That Elusive Cure 4

I couldn’t help it. I leaned in towards her, afraid to make a single sound in case I missed what she had to say. A machine? It never even crossed my mind to guess she was going to suggest anything other than a new pill. Raising my eyebrows in expectation I waited while she drank some tea.

“I was told a man called Rich Newland found the machine and hid it in a disused church that he owns.” Janie poured more tea into her cup and took a moment to stir in some milk. She smiled at me and continued, “I don’t know how true that is, but the fact is, there is a church, there is a machine, and I have the key.”

Janie reached into her handbag and took out a large old fashioned key, a big clunky brass key that would look more at home in a Harry Potter movie.

“Dave, my finder, he thinks the machine is a gift from aliens.” She shook her head and laughed. “But that’s a bit too far reaching for me. I can’t get past aliens not saying hello, just leaving a machine to be found? No, I don’t think so.”

“What do you think it is then?” I didn’t know whether to believe her or think her insane. At least my curiosity was overriding my nausea, and I was feeling better than I had in weeks.

“It’s from the future.”

My turn to laugh. “And you think that more likely than aliens?”

“Actually, yes.” She sounded vaguely insulted. “Who knows maybe it’s not from the future. Maybe it is one of a few machines owned by very rich and powerful people. It would explain why some of them keep going, no matter how hard they live.” Janie shrugged. “Doesn’t matter where it came from, it is in a church in Birkenhead and it works.”

“What does it look like?” The theory of the rich and famous having developed and kept secret a magic healing machine actually made sense to me. Maybe this Rich Newland was actually a philanthropist, and this was his way of making the technology available to us regular schleps. Which meant maybe there actually was a machine, and maybe it really was possible that I would see this decade out, and maybe many more. A seed of excitement began to grow in me. A cure. Remission. Maybe not so unreachable for me. I knocked my tea cup reaching for it, a barely concealed tremble getting the better of me. “Sorry,” I muttered and mopped up the mess with a few paper napkins.

Janie reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “I understand. I was the same way when Dave started to explain it all to me. It’s so much to take in.”

As her fingers touched mine tears sprung, my face suddenly hot and prickly as I tried to stop them. “I’m so sorry.” I grabbed a napkin and pressed it to my eyes. “I’m not usually like this.” Truth was I hated being emotional. But this possibility, the slim chance this woman might not be a liar or a crazy person, that this machine might actually exist… Tears welled up for a second time and I struggled to control the fresh bout of emotions.

“Take your time,” she said, her voice soothing. “As soon as you’ve got it together, I’ll take you to it. And to answer your question, it’s far better to see it for yourself than for me to try and describe it. But just in case you’re dying of curiosity, it looks a little like a tanning bed.”

I stopped staring at my unfinished tea and glanced at her. Janie was smiling, and I couldn’t decide whether her grin was concealing an inside joke. No way was I going to let my hopes get up any more than they already were. This woman that I hardly knew could be setting me up for some cruel joke. I had to remember that.

Janie pushed the key across the table towards me. “Have you heard enough? Do you want to go there?” I could almost hear the unspoken words, the words hidden between the lines: do you want to be cured?

“Yes,” I said and grabbed the key.