Soulshine

by J W Rocque

  I hope that this letter finds you in good spirits and that Michelle is by your side as you read it. If you hate me, I fully understand. But please believe that I have loved… and will always love… her dearly. I am saddened that I traversed the earth for too many years before finding what now seems like a fleeting moment of joy with the one that was waiting for me at the end of life’s road. Please hug her for me and be proud that you raised someone worthy of perpetual youth, vitality and soulshine.

  Yours truly, Evan Troy Michelle left the post office after placing the money and the bottle in her luggage. She still held the note in her hand as if she were keeping a part of Evan with her. She could not stop thinking about how he continued to provide for her, and for a while forgot that the provision would eventually run out. She looked toward the direction of Grove Street and decided to venture only as far as Cacharelli"s Sundry Shoppe, which was situated a few blocks before the street she grew up on. As she approached the store, she noticed that the sign had changed, indicating new ownership. She peered in the big glass window and was saddened that the counter and soda fountain were gone. The store had become a modern pharmacy. Its charm and all the memories of the place when she used to hurry to meet Evan were gone with it.

  The bus to Providence pulled along the curb and she boarded it. Within a couple of hours, she was at the airport looking at the rolling electronic list displaying destinations of upcoming flights. San Francisco attracted her, and seeing Sunbeam and Nova again would be nice, but it seemed to offer only the promise of reliving a time with Evan that will never happen again. Evan always said that he would show me Europe. I looked so forward to that. She fought back the tears. We’ll never do it now.

  “Can I help you, Miss?” The pleasant sound of the ticket woman behind the counter disturbed Michelle"s daydream.

  “Yes… I"d like a one-way ticket to San Francisco, I guess.”

  “That"s a one-way ticket to San Francisco?”

  Michelle looked up again at the new flights as they posted on the electronic board. “There"s a flight to Paris in six hours? Is there an open seat on thatflight?”

  The ticket woman looked at her computer screen. “Yes, there is. I guess you don"t have a specific destination in mind, do you?”

  “I do now,” said Michelle. “I"d like a ticket to Paris, please.”

  Michelle bought the ticket. Within hours, she was airborne, continuing on in Evan"s memory. She would see the sights that he described to her in detail and somehow try to feel as though he were with her.

  Epilogue

  April 29, 2004 “Careful, Evan. This is the first time you try putting that much pressure on theleg in over twenty years,” said Oliver as he caught Evan walking on his own without the aid of a crutch inside the Brother"s Keepers Hermitage.

  “Well, I do recall you telling me that growing the leg could take months and possibly years. I wish I knew that it was going to be twenty years. Today doctors are attaching prosthetic legs. I could have opted for that.”

  “Evan… you have a new leg of flesh and bone. Wasn"t it worth the wait?”

  “I just want to find her.”

  “Michelle Fleming?”

  “No… Auntie Blue Jean!” Evan replied sarcastically. “Of course I want to find Michelle.”

  “Evan… you aged quite a bit as your body started to die. You look too old for her now. Would you expect her to recognize you… or even want to be with you?”

  Evan looked at himself in the mirror on the wall. By his estimate, he appeared to be a man in his early forties. “I am a far cry from what I was, but at least I"m still somewhat young… and hopefully virile. Today is her fiftieth birthday. If only I could take her anywhere she wanted to go… surprise her.”

  “Perhaps she took you up on your suggestion to get the residue of the elixir analyzed, create some more and find someone else to share it with.”

  “I hope I find her before that ever happens… but it probably did by now.”

  “Help us in our crusade to heal others, Evan. It"s very rewarding and good for the soul. Bryan is now living out his last years in the warmth of Florida. Jean is back at Ottawa General Hospital. We want to keep you with us. Where will we ever find anothercolleague of Gerasimos?”

  “You don"t need me, Oliver. Let me try to find Michelle. We have the internet now. I can search for her there.”

