she looks over her shoulder to ask Catherine if she has slept but finds her gaze captured by the deep brown pools. When a pair of moist full lips touch her own lightly just long enough to communicate that the gesture is deliberate but not enough to be threatening in any way, Martine feels this is the most natural gesture in the world between friends.

When the lips retreat just enough to free her own she asks Catherine if she has slept. When the answer is no, Martine says that she has lost an hour of her life then and wonders how it is possible. Her meditation partner tells her that she had accomplished in one fell swoop what others will take months if not years to do, if they ever did, and that she should be very proud of herself.

Martine doesn't want to disconnect from the deep brown eyes, but her body makes ever increasingly insistent demands upon her attention. Regretfully, she must break away her gaze and attend to them. As she gets up, she realizes that her sex is leaking an excess of moisture down her thighs and that she can smell her own excitation as she walks away. Once her needs attended to, she uses a washcloth to clean herself, hoping that her friend has not noticed her predicament. 'What would she think of me?' She wonders, but, for some reason, there does not seem to be anxiety attached to the question.

When she comes out of the bathroom, Catherine is there waiting her turn at the facilities. "Oh you should have knocked or called out, I would have hurried." She says.

"I am not in such a rush that a minute or two either way makes much of a difference." Catherine answers.

As they cross path, their hands touch lightly. Martine finds that she has hesitated briefly at the contact. As if she almost wanted to take Catherine's in her own. But, surely, that is a silly conception.

When Catherine comes back to the bedroom, she sees that Martine has laid out their clothes and is ready to put hers on. She asks her if she would mind terribly if she requested of her to stay in the nude as she would dearly love the opportunity to gaze at her beautiful body. Martine answers coquettishly that she would gladly accede if Catherine would in turn please allow her the same privilege. Both women giggle as they arrive at a mutually agreeable resolution to the desires.

While Martine prepares a succulent salad with a light vinaigrette made from a family recipe and strips of roasted chicken, Catherine openly admires her feminine attributes and forms and amicably comments on them. Martine returns the compliments each too brief time Catherine gets up for a real or imaginary forgotten implement that they simply must have in order to continue their repast until she finally asks that she stand before her so she can more fully admire her. And Catherine does just that and, in her desire to be accommodating, she slowly spins on her feet. When her back is turned, Martine discreetly leans forward a bit to breathe in a whiff of her personal scent, a mixture of sweet feminine sweat, delicate musk and a touch of a lovely fragrance reminiscent of jasmine and lavender.

Once they are retired to the tiny living room where they listen to soft music, sipping from glasses of chilled white wine, Martine asks more details on their accomplishments in their earlier exercises. Catherine explains that they have achieved a definite rapport as they entered and maintained a shared light trance. She goes on to specify that the latter part is the most difficult because it can only be done after long hours of practice in the technique. "You are definitely a natural at this. If you are agreeable, I propose we meet regularly to improve on our achievements. When we achieve sufficient mastery, we could attain this trance simply by holding hands and looking into each other's eyes while we do the deep breathing."

Martine thinks about this promised goal. Much as she would find real pleasure in sharing such a lofty accomplishment with her friend, she would miss the close contact of this first success. "I will do my very best so we can attain whichever goal is within our reach as we extend our capabilities to their utmost. I promise. How often do you propose we meet?"

"Good for you. I suggest we meet once a day for the next three days since you are off-duty and we can extend our exercises over the week-end or not if you have previous engagements. Further down the road, it would depend on the constraints of our individual schedules."

"I would love very much to go on with your suggested short term schedule. As for the week-end, I am completely available to you. The last man in my life could not abide by my rigorous work schedule. I suppose he prefers a companion who is more available to satisfy his own needs."