preview, book 3, shaping

Mudiwa smiled and, looking into the camera again, she said: ‘With us now are two members of the Health and Care Team: Skye, head of the sub-team Care, and Tilly, head of the sub-team Sports and Martial Arts.’
A dark-blond woman with a hands-on air, and a blue-haired woman, muscly, tattooed and with a challenging smile stepped in front of the camera. Both were in their early forties.
‘Thank you for joining us,’ Mudiwa said.
‘Happy to,’ the blue-haired Tilly responded.
Mudiwa smiled. ‘Tilly, I heard that you and Skye are old friends.’
Skye and Tilly exchanged a smile, and Tilly said: ‘Yes. Skye nursed me back to health after an accident I had on a film set, and we became friends. There was just one catch, Skye lived in California, and I’m from Puerto Rico and usually travelled around the world. So we didn’t see much of each other — until this project came along.’
‘How did you two hear about the project?’ Mudiwa asked.
Skye replied. ‘Tom Holbon heard about me from a former patient. So out of the blue, Tom Holbon himself calls me and tells me about this idea and would I come to the initial meeting, like the next day, a Friday? I couldn’t make it. But the following Monday, I arrived and signed up.’
Tilly smiled. ‘By then, Skye had called me. I was in Romania on a big budget movie, training actors in the martial arts. For once it wasn’t fun. You get that. Some film teams are great, others— you witness every day that nothing fits, and people revert to just getting a job done. So Skye’s call was like an answer to my prayers. I packed my things and left. I didn’t know what to expect at Tom’s, but within days I was hooked. Don’t ask me why or what exactly got me because I don’t know. I think it’s this combination of fighting and creating, or rather of fighting by creating alternatives that make sense, and that without any indoctrination or enemy chanting.’
‘I know what you mean,’ Mudiwa said. ‘Are you two up for two questions about the project?’
‘Sure,’ Tilly and Skye said.
‘Thanks. You both head a team within the Health and Care Team. How many sub-teams does the Health and Care Team have?’
‘Oh,’ Skye said. ‘Let me see. There is the Neurology Team, obviously, since neurology is our town’s focus.’
Tilly nodded. ‘All other teams support the Neurology Team, but we also have our additional fields. Like, I work closely with Kim, head of the landscape architects. We develop the Challenge Garden together, and so far, we don’t know whether any of our neurological patients will be up for a challenge or for a stick fight. But that’s the beauty of our town. We will find out.’
Skye nodded. ‘My Care Team works closely with all teams whose patients are also likely to stay in a clinic for a time, like the Psychology Team, the new Dementia Team, the new Cardiology Team and the new Sanctuaries Team.’
Tilly nodded. ‘And then there are what we call the recovery and prevention teams. That would be the Brains Team, Therapies Team, my team, the Sports and Martial Arts Team, the new Mindfulness Team, the Wellness Team and the new Nutrition Team.’
‘We forgot someone, didn’t we?’ Skye asked. ‘Oh, yes. Our new Interdisciplinary Team. I’m very excited about that. And our Alternative Medicine Team. They can get a bit tense, but their input and their holistic approach is an eye-opener.’
‘True,’ Tilly said. ‘Kim and I work with them for the gardens, too, not just for the Challenge Garden, but for the other sports and yoga gardens. For example, the alternative medicine people create these amazing flower and herbs clusters. No idea whether those plant clusters will have an effect on us athletes, yogis and the rest of us, but I’m really curious about it.’
‘Oh,’ Skye uttered. ‘We nearly forgot our favourite team, the Healthcare Management Team.’
‘Oh, yeah! They are always good for a proper clash. But we’re doing fine. And I think, that’s it.’
Mudiwa smiled. ‘That’s a lot. How do you all work together?’
Tilly grinned. ‘One day at a time plus the occasional conflict management.’
Skye nodded. ‘There is a lot of pressure on our team because our town is about healing, and all other teams partly rely on us to do a good job. But by now, we take our clashes as opportunities to dig deeper, to find the roots of our problems and to find ways to do the best we can for our patients and for our town.’
Mudiwa smiled. ‘I’m impressed.’
‘Mission accomplished,’ Tilly said and bumped fists with Skye, adding: ‘What’s your other question?’
Mudiwa chuckled. ‘One of our viewers asks “Why is health such a central subject in your town? Isn’t health something everyone takes care of themselves?”’
Skye smiled. ‘That’s a good one.’
‘I had the same question when I arrived,’ Tilly remarked, ‘but I keep discovering how essential every part of the town is for our health. Sometimes it’s a security thing, like avoiding kerbs and everything that is difficult for a wheelchair user. Sometimes it’s the difference between a grey facade and a mural. Sometimes it’s about nurturing biodiversity and with that nurturing us. Sometimes it’s the difference between a filthy sports venue and a sports garden. Sometimes it’s about all the things we seem to have forgotten about, like clean air and water, healthy foods, people who are not frustrated, people to connect and talk to, and places where that can happen, jobs that leave us enough time to connect, unproblematic noise levels, an administration that doesn’t stress us. Skye, I don’t want to do all the talking.’
Skye chuckled. ‘Sometimes it’s the difference between a soulless street and an inviting community. Other times it’s about our clinics and how they will be integrated into the town so that the patients can benefit from the towners and vice versa. And there will be architecture that makes us look twice, gardens that make our eyes open wide and our minds relax, arts and education which offer new impulses whenever we’re up for it. And there will be ninjas of all sizes, chasing Tilly through the town.’
Tilly chuckled. ‘Yep! To conclude: Yes, it is the task of any decent town to provide the best possible environment for humans. And such an environment will make it easy for the individual to look after their health.’
‘There is one catch,’ Skye said.
‘I wanted to say that!’
‘I know. You get to explain it.’
Tilly rolled her eyes. ‘There’s one catch. We don’t know whether our ideas will work. That’s why our town is an experiment. We start with a set of ideas and then we test and adjust. And with a bit of luck, we will discover what we humans actually need. And with a bit of more luck, we will figure out how to make our town work.’
‘Wow,’ Mudiwa said. ‘I can only say: Thank you so much for the insights.’
‘No probs. It was fun,’ Tilly said.

You can pre-order book 3, shaping, on the Charlie Alice Raya website >