  “We tried that, Evan. She is obviously, and as expectedly, keeping a low profile… much like you would.”

  “I"d plaster my name and face all over the internet if I believed she would find me.”

  “But she"s not looking for you, Evan. She thinks you"re dead.”

  “Which is why I must find her.”

  “We tried for years, Evan. I had hoped to be able to help her with her lengthy pregnancy… as well as have that elixir residue analyzed. We had to give up on that. You need to let go, too, Evan. Perhaps we"ll someday stumble upon her like we did with you.”

  “How"s the baby, doctor?”

  “Just fine, Ms. Fleming. You"re about six weeks along. The heartbeat is strong.”

  “When will I start to show?”

  “Typically between sixteen and twenty weeks. You"re

  rather petite, which may cause you to start showing early. Then again, your body is firm, which indicates that you may show later. It"s not possible to tell at this time.”

  Michelle was glad that it would be many years before the baby showed, but she also wished that she could just have the baby and be done with it… especially since she didn"t have Evan with her to share the experience. “Thank you, doctor.”

  “Before you leave, please make another appointment for next month. After twenty weeks into the pregnancy, you should come in weekly. I"ll work out a schedule with you.”

  “That"s okay, doctor. I"m… moving out of the area next week.”

  “I suggest you find a new obstetrician as soon as you are able.”

  “Yes, doctor… and thank you again.”

  As Michelleleft the doctor"s office, Philippe was inside the waiting room. “Michelle! Where have you been?” She was stunned to see him. She had met Philippe over a year ago and they had been dating ever since. Philippe was a charming gentleman, possibly a few years shy of thirty, and she enjoyed his company. She felt it nice to meet a charming young French man who spoke fluent English. Michelle liked living in Paris, but she had been recently considering resuming her slow tour of Europe after spending twenty years in France. She sensed that Philippe"s interest in her was getting stronger, and though she had now lived fifty years, she still felt odd being with a man who looked at least twice her perceived age. She had become a mature woman quite adept at taking care of herself while obtaining the wiles necessary for her survival.

  “Philippe… what a surprise to see you here.”

  “I thought I saw you enter the building. What brings you to the medical building?”

  Michelle struggled to stuff a slip of paper in her purse. “Just… a routine examination.”

  “Michelle… did that paper say „Prenatal Care" on it?”

  “Um… yes, Philippe. It did.”

  “Are you… pregnant?”

  “Yes, Philippe. I am… about six weeks along.”

  “Who… who"s the father, if I may inquire?”

  “I… was going to tell you. I… was just waiting for the right time. The father… is someone that I am in love with.”

  “Do I know him?”

  “No… you don"t.”

  “I"m… glad for you. It"s just that… I enjoyed our time together. You must have gotten pregnant while we were dating. Thatdoesn"t seemlike something a lovely girl like you would do.”

  “I"m sorry, Philippe. My… fiancé is in another part of Europe. I plan on going there to be with him.”

  “I will miss you.”

  “I"ll miss you too, Philippe.”

  “May I buy you dinner before you leave?”

  Michelle wanted to leave but did not want to hurt
Philippe any more than she already had. “Sure you can. You"re a good friend. Thanks for being so understanding.”

  They went to a restaurant across the street from the medical building, and Philippe asked for a table. When Michelle got up to go to the ladies" room, he rummaged through her purse, pausing to look at the prenatal care form before discovering the small bottle wrapped in a handkerchief at the bottom of the purse. He gently removed the bottle and placed it in his suit coat pocket. When Michelle returned, he smiled at her. “Michelle… is there anything I can say to make you stay here with me?”

  “I"m afraid not, Philippe. After all… I am pregnant with another man"s child.”

  “That does not bother me, Michelle. I… love you.”

  Michelle blushed. “I really should be going. Do you mind if I skip dinner, Philippe?”

  “Am I scaring you away, Michelle?”

  “In a way… yes. It"s just so awkward. My fiancé is waiting for me.”

