He spent the rest of the evening reading, not the paper but one of the many books that had until now been there only so that his bookcase didn't look naked. He had read about a third of the way into it and so far he was impressed. He glanced at the cover. "King Lear huh?" he smiled, amused that he was actually reading and understanding Shakespeare, "Who'd've thunk it!" He read almost the entire book that night and when he awoke (yes his flag pole was raised again!) it was all still clear in his mind, he got up, stretched and went into the bathroom, then froze as he caught sight of himself in the mirror. "Holy shit!" The reflection that stared flabbergasted back at him wasn't the late thirties version of himself he'd discovered in the mirror yesterday, this guy couldn't have been more than thirty, maybe even less than that. He laughed the laugh of the unsure again and looked down at his body, it was all different, younger, toned, far smoother than it had been. "I can't go to work like this," he said aloud, as if discussing it with his inner voice, "People wont recognise me, or maybe they'll just think I had the worlds fastest face-lift." He put the toilet lid down and sat on it. "This is way past weird," he muttered, then found himself standing and walking to the sink, where he proceeded to fill his cupped hands with the cool clear water and lift it to his lips. Something made him pause, he looked into the crystalline liquid and thought for a moment. [The water] his inner voice told him, [This all started when the new water came] "Yeah but it's just water" he answered back, but the voice wasn't done. [But you yourself said it tasted funny] "But not bad, it didn't taste bad," [But it tasted funny, and you've been drinking a hell of a lot of it lately,] "Not necessarily," [Byron you ran home from work to drink it, when there's a perfectly good water cooler outside your office] "Yeah but that water isn't-" [Isn't the same water] the voice concluded. Byron separated his hands and watched the water disappear down the plug hole. "My water's been poisoned," he whispered as if if anyone heard him he'd be in trouble. "Does that mean I can't drink it anymore?" He felt suddenly uneasy at the thought of not being able to drink it, he even reached for the tap but the voice spoke up before he could turn the faucet. [Do you really want to do that?] it asked. "Yes!" Byron told it. [Go ahead then, do it, see what happens] "It can't be poisoned, if it were poisoned I'd be sick...right?" The voice didn't answer. "Shit," he stared at the taps, wanting desperately to turn them, drink their entire contents, but he didn't instead he showered and got dressed, then have to force his voice to sound older he phoned in sick at the office. He spent the day in front of the T.V. something he hadn't done in ages, he watched sitcom that made him laugh until he almost peed his pants when a few days ago he would have moaned at the serious lack of comedy in any of them, he watched Jerry Springer, actually sat through an entire episode and found himself shouting at the screen when the transvestite revealed to 'her' boyfriend that 'she' was really a man. "Oh come on," he yelled, "How could you not know, look at her!" He laughed at the sheer stupidity of some people and for a few hours didn't think about his possible poisoning situation, but when he finally went to relieve himself he found himself staring into the eyes of a twenty-something version of himself. "Not again," he said as he stood frozen to the bathroom floor, "It's only been a few hours." But there he was, young tanned, handsome, no where near the balding, forty-something he had been a week ago. He'd had enough, he did his business then went to the dresser in the hall and rummaged through his wad of papers until he found the pamphlet the water company representative had given him. He took it into the lounge and dropped onto the chair by the phone. "Revivify, the water of the past today!" He read off the front cover, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He flicked through the pages searching for a number, but he couldn't find one. "Dammit!" He picked up the phone and dialled information. The voice that answered sounded even more pissed off than he was. "I need a number for the Revivify Water Company," he said as politely as he could. There was a mumbled, "hang on," and then the line went quiet. He waited, drumming his slender, youthful fingers on the arm of the chair, then with a loud cough the voice returned. "What city is that in sir?" "Umm, I don't know, is there more than one number?" "No there's less than one number." "What?" "I couldn't find a listing under that name, if you give me the city it's in I can try a better search." "I don't know what city it's in, I assumed it was in this city." "Um, no there's no Vivify