Aesop's Secret (10 page)

Melinda lifted her head and rubbed her stiff neck. She was sitting in the chair by Felix’s bed; her cheeks wore the imprint of his blanket. The darkness in the room was cut only by a sliver of sunlight coming in through the part in the curtains. The clock read 6:25 a.m.

She lifted Felix’s eyelids and smiled, feeling certain that he was able to see her. “What happened to you last night?” she asked, knowing that he would not answer. “It was like you were gone. It really freaked me out. Your eyes looked vacant, like they weren’t there at all.” She shivered at the memory of her dream and decided not to tell him about it.

The door squeaked open and Professor Stumpworthy ambled in. “Melinda,” he said, only a hint of surprise in his voice. “I see that you’re an early riser too.” He walked over to Felix’s bed and put down a glass on the bedside table. “I had expected to find your mother here; I brought her a glass of orange juice. I want to make sure she gets some nourishment during this difficult period.” He smiled kindly as he lifted Felix’s hand and took his pulse. “I talked with your father this morning. He’s still busy in the lab. We may not see him for a while.”

Melinda looked into his eyes briefly, then turned her attention to Felix. “I know Felix is OK,” she said proudly.

Stumpworthy’s head jerked around to face her. “I’m sure he will be.”

Melinda shook her head. “I know he can’t move or anything, but I know that he can see and hear things.”

Stumpworthy smiled kindly. “I hope you are right.” He looked over at the glass he had placed on the table. “Do you like orange juice?” Melinda nodded. “Then by all means you must have this; you must be thirsty and a bit hungry if you’ve been up for a while. I will make sure your mother gets another glass.” He handed Melinda the glass and turned to leave. “You must keep your strength up for your brother and your family. Good nutrition is the best way to do that.” He winked, then left the room.

Melinda watched after him until the door clicked shut. She lifted Felix’s eyelids again and stared deeply into his eyes. “There’s something weird about the professor,” she said, comfortable in knowing that Felix was in no position to argue with her. “I know you really like him but he gives me the creeps. I can’t stand to look into his eyes. They’re so dark. I imagine I see different animals in them―sometimes snakes.” She lifted the glass of orange juice to her lips, never taking her eyes off of Felix. Without taking a sip of the liquid, she stood up, walked across the room and marched through his closet and into the bathroom. When she reached the basin she looked into the mirror, wincing at the painful-looking pattern the bed linens had left on her face. Then without another thought, she poured the orange juice into the sink.

Elaine reclined in a chaise longue on the terrace that overlooked the back garden. “Melinda,” she whispered dreamily, “isn’t it a beautiful day?”

Melinda frowned, looking out at the formal garden, then around at the stone terrace furnished with ornate tables and chairs and huge urns abundant with colourful flowers cascading down their sides. She knew that the scene looked like a postcard from some faraway, beyond-belief palace, but the last thing she would have thought her mother would say, when Felix was so ill, was that it was a beautiful day. “I guess so,” she said absently.

Elaine opened her eyes and smiled at her daughter. “Everything is going to be fine, you’ll see,” she said wearily, then closed her eyes and sighed.

Melinda curled her lips unpleasantly, shrugged, then shuffled across the terrace and down the five stone steps that led to a rich emerald-green lawn. She walked across the grass to a forest of white-flowering shrubs, finding an archway almost hidden in their mass of branches. The archway led to a cobbled path that took her on a meandering trek through an exotic mix of lacey ferns and forest flowers, ending finally at another lawn.

This lush grassy haven was bigger than the other. It was surrounded by purple and pink flowers and it had a stone patio furnished with huge potted plants, with a table and chairs in the centre and an amazing swimming pool complete with its own rocky waterfall.

No sooner had she reached the pool than she was startled by a man’s voice behind her.

“Professor Stumpworthy had it designed to look like a natural rock pond, like the kind that you might find in the tropics,”  said a deep, gentle voice.

She spun around to see the man approaching. She assumed by his clothing that he was probably a gardener. Something seemed familiar about the tall, dark-haired man, although she felt certain that she had never seen him before.

The man stopped, bowed his head, then looked intently into her eyes. “Hello, Melinda,” he said with a wry smile.

When Melinda met his gaze her entire body tingled, like she had just been zapped with a mild jolt of electricity. She swallowed hard and looked away.

“I have a feeling that you know who I am,” he laughed.

Melinda avoided looking directly at him, moving her head from side to side as if to disagree, but she didn’t say a word.

“Go ahead…you can say it,” he coaxed.

