Chapter 288

Meg Kimbrel was dreaming of blue lights. Everything was bathed in blue light. She was blue light. Her eyes popped open and she blinked, wondering where she was, then she began to remember what had happened last night. She looked at her watch. Just after five in the morning.

She easily turned and put her feet on the carpet. Her body felt ... odd. Not bad. Certainly not bad, she thought, but a little bit odd. The new feelings brought memory flooding back, but that memory surely must be a dream. She remembered that Mr. Matthews had put something on her head, and she had blinked (they told her she had been asleep for ten minutes), then he said there would be no more secrets from her. Secrets? What secrets?

Last night, she had been sitting on a couch in her suite's sitting room. Mr. Matthews – Jeff, he insisted – had stood and turned his back. He appeared to take something from inside his shirt, then turned to reseat himself facing her again. There was something in his lap – something alive.

What followed was the most farfetched conversation she could ever imagine. But Marcie and Steve were there assuring her repeatedly that what Mr. Matthews – Jeff – said was true. Then they told her that she could touch this little ... alien thing, this ... Little One as they called it. How could something like that, like her, be alive and intelligent? But Marcie kept on until Meg conjured up enough nerve to reach out and touch it, and ... she began to believe.

She heard a ... buzzing, but the buzzing was somehow in her brain. Along with the buzzing came ... something. A feeling, but that wasn't all – wasn't everything. She didn't have words to completely describe the feeling, but it was obviously coming from the little alien that Jeff was holding out for her to touch.

A few minutes later, Marcie, holding her hand, walked with her as they left the sitting room and went into the bedroom, Jeff, Diana and Steve following a few steps behind with this Little One riding on Jeff's shoulder. In the bedroom, Diana told her to slip her shoes off and relax on the bed. Meg knew that Jeff was going to put this thing, this alien, on her. She had looked again at Marcie, who seemed so fit now – so much younger than when she had last seen her friend. "Trust me. Trust us," Marcie had said, yet again.

She was scared. She couldn't help it, but Marcie continued to smile and encourage her. "Please, Meg. We've been friends for a long time. You know I would never let anything hurt you. Please, just trust me."

After touching the little alien, she knew, deep down that it – she – wouldn't hurt her, but somehow Meg was still scared. Jeff had said the enhancement might take a couple of hours or possibly a little longer, depending on what Little One needed to do.

"Stay with me," she had pleaded with Marcie, reaching out and grasping her friend's hand again.

Marcie sat on the side of the bed and smiled back at Meg. Taking a deep breath, Meg hesitated, then quietly said to Jeff, "I'm ready." She closed her eyes, waiting for the feel of the alien touching her, but all she felt was a slight weight as Jeff put Little One on her stomach. There seemed to be something blue...

Two and a half hours later:

Meg remembered awakening. Marcie and Steve were standing by the bed and Jeff and Diana were a little farther back. Marcie put her hand out. As Meg took it, she carefully turned and put her feet on the floor. Something was ... different. Then it dawned on her freshly awakened brain. There was no pain – none. She looked up at Marcie's smiling face. It was hard to believe, but there was absolutely no pain. Marcie gave a gentle tug on Meg's hand and she came to her feet. There was no struggle, no agony that she had to endure in order to stand, and standing was almost effortless. This just can't be. Is this what youth once felt like? she wondered. Surely it was never this easy to stand.

She realized that Jeff, Diana, Steve and Marcie were all smiling at her. For a second, she was embarrassed, but then she saw the tears in Marcie's eyes. Tears that soon trickled down her cheeks. She had released Meg's hand, but now had her own hands clutched together against her chest, smiling back at Meg – smiling and crying what were obviously tears of joy.

"No more arthritis, Meg. No more pain. No more walker or pain pills," her friend told her in a trembling voice.

About that time, Meg realized that something else was drastically different. Her vision was clearer than she could ever remember. As she unconsciously put a hand to her face, she realized that she was no longer wearing her glasses, but everything was crystal clear. Well, it was crystal clear, but now it became blurry from an abundance of her own tears. Tears of joy. Marcie grabbed her in a hug, both women now sobbing. Then Diana joined in the hug. Soon the Queen was also shedding tears of happiness.

"Shit," Jeff mumbled, turning away to keep from joining in with the tear brigade, just as Steve grabbed Marcie and Meg to hug both women, his eyes also damp with unshed tears. Diana stood back wiping her eyes, a big smile on her face as Jeff cleared a stopped up throat, blinked rapidly, and put an arm around his wife.

"Little One needs to see this," the Queen whispered to her husband, not wanting to disturb the others.

"She's seeing it through my eyes. She's ... pleased," he replied. "Think mental purr. She's very pleased that she could heal Meg."

A few minutes later, Meg, flanked by Steve and Marcie, sat on a couch in the sitting room of Meg's suite. She had finally wound down – well, mostly.

Diana made a discreet call, and a few minutes later Jennie and Melissa came in pushing a serving cart. After congratulating Meg, they turned and left holding hands.

"What's this?" Meg had asked as Diana put a tray on her lap. When the Queen removed the cover exposing the steak and trimmings, the sight and smell of the food brought on an appetite greater than Meg could ever remember experiencing.

