A Touch of Healing

The morning after Zachary walks inside the Imagination Station, his mother confronts Jason and Jack. Zachary has spent the night excited, sleepless, and sometimes crying. At physical therapy he refuses to cooperate, reasoning that exercises may never help him walk while the Station can let him walk whenever he wishes. Eileen believes Jason has offered false hope and encouraged her son to escape real life.

Jason argues that the experience may eventually motivate Zachary, but undermines Eileen by suggesting in front of the boy that he should enter the machine again. Jack takes Jason aside and reminds him that Whit's End supports parents rather than contradicting them before their children. He also warns that new technology must be tested carefully. Jason hears the criticism as fear and defends both his arcade games and the reprogrammed Station.

Cryin' Bryan Dern requests an interview about a machine that supposedly heals children. Jason tries to explain that it provides imagined experiences rather than physical cures, but the report spreads quickly. Families crowd Whit's End, hoping their children will be helped. Some succeed inside the adventure; others leave in tears because they cannot imagine a physical ability they have never known. Zachary forces his way toward the front and demands another turn. When Eileen arrives, he says he would rather live in make-believe than remain in his wheelchair. Jack firmly makes him obey his mother, and Zachary leaves declaring that he hates everyone.

Jason finally closes Whit's End and suspends the program for further testing. He acknowledges that he may have been wrong, though the damage cannot be undone. At home, Zachary refuses food and conversation. Jack visits and apologizes for threatening to carry him out. Zachary admits that he behaved badly but wishes he had never learned what walking in the Station felt like. The greatest experience of his life has made his real condition seem even harder.

Jack cannot promise that Zachary's legs will heal. Instead, he tells him about a deeper healing available to everyone through Jesus Christ. A person may have no visible disability and still need spiritual healing within. Zachary does not know how to receive it, so Jack offers to bring Eileen into the room and explain it to them together.

At the hospital, Mildred tells Connie and June that she is dying. Connie asks why her grandmother wanted prayer if nothing can stop it. Mildred explains that Connie is also praying for herself - for strength to accept whatever happens and follow God's will. Later Mildred slips into a coma as her heart suffers repeated small attacks.

Connie struggles because she has prayed faithfully for healing and sees no change. Jack gently suggests that death for a Christian may be another kind of healing, though the decision belongs to God. Prayer brings a person closer to God's mind and comfort even when the answer is not the one requested. Connie finally asks Jack for a hug and draws strength from the truths Whit had taught them both.

Mildred dies quickly and peacefully before Bill reaches her. June regrets that they were not beside the bed, but Connie accepts that her grandmother has gone to the better place she trusted. When her mother says they should go in and say goodbye, Connie answers, "How about see you later?"