Soulshine (20 page)

The staff working at Fletcher University Hospital urged Michelle to rest in one of the partitioned areas in the trauma unit. One of the nurses who witnessed the scene earlier in the morning looked in on her after she finally managed to fall asleep.

“Hi, Mabel. How"s she doing?” asked a colleague. “She"s finally getting some much needed rest. Poor thing.” “Exactly what happened?”
“Well, Connie… she just went hysterical after a man fired a

bullet into an empty ambulance this morning.”
“An empty ambulance?”
“Yes… well, there was a gurney covered with dust or

“So he really did fire the gun, but there was no one in the ambulance? Was anyone hurt?”
“Apparently not. The man took dead aim at the gurney. What"s puzzling is that this girl was a passenger in the ambulance that was supposedly carrying her husband.”
“So where"s the husband then?”
“This girl seems to think that the ashes are his remains. Now I would think that she"s crazy, but why would an ambulatory service have her riding in the ambulance if they weren"t carrying her husband? Besides, why would the ambulatory service deliver a pile of ashes to the hospital?”
“Mabel, I saw that girl afterwards when she came inside. She was definitely hysterical. Something is going on. Has anyone tried to contact this husband?”
“Oh Connie, look at her. She can"t be any older than an early teenager. Do you really think she has a husband? She"s not from around here. She"s American.”
“So do you think she"s delusional?”
“We"re going to have one of the psychologists talk to her after she gets her rest. If she
is
delusional, then she somehow found an ambulatory service to help play out her delusions.”
“Did anyone talk to the driver and paramedic?”
“Get this, Connie. While we were busy trying to calm the girl down and the man was being taken into custody, they drove off. None of the ambulatory companies we use have any record of a delivery to our hospital today. So the driver and paramedic are nowhere to be questioned.”
Stuart Williams stopped by where Mabel and Connie were talking. “Mr. Williams,” said Mabel, “were you able to find out anything about the ashes and the ambulance personnel?”
“I spoke with the administrator and the doctors of the hospital the ambulance came from.” Stuart paused. “As far as the ashes are concerned… believe it or not… it"s entirely possible that the man being transported may have been shot and subsequently turned to ashes.”
“Oh, Mr. Williams. That"s… impossible.”
“Ladies… the reason the patient was being transferred here was because his case stumped the doctors at Ottawa General. He was in a car accident, damaged his leg… and the dead tissue quickly started disintegrating… decomposing. So… given that strange circumstance, I can imagine a bullet wound possibly causing the same effect on his whole body if it killed him. This
was
a strange medical case.”
Connie and Mabel stared at each other in disbelief and then stared at Stuart. “So, are you saying that the girl"s story is possibly true?” asked Connie.
“I"m saying that this particular patient is a unique enough case where I can believe in the possibility of what she said being true. It"s a pity. We had some hope of helping the young man. Anyway… I"d like to get forensics to examine the ashes. If they can determine that it"s human… then we can maybe say for certain that…”
“I"m afraid that won"t be possible,” interrupted Mabel. “The ambulance took off with the ashes.”
“They took off? How could they…” Stuart was apoplectic. “Get them back here. What company transported the patient?”
“Nobody knows, sir. The vehicle had only generic markings on it… no company name. The supervisor on duty contacted all the ambulatory companies we deal with, and none of themhave any record of this particular delivery.”
“I"ll make some calls myself. You two just keep an eye on the girl, will you? Give her anything she needs.”
“We"ll do that, Mr. Williams. She"s getting the most important thing right now… rest.”
Mabel and Connie checked in on Michelle. “She"s still very warm. I"ll put a cool cloth on her head,” said Mabel.
“My, she
is
ayoung one,” said Connie. “A young bride of a disintegrated man. It has all the makings of a horror story.”
“Except that her trauma is real… very real, Connie. I"m glad that she"s able to sleep now. Her breathing is getting back to normal, but a little unsteady. I think she"s dreaming. I hope it"s a good dream.”

Michelle was seated with Evan at a posh Chicago restaurant overlooking Lake Michigan. While waiting for their meals, they gazed in each other"s eyes while gently holding hands. After years of traveling and living in various places together, Michelle never stopped feeling that she was living a dream. Evan was too good to be true. He always treated her wonderfully. She had known him for seventeen years now and thought it awesome still to be looking at the same smiling face with its gentle features. She tended to forget his timelessness, instead usually thinking of him as her nineteen-year-old crush that was meant to last forever. Sometimes she even thought of herself as the thirteen-year-old that he fell in love with, despite the maturity of her mind and soul. That came from constantly seeing her reflection in the mirror, but also from the way their relationship had never gotten old and tired… for they were truly in love.

