“What’s the Most Powerful Thing in the Universe?”
Old Fred knew he was near the end of his life - at least, he knew it most of the time. He knew it when he could remember who he was, or how old he was, or where he was, or how he felt. There were lots of times, though, when he remembered none of these things, and when that happened, it didn’t bother him as much.
It was bothering him now though, and the idea of someone rolling him to physical therapy again just made it worse. He couldn’t move under his own power, couldn’t clean himself, couldn’t feed himself, and it really put him in a bad mood. He knew the end was near and he just couldn’t understand why these nursing home idiots insisted on living in denial and delaying the inevitable. Why couldn’t they just leave him alone?
So he sulked. He sulked in his bed when they came to take him to PT. He sulked in their arms as they lifted him to the wheelchair. He sulked as they strapped him in. He sulked as they rolled him down the tiled beige hallway. He sulked as they smiled at him and told him how good he looked and cracked jokes and wiped his drool from his gown. It wasn’t until he swatted at the pretty PT girl that anybody else sulked. Then they locked his wheelchair, said they’d be back “in a minute” and left him to tend to the other old-timers in the PT room.
Good riddance, he told himself. He wondered when the forgetting would return so he wouldn’t have to sit through the rest of this garbage like he was watching TV from some remote location. The place smelled like Band-Aids and alcohol, which pissed him off. He noticed they’d parked him by the soiled laundry bin, and he got a whiff of that, and that pissed him off even more. Then he noticed something on a rollaway table next to him. It looked like a big piece of gravel, but it glowed, just slightly, with all the colors of the rainbow.
Fred picked it up and immediately felt the thing connect to his essence through the skin of his fingers.
Finally, he felt it say in his mind. Finally, the worthy chosen one has been found.
What the…, thought Old Fred.
Fred, it said, you are the chosen one.
“Chosen one? Chosen for what?” Fred said out loud.
To own and use The Most Powerful Thing in the Universe.
“What’s the Most Powerful Thing in the Universe?”
I am.
“This rock?”
If that’s what you want to call me.
“You’re a rock. How is a rock The Most Powerful Thing in the Universe?”
The rock glowed, and Fred immediately felt a sense of physical strength and mental focus he had not experienced in at least twenty years. He was an old man then, but still able to kick a little ass and take a few names. The sensations from the rock reminded him of what that potential felt like. The skin of the hand holding the rock looked much more like regular skin than the crepe-papery skin he’d grown used to seeing there. After a few moments of this, his vision cleared, and the rock glowed less.
Did you feel that?
Old Fred nodded.
That’s just a taste.
“The Most Powerful Thing in the Universe? You’re capable of anything?
Yes.
Fred thought about this for a moment, then looked at his youthful hand again. His bushy grey brows furrowed.
“Can you cure cancer?”
Yes.
“Can you stop a freight train before it hits something?”
Yes.
“Can you stop a flood?”
Yes.
“Can you stop a bullet?”
Yes.
“Can you keep someone from getting old?”
Yes.
“Can you save the stillborn?”
Yes.
“Can you change the past?”
Yes.
Old Fred paused. He looked at the clock, then looked at his catheter bag half-full of pee, then looked at his IV bag.
“Why am I the chosen one?”
Your spirit, courage, will, and experience make you the perfect candidate for the great responsibility of wielding The Most Powerful Thing in the Universe.
“Have I always been the chosen one?”
Yes.
Fred clenched his young fist and scowled.
“You know those questions I asked you earlier?”
Yes.
“Well, I’ve lost everyone I’ve ever known and those things you say you can do would’ve stopped all that from happening.”
Yes.
“Well, why in Hell did you decide to show up now?”
You weren’t ready until now.
Old Fred considered this for a moment.
He rolled The Most Powerful Thing in the Universe around in his hand, chuckled once, tossed it into the soiled laundry bin, and died less than an hour later.