The Ability

 

21st December, 2020

The fever was rising…

The cough and cold was getting worse everyday…

Even the doctor said there was very little hope. They didn’t even want to admit her poor husband in the hospital, said people of the age of 80 would not be admitted...

Mrs. Washers never felt so helpless in her life. 

She saw her pale, sick and shivering husband and it reminded her of her sister and niece.

The Pandemic took them away from her...

...and threatened to take her husband as well.

'TRING TRING!!'

Mrs. Washers jumped out from her reverie. Who was it?

She went to answer the door....

***

He stood in front of the house of the Washers. He was standing beside a small tree the whole time... 

It was late in the night and he had visited a lot of houses today. Yet, he did not feel tired. 

Mrs. Washers opened the door and stood there confused. She was almost unrecognizable; with the mask and gloves covering her old yet attractive features. 

She could not see him…

She won’t be able to see him. 

But it gave him, Max, the opportunity to get inside the house. 

Ever since he died, no one was able to see him...

Mrs. Washers closed the door and hurried to her husband; he had started coughing again – the sound was filled with agony. 

Max could sense the infection around him. It was concentrated near the master bedroom – where Mr. Washers was bedridden. Wrapping his red muffler a bit around his neck, he walked towards the room...

Mrs. Washers had changed her clothes and was looking desperately at her husband, a single tear escaping her worried eyes. Her husband was shivering from the fever – he almost sensed his end, but he refused to give up. He would not rest till the damn virus left his body, but the fight gradually made him weak...

Max smiled. 

He could feel the old man struggling, refusing to give up…which is precisely why he chose him. 

He went closer to Mr. Washers and placed a hand on his forehead. 

It was indeed burning…it was a difficult case, 

but not incurable.

It was an ability he got after his death…as if a gift from the Pandemic for his pleasant afterlife. He could weaken the virus, which in times helped the victim to fight back and live...he decided that he would help as many people as he can with his newfound ability...

Even today, his ability did not fail him. 

It took a little time but he sensed that the virus slowly became weak. 

Max smiled.

His job over there was done. 

He turned and went to the nearby window. It was open. He jumped and went away…fading into the moonlit darkness...

***

1st January, 2021

Mr. Washers was playing chess with his beloved wife. He was finally fit, fine and kicking.

None of them believed the miracle. 

They thought that God must have been kind to them. 

As Mrs. Washers took out one of the white pawns, the wind was filled with three words, spoken by a man who was just standing over there, beside the tree.

'HAPPY..NEW...YEAR!'

Then, the man went away, not noticing the red muffler loosen from his neck and float in the night air...

***

R.Escreva

24.12.2020