  “Will you at least tell me where you will be going?”

  “It"s probably best that I do not tell you.”

  “But I want to keep in touch… in the event that things do not work out with your fiancé.”

  “How about if I call you?”

  “If that"s how it must be… but something tells me that you are not meeting anyone. There is no fiancé, is there?”

  Michelle became nervous. “I have to go. Goodbye, Philippe.”

  “Goodbye, Michelle. Please… keep in touch.” As Michelle left the restaurant, Philippe pulled out his cell phone and made a call.

  “You have a phone call, Oliver,” said Timothy as he poked his head into the room where Oliver and Evan were talking. “Excuse me, Evan,” said Oliver. “I have a phone call to take.” Oliver went to his office to take the call. “Hello?”

  “Oliver… it"s Philippe.”

  “Well, hello, Mr. Ducharme. I"m rather surprised to hear from you. The last time we spoke… possibly a year ago by my estimation… you thought you may have located the girl we have been seeking. Since then, you have returned none of my calls. So tell me… whatever happened with that lead?”

  “What happened, Oliver… is that I fell in love with her. She is the loveliest thing I have ever laid my eyes on. She makes herself up to look older, but the makeup still makes her look no older than sixteen. Yet there"s something about her that… glows like a woman. I have been seeing her for the past year.But yes… her name is the same as the one you seek and the description you provided me seems to match.”

  “It sounds like you got to know her well. Did you find out anything aboutthe bottle with the residue of elixir in it?”

  “The bottle? Um… no… I have not. Listen… I think it best that I stop working for you, Oliver. As I have told you… I love Michelle, and I am not willing to have her brought to New Brunswick.”

  “You will be greatly rewarded, Philippe.”

  “Does my reward have anything to do with the contents of that bottle, Oliver?”

  “Your reward could be monetary… or it could possibly be derived from the bottle.That would be your choice… but I will not divulge the nature of the bottle until Michelle is under our care.”

  Philippe paused, knowing that he was holding the trump card.“I"ll make a deal with you, Oliver. If you tell me what is so important about this bottle, I will consider whether or not it is worth… stealing it from her.”

  Oliver hesitated. “Philippe… if you help us get that bottle so we can analyze it, I can assure you that if we are successful in reproducing the contents in a greater quantity… you will have the ability to live thousands of years… as we have. How does that sound to you?”

  “How do I know that you can make such a promise?”

  “Because that is the sameelixir that is inside the girl… and is causing her to be aging slowly enough to have a fetus that appears to be six weeks old… even though she conceived thirty- two years ago.”

  Philippe pulled out the bottle from his suit coat and examined it. “Fascinating story, Oliver. You expect me to believe that? Yet somehow you doknow that she is six weeks pregnant.”

  “Correction… she appears to be six weeks pregnant. The aging process of her baby is also affected by the elixir.”

  “Then I was correct when I surmised that there is no fiancé that is supposedly the father of this child.”

  “The father… exists… and has existed for many centuries. He required our medical attention. Another purpose of bringing Michelle here is to reunite them as a family… though that is secondary to obtaining the elixir and giving her proper treatment for her child.”

  “Hmm… perhaps I should seek this bottle and have it analyzed myself.”

  “That would not be wise, Philippe. We need to make sure that it does not fall into the wrong hands.”

  “Oliver… as I said… I do not have the bottle… but I am captivated by that girl so much that it does seem like a wonderful fantasy to think that I could spend forever with her and make passionate love to her every day for eternity.”

  “Philippe… tell me your whereabouts. We need to convince her to come to New Brunswick.”

  “Sorry, Oliver. You cannot stand in the way of love. Don"t bother calling me. I"ll call youif I need you.” Philippe hung up the phone and left before the waitress came to the table to take his order. He got into his car and proceeded to the University of Paris so he could deliver the bottle to the College of Pharmacy"s laboratory for examination of its contents.

