RESURRECTION

RESURRECTION
By Dick Dunlap

A pathetic creature. More pathetic than the homeless. More pathetic than the derelicts and winos on skid row. Passers-by pretended not to see him as he leaned into a non-existent wind, pulled on a non-existent rope, opened a non-
existent door. Ignored him as his painted white face grimaced surprise, fear, determination.

They gave him wide berth as he was trapped in an invisible box frantically feeling with white-gloved hands for an escape route. Young children who stopped to stare were jerked onward by their mothers.

A policeman approached.

"OK Marcel, it's time to move on."

The white face looked up. Surprise. Happiness. Fear. He turned, leaned forward and walked away, magically staying in the same place. A night stick gently prodded his rear.
The imaginary wind ceased blowing and Barry Nevers with determination and exaggerated movements walked off.

A woman grabbed her son's arm and pointed.

"See, if you don't do your homework, that's what you'll be when you grow up."

Fear shone in the young lad's eyes and a silent pledge was made to study hard.

As Barry moved along Church Street, he was aware of a limousine pulling to the curb ahead of him. The smoked window rolled down revealing a matronly woman inside with wire-rim glasses and black hat. Her Shelton Stroller dress
was partially covered by a mink stole.

Exiting the car, she assumed an authoritative pose.

"You, come here."

Barry's white face registered exaggerated surprise as his gloved hand pointed to his chest.

"Yes you. Come here."

Barry's hands grasped the nonexistent tug of war rope. Pulling backwards mightily, he was nevertheless pulled slowly to the limo door, indeed, right into the back seat.

The door slammed shut. No words were exchanged. Barry quickly scanned the interior: a chauffeur, the lady, television set, plush leather seats, foldaway bar, speaker intercom. With each new discovery his face registered
surprise, then happiness. He failed to see that there were no door handles on the inside.

The limo pulled into the drive of a stately mansion on Harlem Boulevard and up to a side door.

"You may step out now, Sir," said Jeffries, holding the door.

Barry just sat in the car not moving.

The chauffeur without hesitation grabbed
an invisible rope and tugged and pulled until Barry, resisting valiantly, was pulled from the car and into the house. Down the hall the tug of war took place, into a large windowless room
without doorknobs on the inside.

Here the chauffeur gently but firmly set Barry down on a straight back chair. The lady entered and handed her hat and stole to Jeffries.

"Sir, I don't know who you are. We will find that out in due time. I do know, however, your affliction. We will begin dealing with that immediately. My name is Mrs. Abigale Von Goddard. I belong to a dedicated group which
deprograms mimes and releases them from that disgusting state. I assume you cannot tell me your name?"

Barry with a silly grin gave an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders.

"Then we shall have to start at the beginning. Are you thirsty?"

Barry responded by opening a tap and moving a glass to his lips, imaginary of course.

"That will not do, Sir. You must say, 'I am thirsty' before you will receive water."

Barry just sat with the happy look on his face. For three hours he did nothing as Mrs. Von Goddard read and wrote letters. She drank frequently from a real pitcher of ice water.

Finally Barry, with a look of haunting sadness, again took a drink from his imaginary tap.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but you must say, 'I am thirsty.' Then you can have a long, cool drink of this delicious ice water."

A lump rose in Barry's throat. A pained look filled his eyes. He said nothing.

It was six o'clock the following morning. Barry hadn't had a drink and had eaten only a few handfuls of salted nuts from the dish on the table.

He tapped Mrs. Von Goddard on the shoulder and pantomimed drinking a glass of water. Then opening his parched lips and through a dry cracked throat croaked,
"Aggggggr."

"Progress Sir, here is your glass of water."
Barry's conditioning continued. After two weeks he was saying "water" and "I am thirsty."

Mrs. Von Goddard strapped his arms to his side so he couldn't make the silly gestures. His face was scrubbed repeatedly to remove the white
makeup. His black hat and white gloves were ceremoniously burned in the fireplace.

"Mr. Nevers, you have responded heroically to the treatment. We have completed phase one. Tomorrow we will begin phase two."

The next morning electrical equipment was wheeled into the room, along with a projector and cans of film. Anodes were placed on his temples. The room was darkened and a projector whirred. On a five-foot screen a pastoral scene
appeared. Green fields with blue sky. Wild flowers bobbed in waves on a gentle breeze.

"Oh," Said Barry as small lambs frolicked.

Suddenly the scene disappeared and in its place was a mime with all his silliness.

"Aggh!" said Barry, half in surprise and half in pain as electrical current coursed his temples.

A new picture appeared. A baby gooing and cooing. A toddler taking her first unsteady steps. A young child with a puppy licking his face.

"Ohhhh!"

Then again the mime filled the screen.

"Agggggh!"

Next a voluptuous full-breasted woman was on the screen. Her full red lips mouthed, "I want you." She wore only a short revealing negligee.

Barry sat upright, his eyes sparkling. The women shyly turned her back. The negligee slipped to the floor. Slowly she started to turn.

"Ohhhhh!" he said, than "Aggggggh!" as the woman was replaced by a mime and the electricity flowed through his brain.

The films continued for five days, then a new innovation was added. Boxes of rotting fruit and vegetables were placed by Barry. When the mime appeared on the screen, he stayed while electricity pulsated, until Barry threw a
rotting tomato at the image. Then onto the next scene.

After three days and eighteen boxes of rotten food the projector was turned off and the anodes removed from Barry's temples. Mrs. Von Goddard came forward and placed her hand
on Barry's shoulder.

"My boy, you are cured. I'm so happy for you. You can now take your place in God's world. It is time for you to go home."

She kissed him lightly on the cheek and a tear ran from the corner of her eye.

"Right this way, Mr. Nevers," Jeffries said as he escorted Barry from the room and into the limousine.

As they traveled south on Main Street, then west on State, Barry commanded, "Jeffries, stop the car for a moment."

He exited the limo and moved quickly to one of those unfortunate mime persons. Barry roughly pushed the man into the garbage-strewn gutter, then returned to the car.

"Home, Jeffries."

That night Mrs. Abigale Von Goddard wrote one short line in her journal. "Today the world is a better place."

Story ID:	270
Written by:	Dick Dunlap (bio, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Story
Location:	Rockford Illinois USA
Year:	2006
Person:	Barry Nevers