Before Meg could say anything more, Diana spoke. "Little One supplied most of the energy needed for the enhancement of your body, but the process is continuing. For the next few days you're going to be hungry – very hungry. Eat. I guarantee you won't gain weight. Your body will continue to change for the next weeks and months. Think about the age you want to appear. But whatever age you choose has nothing to do with how long you will live, though, and if you don't like it, you can change it – over time – by just concentrating and wanting your appearance to change. But be very careful with your appearance. Something too drastic will be noticed by people that even casually know you, not to mention those who know you well. Even though the blocks will prevent any of us from telling about Little One and all the other things we need to keep secret, sudden youth will speak loudly and will doubtlessly direct attention to you. So please be very careful. Helen, our, uh, teacher will be glad to show you how to look a little older, if you should wind up looking too young."

Meg just stared at the Queen, then closed her eyes for a moment. "You mean it? I can really look younger if I choose to?"

"I'm Arlene's mother – real mother, not step-mother, as I'll bet you thought. Admittedly, I had Arlene when I was very young, but I'm thirty now and look..."

"Twenty, maybe," Meg supplied, then turning to her friend. "The little alien, uh, Little One is the reason the two of you are back on the difficult ski slopes?"

"Got it in one. Got it in one," Steve said with a grin, then leaned over to briefly take Meg's hand. "Didn't you say you used to ski? Come with us and do it again."

"Oh, I don't know," she said, flustered. "I would have to start back on..."

But Steve's voice overrode hers. "We have all the time in the world. Didn't you hear what Jeff said? This is like a do-over, but it goes on for much longer than that. If you have to learn to ski again, you'll have plenty of time to do it. Come on; say you will. We'll have loads of fun."

Meg wanted to say yes, but she knew her social security check, even supplemented with selling puppies and kittens once or twice a year, still would never stretch to learn to ski again.

Marcie suspected that Meg was thinking about money, or more accurately, the lack thereof. "We'll talk about it later," she said, giving Steve the eye that meant shut up.

Steve winked at his wife, but didn't pursue the subject.

"Just remember to be careful when you're tempted to look too young," Diana offered. "And also remember that if you have questions, any of us will be glad to answer them, and that includes Steve and Marcie. Now why don't you go ahead and get that food inside you?"

Meg remembered that Jeff had said a blessing before they ate. After what had just happened to her, she wasn't embarrassed in the slightest to close her eyes and offer a silent prayer of thanks for her new health as well as asking for a blessing on the food.

With a building expectancy that produced trembling hands, she cut a piece of the thick steak, marveling at how tender it was. With her fork, she brought the piece to her mouth. A second after she began to chew, her taste buds seemed to explode with heightened sensation. Nothing had ever tasted this good.

She glanced at a smiling Jeff who said, "It's part of the enhancement. Everything about your body is enhanced, even your brain. You'll find yourself thinking much more clearly, and, as we've already mentioned, the enhancement process is continuing. To some extent, it's the same for all of us, but there are usually aspects that are unique to each of us. I have no idea what that will mean for you. You will remain in perfect health and be immune to every disease – for a long, long time."

Meg just stared at him, not knowing what to say.

Diana motioned to the corner of the sitting room where a microwave sat on a shelf with a small refrigerator nearby. "The girls are going to bring more food in shortly, so there will be more already-cooked food waiting for you. You'll probably wake up in the night with a ferocious appetite. Just pop the platter in the microwave and warm up the food. If you want more than what we leave in the refrigerator, there will be plenty in the first refrigerator on the right in the kitchen. It has a note on the door. Feel free to partake of any food in the kitchen at any time. We've all been where you are now, so we understand the hunger. And remember, that's your body continuing with the enhancement process. Even when the initial hunger is over, your body, as ours, will continue to require more food than normal."

Meg smiled as she remembered waking up a little after 2:00 A.M., ravenous. She used the bathroom, then warmed up a big platter of food and ate every bite of it. Now that it was finally 6:00 A.M., she couldn't stand the hunger any longer, and left her suite in search of the kitchen. She knew that wealthy people didn't get up early, but thought that the servants – wherever they were yesterday – would probably be up by now. If not, she would raid the refrigerator Diana had told her about. She found the kitchen with no problem, but opening the door was an enlightenment, especially concerning the servants. She stood staring at the controlled chaos going on in there, but there still weren't any servants that she could see.

"Come on in and join the hen party," Marcie called out to her. "I was just about to come get you. Breakfast is almost ready. Are you hungry?" she asked, then, "Don't answer that. Ravenous would better describe the feeling, huh?"

Marcie crossed the few remaining feet between them to hug her friend.

Awe in her trembling voice, and fighting back tears of amazement, Meg said, "I walked down the hall, Marcie, and I used big steps just like I used to, and I didn't even think about my walker. Marcie, I don't seem to have arthritis anymore. I feel like a teenager."

"Good," Marcie responded as she hugged her friend hard for a second. "Now come on in and you can help us put the food on the table."

A few minutes later, Jeff said the blessing, and everyone began passing platters of food around. Meg's plate was soon full and she dug in. She tried to eat like a lady, but she doubted she pulled it off, for after the first bite, her already ravenous appetite seemed to overwhelm her. It was a while before she realized that Steve was sitting on one side of her with Marcie on the other. Embarrassed at the amount of food she was consuming and the rate she was consuming it, she sat back to take several large swallows of her orange juice, then a sip of the best coffee she had ever put in her mouth. Come to think of it, everything she put in her mouth seemed to be the best. "Eat," Marcie said as she raked another big helping of scrambled eggs onto Meg's plate, then slid another steak there as well. Meg didn't need any further encouragement. She ate until she couldn't swallow another bite, but, no one seemed to notice or care, for that matter.