  “Oliver!”

  Oliver was still so stunned that Philippe had abruptly hung up on him that he did not answer Timothy immediately. “Timothy… I have located Michelle Fleming… or at least her most recent whereabouts. I"m sending you and Christopher to Paris. Perhaps we can summon Jean Grady from Ottawa to help, provided she"s still willing to help us at her advanced age. After all, she knows what the girl looks like. Whatever you do… I think it"s best that we don"t tell Evan about it.”

  “I… don"t think that there will be a problem with Evan overhearing anything, Oliver.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “He"s… gone.”

  “Gone? Where?”

  “He wanted to find Michelle. After all these years that we were unsuccessful in locating her, and given the fact that Evan is completely healed, I saw no reason not to provide him with one of our custom-made passports and some funds to help him on his quest.”

  “Did he say where he was going?”

  “Back to the States… to Riverside.”

  “That"s just as well, I suppose. We need to find her over in Europe, and Evan may resist us from getting the elixir if he knows where she is.”

  April 30, 2004 Evan held so tightly onto the arm rests of his seat that his knuckles turned white. “Stewardess! What"s happening?”

  “It"s just a little turbulence,” replied the stewardess as she turned to look at Evan. “It"s quite normal.” She noticed that Evan was uncharacteristically nervous on an airplane for someone perceived to be in his middle years. “Is this your first flight, by any chance?”

  Evan nodded. “Yes, I… I always avoided airplanes… until now. I neededto get somewhere fast.”

  “Well,” smiled the stewardess. “This is the way to go if you want to get there in a hurry. If there"s anything I can get you… water… a pillow… let me know.”

  “Thanks, Miss. It"s not a long flight to Providence, is it?”

  “No… it will only take another houror so.”

  “Good.” After his near-death and rapid-aging experience, Evan decided to throw caution to the wind, no longer worrying about preserving his long life after witnessing how fast he could lose it. After Timothy set him up with the passport and some money, Evan approached Christopher and talked him into providing him with one of the many charge cards Oliver had obtained for the brothers to carry with them. Once a card is assigned to a brother, Christopher tracks the activity to make sure none of them ever exceeds their monthly spending limit. In
Evan"s case, Christopher agreed to let Evan take some additional liberties in his quest to find Michelle. Good old Christopher. It looks like I’ve found that personal forger that I had always wanted to find for Michelle and me. He really is a brother’s keeper. Now if only I can find Michelle.

  Philippe returned to the laboratory twenty-four hours after delivering the bottle. “Guillaume, do you have the results?”

  Guillaume handed him the composition form and a beaker with some of the newly manufactured elixir. “Here you are, Philippe. It has a uniquebreakdown… mostly herbal.”

  Philippe perused the document and grinned. “Are you able to produce some more… maybe a few liters?”

  “Certainly I can. The exact same proportional mixture will be a bit tricky, but it should not pose a problem. I just cannot produce a large amount of it in a short time like I produced this small sample. I can possibly mix a few liters within the next few weeks. I do have other work to do. I trust that you will be compensating me well for this?”

  “Yes, please, it must be the exact same mixture. And you will be compensated very well, I assure you.”

  “May I ask exactly where you found this concoction… and what it could possibly beused for? Is it medicinal?”

  Philippe smiled. “In a way... yes. I bought a unique mixture of an herbal remedy from a shop in Belgium to treat a rare condition that plagues me. The problem was that I foolishly never noticed that there was no label listing the ingredients, and the shop is far away. I do recall the person who sold me the remedy saying that many people would be highly allergic to the contents, but I was willing to take that chance. You must make certain that whatever you produce, you give to me… and I require plenty of it. I would feel responsible if someone got deathly ill from taking any of it, so make sure you give all you can produce to me. Am I clear on that point?” As Guillaume wrote a note for himself, Philippe could only think about the power that was soon to be in his possession. With plenty in reserve, imagine the possibilities.