Park's Phenomenon
|
In his final flash of glory, Henry Mullins saved the life of his three year-old niece, Caroline. An interesting fact about Parkinson’s is that rarely, for only a moment, the pressures of life can make the disease disappear.
Over eight years Henry's body had gradually become a prison. His walking shrank to a pitiful shuffle, and his face froze into an expressionless mask. After several falls last year it was agreed that he could no longer live alone. His sister Alice agreed to take him because otherwise he would be in a nursing home. She felt obliged since he was her flesh and blood, though she had never liked him much. She even felt something like compassion seeing her older brother trapped in his shriveled body.
On his last glorious day, Henry sat in the sunroom as Alice and her friends gossiped over tea. They socialized around Henry in his wheelchair as if he were nothing but a potted plant. Some of Alice's friends commented how sad it was that her brother had gotten an awful disease at such a young age. Nancy Jones muttered that she really shouldn't bring him out with guests since he smelled like urine. Alice smiled graciously and reminded everyone that even though Henry's body was frozen, his mind and hearing worked just fine. "And he's still the asshole he’s always been," she thought to herself. Henry only stared blankly out the window.
As Alice sipped her mint tea, she noticed a curious thing out of the corner of her eye. Henry's face had changed. The blank stare was gone. In its place was an expression of intense focus. His hands that had shaken ceaselessly for years were still.
The long-frozen body shot out of its wheelchair, and a thundering voice she hardly recognized bellowed, "She's not coming up!" Henry threw open the door and bounded down the stairs, leaving the stunned ladies in the sunroom. They all stood to watch the gray-haired man sprint down the hill like the athlete he had been thirty years before. Only when he dove into the pool did Alice recognize an object at the bottom about the size of her daughter, Caroline...
*This story is still being submitted for publication, therefore only a short sample is offered here.
If you wish to continue reading contact me and I may be able to send you the full text.
If you wish to continue reading contact me and I may be able to send you the full text.