Melinda looked into his eyes and knew that what she saw wasn’t a dream or a fantasy. For some inexplicable reason, she knew exactly who he was. It seemed impossible but she knew―deep in her heart, she knew. It was like she could see more than the colour of his eyes when she looked into them…she could see who he was, not just what he was. She searched her mind and felt a strange kind of connection with him, as if she could read his mind. Thoughts that didn’t seem to belong to her swirled in her head. “I must have known you were coming because you were in my dream last night.” She hesitated. “But you were still a rabbit.” She threw her arms around his waist and giggled, “Aesop, I missed you so much!”

It hadn’t taken long for Joe to recount his story. Melinda took it all in, nodding with a resigned acceptance as if she had known everything all along, even the part about Horace Stumpworthy being a possible threat to her family.

“OK then,” Joe said, smiling. “Harmony has access to the lab at the hospital. She’ll talk to your father and we can figure out how to handle this. We’ll meet here tomorrow
—same time?” Melinda nodded seriously. “Try to keep tabs on Horace and take care of your mum. There’s probably no sense in telling her anything just yet.”

Melinda giggled. “Yeah, she would rip Stumpworthy’s throat out if she thought there was even a possibility that he had anything to do with Felix’s condition.”

Joe nodded knowingly. “I’m afraid that she might well do just that, in which case we would never find out if he is responsible―and if so, what he has done.” He hesitated for a few seconds, then smiled sadly. “I’m sure everything will be fine.”

Melinda frowned, not trusting Joe’s words for the first time.

“Jake, you haven’t touched your food,” Horace said as he bent down to look through the bars of the cage. “There’s no sense going on a hunger strike,” he laughed. “I can’t do anything to reverse the effects of the virus. I’m afraid you’ll spend the rest of your days this way.”

Horace walked across the laboratory and picked up a phial of clear liquid. “This,” he said proudly, holding it so that Jake could see, “is something very special. I’m doing the field tests now to see how effective it is.” He smiled at Jake and shook his head. “I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I? You don’t know what I’m talking about. Let’s see―where to begin?” he mused while tapping his temple with his index finger. “Since identifying the properties of the same virus that has altered your shape, I found that I could separate some of its components. Basically, I have isolated some of the things that make Athenites change. By doing so, I have found that specific elements affect specific changes.” He laughed softly. “We’ll have plenty of time to discuss all of the scientific findings another time, but in a nutshell, I can now control some of the changes an Athenite experiences, limiting them to suit my needs. For instance, I can use it to change only the way the brain works―actually changing a person’s behaviour, making them more pliable. In other words, I can train them to do as I wish, just as you would an animal.”

He stood up and began slowly pacing the floor in front of Jake’s cage. “Call it a form of brainwashing if you want, but in this case the results will be permanent, just like your transformation is permanent. Initial results are quite exciting.” He bent down to look directly into Jake’s mouse-sized eyes. “Your beautiful wife and lovely daughter have been assisting me as my little guinea pigs.”

Elaine and Melinda sat at Felix’s bedside; it was getting late. Professor Mulligan waddled into the room carrying a small tray with two glasses of water. “Still no change and no word from Jake?”

Elaine shook her head. “Jake will phone when he knows something, but I expect he’s working round the clock, catching bits of sleep when he can. He’s done it before, and now that the situation involves his own son…” Her voice trailed off. Then a strange smile crossed her lips. “Horace is sure we’ll know something soon.”

Mulligan’s flabby cheeks shook as he cleared his throat. “Horace asked me to bring you and Melinda these,” he said, handing them both a small tablet and glass of water. “It’s only a vitamin—you haven’t been taking care of yourselves, and he’s concerned about you.”

Elaine smiled. “He is so kind,” she said before popping the tablet into her mouth.

Melinda frowned as she took the tablet off the tray, looking at it as if she’d never seen a vitamin before. She dropped it onto her tongue and drank most of the water in the glass.

Mulligan looked at his watch and sighed. “I’ll be off to bed now…you two should do the same.”

Elaine immediately stood up and followed him; Melinda remained at Felix’s side. “I’ll go in a second. I just want to be with Felix for a while,” she called after them. As soon as the door clicked shut, Melinda bent over and looked into Felix’s eyes. “I’ve got so much to tell you,” she whispered excitedly. “But I don’t want anyone to hear me so I’ll come back later, after everyone is asleep.” She closed his eyes and kissed his forehead, turned off the light and left the room.

The room was dark when the alarm clock rang out. Melinda reached over and hit the small button that would stop the noise, noticing that the clock read 1:00 a.m. She shook her head and slipped sleepily back under the duvet. Drool had soaked her pillow by the time her eyes sprang open again. Her bedside clock now read 2:10 a.m. She scrambled out of bed and fumbled with her dressing gown, which had been turned inside out, and then hurried out into the hallway.