Michelle believed that she would have always felt like a young girl in Evan"s presence, and he would readily admit that she would have always made him feel like a dashing young suitor, not because he thought of himself as such, but because of their mutual admiration.

The question posed to him by Michelle took Evan by surprise. “Yes. If I had been born six years prior to you, I still would have gladly taken you by my side and grown old together with you… loving you every step of the way. Now how about you? Would you still love
me
if
I
looked
my
age?”

Michelle tried to grasp the true implication of the question. “I think you"d look way too old for me.”
“That"s an honest answer. But we
are
proof that chronological age doesn"t matter, aren"t we? People look at us and think we shouldn"t be together simply because they think our ages differ by six or seven years. But if I was forty and you were thirtythree, they wouldn"t give it a second thought, would they?”
Michelle nodded. “That"s because they don"t understand soulshine.”
Evan smiled. “Yes, that"s true. They even conjure up laws to suppress the acknowledgment of it. In the culture I originally came from, girls of thirteen were not only considered ready to be betrothed, but they were also given great responsibility before marriage, like taking care of their elderly parents, preparing meals, doing chores… they weren"t treated like little children.”
“I think that was what attracted me to you. You talked to me on an intellectual level equal to your own.”
“Why not? Aside from life experience, I had no intellectual advantage over you. The soul makes up our mind and emotions. Souls are infinite. The soul in you is just as old as the soul in me. It had no beginning and will have no end. Our souls, like those of any other couple, will always be the same age.”
“That"s a beautiful thought.”
“So… you did it! You drove the entire length of the most storied road in America… Route 66.”
“Yes, I did! It only took us ten years.”
“That"s because we took our time and settled down in different spots along the way. I"d say it has been an enjoyable run, wouldn"t you?”
“Yeah. I kind of liked the idea about going to Hawaii every winter, but… I enjoyed the traveling.”
“Hawaii would have gotten stale had we gone there year after year. We"ll return there… after we see the rest of the world together.”
“So what"s next now that we reached the end of Route 66?”
“I really need to look into getting a passport that can pass for the real thing. As I"ve said before… when I traveled alone, I would stowaway in the most uncomfortable places. You would not like it… nor do I want to put you through experiences like that. You deserve first class accommodations, especially after putting up with me and my machinations for keeping us together forever.”
“Well… while you are trying to figure out how to travel the world without getting arrested, can I suggest something that I always wanted to do?”
“Sure… please do.”
“My family"s ancestors came from Quebec City and I always heard stories about how nice the winter carnival is up there. I think it takes place in February.”
“Hmm… you
do
realize that I would need a passport even to get into Canada with you?”
“Oh… that"s right.”
“So… Quebec in the winter? I thought we were doing so well avoiding the very hot climates in the summer and the very cold climates in the winter.”
“Sometimes I kind of miss the cold, snowy winters.”
“Ugh… you"re really trying to age me, aren"t you? An integral part of my staying healthy, I always wanted to believe, was making sure I kept moving to the temperate climates.”
“But I never saw the winter carnival in Quebec City.”
“Very well… and only because I"m hopelessly in love with you.”
Michelle squeezed his hands. “You"re the absolute best.”
“Well… I suppose that Canada will be the easiest testing grounds to see if I can gain access across a border. We"ll obviously be crossing the border by car. We"ll need a plan… and at least if it fails, the two countries are on friendly terms.”

Mr. Cacharelli was very pleased with Evan"s work and friendliness toward the customers. Many customers praised him for hiring „such a nice, polite, mature young man". Indeed, Mr. Cacharelli had noticed much the same qualities in Evan as his patrons did. Evan was also a huge hit with the youngsters who patronized the shop for ice cream, candy, bubble gum cards and comic books.
For someone so mature, he sure has a way with kids,
thought his boss. Each year, he gave Evan a small raise, and in the past year he told Evan that he would no longer charge him rent as long as he was working at the sundry shop.

