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.My enemies are still out there, biding their time.The fact—and to me it is a fact and not a guess—adds to my guilt at having Teri and Matt in my life.Shanti and Lisa are different; they are already involved with IIC.They are safer with me than without me.But my daughter—I cannot help but call Teri that—and Matt would be more secure if they had never met me.Yet when I contemplate moving to another state and walking out of their lives, never seeing them again, I feel a terrible sadness.Plus—and I know it goes against all reason—I feel it would be a mistake.My intuition keeps telling me that I’ve met them for a purpose.Teri has to go through two preliminary races before she can compete for a place on the U.S.team.In those races something miraculous happens.She twice runs under 4:20.Afterward, excited, she gushes about how strong she feels.The press shares her enthusiasm.Her success in the opening rounds makes her the favorite to win the trials.But Matt is cautious.Indeed, his concern borders on suspicion.“She shouldn’t be running this fast,” he says when we’re alone the night before the final.“She’s burning herself out.”“She says she felt strong at the end of each race.”He shakes his head.“She shouldn’t have won the races.I told her to just take third and advance to the final.”“You know how tricky the fifteen-hundred-meter is, especially at the end.If she hung back, she might have gotten boxed in.Look at what happened to Sharp, the woman who beat her at the NCAA championships.She didn’t even make the final.”“Sharp had an off day.That can happen to anyone.”“Coach Tranton told Teri to stay near the front.”Matt looks doubtful.“Yeah, but he didn’t want her to go to the front and stay there the whole race.”“I’m surprised at your reaction.I would have thought you’d be more excited about her times.”He stares at me.“You don’t know her body like I do.Push her too far and it’ll backfire.”“She pushes herself, Matt.I have nothing to do with it.”“Sure,” he says, but he doesn’t sound convinced.Matt’s reaction puzzles me, and I’m tempted to peep inside his mind and see if there’s something else bothering him.But it goes against a vow of mine not to eavesdrop on the thoughts of those I care about.My attitude is somewhat superstitious, I know, but I see my telepathic ability as a gift that Krishna bestowed on me to keep me safe.The last thing I want to do is abuse it.Also, I know how disappointing it can be to gaze into another’s mind and discover they’re not as wonderful as they appear on the outside.I’m the first to admit I fantasize about Matt.I’d hate to ruin my dreams by putting his thoughts under a magnifying glass and discovering he’s really a shallow jerk.The same with Teri.The best gifts are those we leave wrapped.The final for the women’s 1500-meter arrives.The race is run in the cool of the evening.It’s the last race of the day, and the stadium is tense.No one appreciates track like the citizens of Eugene.It’s like they’ve never let go of their native son, Steve Prefontaine, who died having never won an Olympic gold medal, a sad fact I fear I might have had something to do with.In the early seventies, before the Munich Olympics, I was living in Oregon—where I later met Ray—and I happened to bump into Prefontaine when he was out for a ten-mile run.Since I had on shorts and tennis shoes, and had always admired the guy, I decided to run along beside him.At the time, I meant no harm.But what I didn’t realize was that Prefontaine was stunned at my ability to keep up with him.From my side, I was just getting in some exercise and saying hello, but he was trying to beat me.By the time I realized my mistake, he was gasping for air.Naturally, when I finally saw how weary he was, I feigned exhaustion and begged to stop.But it was too late—the damage had been done.Steve Prefontaine went off to the Olympics knowing that he had been beaten by a girl.I often worried if that’s why he tied up in the straightaway of his race and was passed by three people, finishing fourth without a medal.In the final, against Matt’s and Coach Tranton’s advice, Teri pushes to the front and sets a brutal pace.I understand what drives her.She’s feeling the fire of my blood.Yet it’s a fire she doesn’t know how to control, and I finally see that Matt’s fears are not unfounded.I have seldom shared my blood with mortals, and I’ve never done so to make someone a better athlete.Have I given her too much blood? Could she really burn herself out? She runs through the first lap in sixty seconds, faster than a world-record pace.I shout over the roar of the crowd.“Teri! Slow down!”It’s as if she hears me, which should be impossible.She turns in my direction.Our eyes seem to meet, and I try to convey to her my fear for her safety.Since I gave her the transfusion, I have felt closer to her.I should not be surprised.We no longer share just the same genes, but the same blood, too.In that instant I feel a psychic bond stretch between us, like a golden thread capable of conquering any distance.She suddenly slows down.Teri wins the race by a full second, two seconds shy of a world record.The crowd gives her a standing ovation as she runs a victory lap.There is no longer any question in the minds of the experts.She is now the favorite to win the gold medal at the Olympics.Afterward, when I hug her and congratulate her on making the team, I feel her flesh still shuddering from the effort she put it through.And I don’t know whether that means she needs more of my blood or less.TWELVEThe Olympics are two months away
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