Chapter 4: Diary of an Old Woman

 

          A flooding emotion erupted from him as the dark solid metal door opened in front of him. Fear and panic struck him down as if hit by a giant wave. Lila grabbed hold of his hand with a sternness intended for the insolent. Wade quickly regained his footing and followed her into the dark, expansive, room. Lila seated Wade in a bare and cold chair in the center of the room. Looking around, Wade could see no walls, sim-windows, or even furniture with the exception of the steel contraption he was sitting in now. Darting his eyes around the room, he couldn't even find Lila in the sea of darkness. He began to call out to her when he heard from the unknown.

          “Facts.” Lila whispered. Wisps of paper shuffled from somewhere else. “Facts is all you know. You only know the facts that our tutor gave you. You know nothing of value. Do you agree?” Lila asked.

          “Agree that I don't know anything of value?”

          “Yes.” Lila confirmed.

          “I agree that right now I have no knowledge of what's ahead.” Wade trembled.

          “No. No you don't.” Lila agreed.

          A long silence followed the cryptic and brief conversation. More shuffling of papers. A few strokes of an apparently invisible keyboard. After a frighteningly uncomfortable silence, the gritting slide of feet came closer to him.

          “Wade, what is a baby?” She asked.

          Wade thought briefly. Though he had never seen a child, he knew full well what one was.

          “A baby is an undeveloped offspring of human companions. Physically unable to even support its own head, a baby relies on its mother for everything.”

          “Absolutely correct!” Lila announced. “So... what are you?”

          Wade again thought hard.

          “I am a man. Physically developed. Self reliant and capable of independence.”

          Lila turned on the lights to the room blinding Wade in his seat.

          “Close. You are hardly self reliant. You rely on us for everything. If I took you to the kitchen, could you make yourself a meal? Could you even start the stove? You can't even leave this place without our making arrangements for you first.”

          Wade pondered her point.

          “So, what am I?” Wade asked.

          Lila pulled a chair from a nearby desk, previously hidden. She sat facing Wade.

          “That is the question, isn't it? What are you?” With a smile resembling a power trip, she stood and paced momentarily in front of Wade. Stopping in mid step, she rushed to him in a highly over dramatic maneuver.

          “Do you want to know? Don't answer that... of course you want to know!” She rose her hand slowly and stroked the side of Wade face. “If I were you, I would want to know everything!” She stood and walked to the heavy vault door and slid her key card. She walked through the door and left Wade all alone with his raging curiosity and confusion.

          It was nearly an hour before she returned through the door to find Wade in exactly the same position he was when she left. Following her through the door was Ms. Corbin. The two of them pulled up chairs in front of Wade.

          “For the first time, we are allowed to do something never before permitted!” Lila stated.

          “Like what?” Wade said confused.

          “Like, we are going to tell you a story. A story so unbelievable that only a pure mind could accept it. A mind like yours. I am going to take notes and simply observe while your tutor tells her story.” Lila quickly stood and sat at her desk with her recorder.

          Motioning toward Ms. Corbin, Lila pressed the record button on her device. Ms. Corbin repositioned her chair so she sat directly in front of Wade.

          “Sweetheart, I am so sorry for this. You must be frightened and confused more than you ever have been. Just stick with me, darlin, and we'll get through this.”

          Wade sat up to a more comfortable position and listened.

          “You see, dear. My given name is Margaret Cochran-”

          She looked at Lila nervously. Lila nodded for her to continue. With a deep breath, Margaret grabbed Wade's knees for comfort.

          “I was born November twelfth... 1751.” She sat back to watch Wade's reaction.        Wade's grin grew wide.

          “This is a joke isn't it? You're teaching me about jokes! Ha!” Wade laughed.

          Lila coughed sternly. Margaret squeezed Wade's knees tighter.

          “Dear. I am not joking. When I was five, my family was attacked by natives, my father was killed and my mother kidnapped. When I was twenty-one, I married the kindest farmer named John Corbin. I left my uncle's home and followed my husband. We farmed for a while but when the revolution drew near, my husband enlisted. I was a camp follower, cooking, cleaning, caring for wounds, mending uniforms, things of that nature.

          On my twenty-fifth birthday, we were defending Fort Washington from the Hessian conscripts. Four days later the battle became a disaster. My husband was manning a cannon when he was killed.” Margaret wiped a tear from her eye and cleared her throat. Wade, still unsure if this was an elaborate joke, sat silent. “I ran with all my might to my husband but it was too late. I was so enraged that I lit that cannon and hoped to blow those b******s back to their country. It did very little damage to them. After watching my husband for a few years, I knew what to do. I reloaded the cannon and fired it once again. Some saw what I did and began firing their cannons as well. They say that I inspired them. My motives weren't so grand. I wanted revenge. After a few more volleys, I was badly injured by an incoming cannonball and could not fight. I was crippled for the rest of my life. In the end, I was buried at West Point. My grave is still there.

          When I woke up again, I was being cleaned for burial. My skin became tight again, my scars were gone. My infliction that had crippled me for over twenty years was no more. The woman who was cleaning me declared it a miracle, which was a blessing in its own right. She could have declared me a witch and fetched the mob! She swapped out my body with a diseased one meant for burning.

She kept my secret and I got another chance in life. Until I died again. And again. And again. Each time, I wake up as if I were twenty-five again. Healed, and recovered from any afflictions, I was whole again.”

Margaret held wade even tighter.

          “Wade, we are immortal.”