“I need to go run an errand for a while. Do you mind running things while I"m gone?”
“No problem, Mr. C.,” said Evan as a group of boys came up to him with packs of baseballcards in their hands. “Getting ready for baseball season by buying some trading cards, eh, guys?”
The boys all answered in the affirmative and proceeded to talk to Evan about their favorite teams and players. “Hopefully one of you will find Koufax or Mays in one of your packs.”
“I want to find some Red Sox players,” said one of the boys.
“Red Sox players?” said Evan. “I think Koufax and Mays would be worth more. I don"t think the Sox will be winning any pennants soon. Okay… what do we have?”
“Each of us has five packs.”
“Well… that"s a quarter from each of youthen.” Evan took their coins and put them in the cash register. Then some girls came up to the counter asking for a couple of ice cream cones. Evan took their orders and went over to the soda fountain to scoop out the ice cream for the cones. When he returned, not only were the two girls ready with their money, but the boys still stayed to continue their conversation with Evan.
Evan had a difficult time keeping the names straight until he had seen the children a few times. He enjoyed them all, and they could sense that his friendliness was genuine. The crowd was still there when a mother and daughter appeared behind them with a few items. Russell, one of the new fifteen-year-old hires, walked behind the counter to start his afterschool shift. “May I help you over here?” he asked the lady.
“Ah, the cavalry"s here to save me. Thanks, Russ,” said Evan with a smile.
“Someone new?” asked Mrs. Fleming to Evan.
“Yes, Mrs. Fleming. That is Russell. He"ll take good care of you.”
“Nice to meet you, Russell. Did you get what you wanted, Michelle?”
Michelle looked up at her mother and asked, “I can pay for my own candy, Mom. You gave me the money, remember?”
“Yes, dear, but the other line is much longer. Russell will take your money, won"t you, Russell?”
“Sure.”
“But, Mom,” pleaded Michelle, trying not to express anything that may embarrass her. “I don"t mind waiting.”
Mrs. Fleming smiled and shook her head. She knew that Michelle, like all the other kids, was part of the flock that loved to gather around Evan. As Russell scurried to find a few things on Mrs. Fleming"s list that she could not locate, the crowd of kids dissipated to allow Michelle to boldly advance to Evan"s counter. “Hi, Evan,” she said with a victorious smile. Her patience had paid off.
“Hello, Michelle. How are you today?”
“Very good… and you?”
“Oh, it"s a great day. It"s always a great day when I get to talk to a lot of my friends.”
Whenever Michelle stopped to talk to Evan, she would drop down with her elbows on the counter and her chin resting on her hands and herfingertips on her cheeks. “I"m one of them, right?”
Evan looked at her hopeful smile and cute face. Though Evan loved them all, there was something about Michelle that he had a hard time expressing in words. He questioned himself about the wisdom in having any favorites, but there was no denying that, for some reason, Michelle was his favorite. “Are you one of them? My dear, you are right at the top.” Evan told her the truth because he did not want to lie, though he did his best to dismiss his feelings for Michelle as misinterpretation on his part.
She’s so young
.
If she were older, then maybe… what am I thinking? Why am I thinking it? What is it about this particular girl that tugs on my heart and soul? Evan, you need to stop thinking about it… that’s what you need to do.
There was no explanation that would make sense to the modified, accepted behavior of late twentieth century western society. The human body is merely a finite encasement for the infinite soul. The human brain is part of the body and is therefore finite itself. Society dictates to the brain and therefore deprives the soul.
Michelle looked over at her mother, who was busy reading off her list to Russell. Then she quickly turned back to Evan, wanting to talk quickly so her mother would not hear her. “When"s your birthday?”
“When"s my birthday? Why do you ask?”
Michelle tried her best to hide her embarrassment. “I just wanted to know.”
Nobody ever asked Evan that question, at least not in his recent memory. He wasn"t even sure of the answer himself so he made up a date. “Uh… November 18
^th
.”
Michelle nodded as she stored it in her memory.
That seems like so long away
.
I hope I can remember. At least that gives me time to get more courage.
“That"s a nice date,” she said. Then she immediately thought how stupid that must have sounded.
“So when is yours, Michelle?”
“Mine"s this month… the 29
^th
,” beamed Michelle.
“Really? Why, that"s in about three weeks from now. Tell you what… when you come in on your birthday, the candy is on me.”
Michelle beamed even more and was speechless. The glow in her pretty green eyes captivated Evan for yet another moment. “Let"s go, sweetie,” said Mrs. Fleming, breaking the momentary spell between the two of them.
“Goodbye, Mrs. Fleming. Goodbye, Michelle. See you both soon, I hope,” said Evan.
“Yes, Evan, I"m sure you will,” replied Mrs. Fleming as they walked away. Evan pondered what his senses experienced after they left. He knew that he was no love-struck teenager. After looking into countless sets of eyes over twenty-three centuries, he was certain that he was given a glimpse of a spotless soul.