The Unwanted Wife and Her Secret Twins (Mia and Kyle) novel Chapter 392

Chapter 392 Let go of the guilt

Mia’s POV

“How old are you?” Alexander asked suddenly.

“Very old. Ninety-two years.”

“That’s older than Mama’s grandma was when she died.”

“Yes. I am old as mountains, as they say. Though mountains are actually much older than me.”

“Why aren’t you dead yet?”

“Alexander!” I said, mortified.

But Dr. Norbu laughed. “It is a good question! Honest. Children should ask honest questions. Adults forget how.” He looked at Alexander seriously. “I am not dead yet because I am not finished learning. The universe is very patient with students who still have homework to do.”

“What homework?”

“Oh, many things. How to make perfect momos. How to pronounce English words without sounding like a yak is stuck in my throat. How to help people who are very sick and very scared.”

Ethan’s analytical mind clearly working. “You said Western medicine tries to stop the immune system. But stopping it completely would be bad too, right? Because then Kyle would get sick from regular germs.”

“Excellent thinking! Yes, exactly. The problem is balance. Too much immune system, it attacks the body. Too little immune system, other things attack the body. We need-how do you say-the Goldilocks amount. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right.”

“How do you make it just right?”

Dr. Norbu pulled out his notebook again, flipped through pages covered in a mixture of English, Tibetan script, and what looked like chemical formulas. “We use many things together. Not one magic bullet-Americans love the magic bullet, one pill that fixes everything-but many small arrows, all aimed at different targets.”

He cleared his throat and began listing, counting on his fingers. “First, we continue some of the Western medicines but at lower doses. The body has already learned to recognize them, so we keep them but reduce them. Like turning down the volume instead of switching off the music completely.” “Second, we add herbs. Not the herbs from the store in plastic bottles, but real herbs, prepared correctly. Third, we change the environment. The gut. If the gut is angry, the immune system is angry. Fourth-and this is important-we work with the nervous system. Stress chemicals, cortisol

and adrenaline, they make inflammation worse. We practice meditation, where you watch your thoughts like they are clouds passing in the sky.”

Madison raised her hand like she was in school. “Can clouds make you better?”

“Smart question. No, clouds cannot make you better. But learning to watch your thoughts instead of believing every thought you think-this can change how your brain talks to your body. And the brain and the immune system, they have a telephone connection. They are always talking to each other. If the brain is always yelling ‘DANGER! DANGER!’ then the immune system thinks it needs to fight all the time.”

“What about the inflammation that’s already present? The damage that’s already done?”Ethan asked.

“I cannot promise your daddy will live. I can only promise I will try my best to give his body the conditions it needs to heal itself, if healing is possible.”

The room fell silent again.

Ethan tugged on Dr. Norbu’s sleeve. “Do you think Kyle will get better?”

I found myself nodding before I’d consciously decided to trust him.

“Good. Tomorrow at 8 AM I will return.”

“Okay,” I said quietly.

He smiled, that warm sunrise smile. “It is good to doubt. Doubt means you love someone enough to be afraid of losing them. This is the right kind of doubt. Better than the false confidence that pretends certainty when certainty does not exist.”

At the door, he paused one more time. “Oh. One more thing. Mr. Kyle, you must stop feeling guilty.”

Kyle’s breath caught. “What?”

“Guilt. It sits on your chest like a fat cat, making it hard to breathe. I can see it from here. You feel guilty for getting sick. Let go of the guilt. Keep the love. Throw away the guilt.”

Before Kyle could respond, Dr. Norbu was gone, his burgundy robes disappearing around the corner.

“He was weird,” Alexander announced.

“Very weird,” Ethan agreed.

“I liked him,” Madison said softly, still holding her stone.