Water Company in Southport sir, or in any of the neighbouring towns." "You're sure?" The voice sighed. "Yes, I am sure." He hung up, he didn't feel the voice deserved a thank-you or a goodbye. He slumped back in the chair and frowned. "No number listed." He said quietly but the inner voice corrected him. He knew it would. [No, not no number listed, no company] "Yes thank-you," he said although he didn't think that voice deserved one either, it was always interrupting him, telling him he was wrong. "No such company, but there is such a company because it get my water from them." [The water that tastes funny] the voice added [The water that we think is the cause of this weird stuff] "We? No, no you, you think it's the cause." [You think it to other wise you'd be drinking the water] "I can drink the water," he told the voice. "If I wanted the water I'd drink it." [No you wouldn't] "Yes I would."[Go on then, you're thirsty I know you are, go on and drink the water] "Fine," he stood up and walked to the kitchen sink, filling a glass and raising it to his mouth, he took a deep breath and parted his lips. The glass remained a few millimetres away. [See I told you] "Fine," he said pouring the water away and replacing the glass, "I wont drink the damn water but not because you think it's tainted, I just...I've had too much water lately I want something else." He walked top the fridge and got himself out a beer then returned to his place by the phone. [The water is weird] The voice said after a few minutes, [You know that at least] "Revivify," Byron said thoughtfully, "The Revivify Water Company." [What about it?] "Revivify," Byron said again, frowning as his thoughts deepened, "That means rejuvenate." [Fitting] "The rejuvenation Water Company," Byron mused, "The breath new life into Water Company," [What?] "The make young again Water Company," [What are you doing?] "Make young again, Revivify, Water." He sat forward suddenly, his fingers rested gently on his bottom lip, "Rejuvenating water, it's making me young again." Without warning he laughed loudly. [What? What is it?] "The Revivify Water Company, it can't be, it...it is, but...it's impossible surely," [WHAT?] He jumped up and ran into the bathroom, leaning on the vanity and staring hard at his reflection. "I'm younger," he said, "I don't mean I look younger, I am younger, I am-" he narrowed his eyes judged himself thoughtfully, "I'd say I'm about twenty-six" [Have you lost my mind? What are you talking about?] "The Fountain of Youth," he said quietly, "I've been getting my water supply from the fountain of friggin youth!" He began to laugh again even as he turned on the tap and filled his hands once more. [I've gone insane!] He drank the water down and refilled his hands. [You shouldn't do that] The voice warned him, [Even if it is the fountain of friggin youth] "Why not? I wanna be 18 again," [You don't know what this stuff can do] Byron stopped and looked at his mirrored image. "It can give me what I want," He said pensively. [And what's that?] "A second chance," He smiled and his reflection smiled back. He drank once again from his hands, then moved from the bathroom to the kitchen. A glass could hold so much more. He turned the radio on and spent the rest of the day dancing between the kitchen sink and the toilet, but he never even broke a sweat. He had never felt so good. He went to bed finally at 2.30 am, leaving the radio playing, and fell asleep with an ease he hadn't had in years, he dreamed of all he could do again, and his dreaming kept his waking mind from realising what was happening. The sleeping figure in the bed, was no longer in his mid twenties. The smooth tanned skin of his face was now a pimply kind of blotchy pink, his groin was overacting in a way he had forgotten about long ago. But it didn't stop there, the spots vanished as did all the body hair he had grown accustomed to, his groin grew inactive once more and the sleeping child continued to dream.
The sun burst through the windows like a living thing, casting long shadows across the wooden floor. Alerting anyone inside that a new day had begun and they were missing it if they were still asleep. But there was no one inside. All the rooms stood empty. A single voice could be heard from far inside. A woman was talking on the radio. "-the woman, thirty-five year old Sandra McKinney, is said to have killed herself after being fired from her job last Friday, and finally another abandoned baby has been found in the Farnham area of Southport, the child, a boy, was discovered in a house this morning after neighbours reported hearing the child crying in the night. Authorities are searching for the owner of the house Byron Harris, a forty-four year old insurance salesman."
The End.
I Thank You.
HC.
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