Never Ending Youth
23 September 2007
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Trudi always felt a little ashamed. Here she had been working for some 35 years at the same tourist trap in St. Augustine, Florida, and all she had to show for it was a paid off mortgage and a batch of might have been empty dreams.
The fact that her job supervised the sales of "Genuine Fountain of Youth" spring water didn’t help: it was good water (very good bottled water from the REAL springs in Central Florida), but it was not from a mythical "fountain of youth", as if that existed. The slightly sulphurous spring that they showed off as the "fountain" was just a tepid pool of water.
By happenstance, Rick was on the tour that day. Like Trudi, he was 64 years old; they were the same age because they had gone to the same school in nearby Jacksonville. They had been high school sweethearts, but a few busted marriages had intervened and they never got together after high school. Rick was surprised to see Trudi going into an Employees Only entrance, recognizing her through the gray hair and extra poundage.
Hearing her name called, she turned and was thrilled to see her old flame. They hugged in the reserved way 60+ year old adults embrace. What followed was a meal after the tour at the employees’ lounge. So engrossed were they in catching up that no one told them that the place had closed for the day, and she had to lock up. Realizing that they were alone, Trudi told Rick that she had to close the place up. He said that he had one last request: could he, well, jump into that spring? He knew, intellectually, that it was just runoff water from the St. John’s River-but, a part of him wanted to believe in the fountain of youth fantasy-so could he?
She hesitated but relented and said okay. He jumped in, clothes and all; from the A.C in the place, that water was 73 degrees, which feels cold! He shivered and came out within two minutes. He thanked her and asked about a towel. She looked at him in ashen silence.
He said, "What?"
She said, "You won’t believe this, but your hair-your hair has turned black!"
Sure enough, he could feel his hair was fuller and was back on top of his head, where it had not been for 20 years! For that matter, the pain in his knees and chest were gone. He turned to ask Trudi what she thought, but she already gotten the idea and had jumped into the spring herself. Rick joined her. Splashing like teens, they cavorted there for 2 hours.
Emerging, shivering but feeling like the 18 year olds that they had once again become, their glances at each other turned back to the high school lust that they had forgotten years ago. Enthusiastically, Rick helped Trudi disrobe her dowdy middle-aged outfit; she helped him out of his frowsy get-up in the same way. Stunned and thrilled to find their youthful bodies restored, they had one of the most passionate couplings in the history of the world. Decades of conservative quiet living were compensated for in a 20-minute sexual romp that covered every corner of the world. They used every position known, and invented a few of their own, in the emotionally draining but incredibly fulfilling moment.
Panting afterwards, they looked at each other and smiled. Then, looking objectively at each other, they were amazed to see that their gray hair and middle age waists had returned. Had they really been restored, only to have lost the rejuvenation due to some time limitation, or-had they just imagined it upon seeing each other’s lost love finally after so many years. They never would know-but they did not care. They were together again, finally, and for good.
