The Fantastic Magical Remedy

 "You feeling 'right?" Bonnie asked peering over her newspaper.

"Fine," Said Clyde rocking gently in his chair, nursing a slowly warming beer.

"Gettin' cold."

"Yup."

"Wan' some supper?"

"Nop. Thanks."

Bonnie eyed him curiously and then went back to reading. She read an awful news story about some awful tragedy that had some awful meaninglessness. She sniffled a bit. Clyde's rocking chair creak, creaked back and forth as he melodically rocked. The sun was starting to set now. A beautiful sunset.

"I'm gonna make me some supper," Bonnie said at last, folding the paper up and going in. Clyde gave a grunt.

Bonnie was inside and once Clyde was sure she was gone he began to cough. He tried to keep it quiet, stifling it in his shirt and hand as best as he could. When he looked down both his shirt and hand were covered in the nasty goop. It was bloody. He'd been coughing like that for a couple weeks now. No way no how would he be going to see the doctor. That damn bastard had it out for him. He was keeping it quiet and downplaying it for Bonnie. She did enough worrying for the both of them to last a few life times, and there was no sense in adding something like a nasty cough to the list. He knew it would go away. Eventually it would go away.

Bonnie was calling him from inside. The sun was just about set, darkness was slowly closing down and the crickets were really going wild now. Clyde nodded, the peacefulness was good and true. He swished around a bit of his beer in his mouth and swallowed it before getting up. He stretched a bit, took another little sip and then went inside.

Bonnie had made a couple of TV dinners and set them on trays at the couch. She had the TV on and was watching a game show. The people on their sure seemed just happy to be on the show. Maybe one was happier than the rest with that money they were winning.

"Salisbury," Clyde muttered sitting down at his tray.

"You complainin' 'bout your food?" Bonnie barked at him with a little laugh.

"Nop. This is my favorite, you know that." She did know that, he really did enjoy it.

"Eat up, it's hot."

Clyde sat down on the couch and began picking away at his meal, his now definitively warm beer sitting there on top of a coaster. 

After dinner they went to bed. It was a chilly night and the moon was almost full, lighting up the countryside all nice and bright. Probably about midnight Clyde woke up with a coughing fit. He went into the bathroom. He rinsed his mouth out and washed his hands and as he turned off the light something caught his eye out in the yard. He peered out the window and by the bright light of the moon he saw a young woman standing by the shed looking up right at him. She seemed to be smiling and she began motioning for him to come down to her. Clyde thought he was either losing his mind or dreaming. But something was making him choose to go. Down the stairs. Out the door. Now standing right in front of her.

She was quite beautiful with fair skin and big green eyes. Her hair fell down her back in great flowing waves and she was clothed in a magnificent dress of bright colors. She was tall for a woman, standing a full head above Clyde who was close to six feet. She stood so still, though her eyes seemed to be glued on Clyde where ever or how ever he moved.

"Hello," she said in a sweet, soft voice while wearing the most inviting smile.

"Who're you?" Clyde asked.

"I am Mirhana." Her voice was so beautiful.

"What can I do for you? It's late to be out isn't it?"

"Indeed," she laughed as she spoke. "But it was important that I come to see you. I know that you suffer, and I am here to help."

"How do you know?"

"I know many things Clyde Becker. You need to be cured, and I am here to cure you!"

"Well sounds nice but how you gonna do that?"

"With this wonderful medicine," she said as she pulled a small bottle from a pocket in her dress. "You must simply drink it down quickly and it will begin to cure you. It will take three days, and on the third day you will be all better!"

"You a doc or somethin'?"

"I am not a doctor, but I am what some have called a miracle worker! I have cured many people far and wide, all over the world. I go where I am needed."

"How much it gonna cost?"

"I do not charge for what I do. I am happy to do it!"

Clyde eyed the bottle suspiciously. Free medicine seemed to good to be true. So it was a complete and utter surprise to him when he saw his hand stretching out and taking the bottle from Mirhana. Worse yet he couldn't seem to stop himself as he watched in horror as his hand moved the bottle to his lips and he downed the silvery liquid within. His hand then released the bottle and it fell to the ground and  shattered. His hand seemed his own again, but when he looked up Mirhana was gone. In her place was a note written in perfectly splendid handwriting. 

I shall return in three days to check on you. Sweet dreams, Clyde!

Clyde noticed something. His throat felt better. In fact his whole body seemed much, much better. He felt like smiling, and so he did. He smiled all the way back up to his room where he promptly fell asleep.

The next day he woke up feeling fantastic, apart from a terrible thirst. Through the whole day he found himself drinking water constantly. It was so much that even Bonnie noticed. Clyde of course shrugged it off, not wanting to tell her that he was sick or that he'd taken some miracle cure from a strange woman in the middle of the night. He felt it was all best left unsaid. In fact he himself was trying not to think about the absurdity of it too much. Though he kept drinking water, he found that he was never in need of the bathroom.

The next day he did not feel fantastic when he woke up. He felt frail and weak, and his skin was dry and leathery. He was still horribly thirsty, and when he went straight away into the bathroom to get water, he saw in the mirror that he looked quite older than he was. He wasn't a young lad anymore by any means, but his skin hadn't looked like that the day before he was sure. The whole day he spent drinking water and sitting on the porch. Bonnie certainly noticed the change in him and was constantly fussing over him and telling him they should go see the doctor. But Clyde kept his mouth shut and just said please and thank you for the water. By the end of the day he was having a very hard time breathing, and his body seemed to have lost all moisture. Bonnie helped him into bed and said that she was taking him to the doctor tomorrow, and he had no say in it seeing as he was now light enough for her to carry if she had to.

Bonnie woke the next morning and screamed a scream she had never screamed before. Her poor Clyde was lying next to her, motionless, dead, and extremely dried and shriveled up. Bonnie rushed down stairs to call the doctor, the sheriff, or the fire department even but before she could spin the phone dial a knock came at the door. She almost ignored it but decided to answer it.

She opened the door and nearly screamed again. A hideous looking figure stood before her. It wore a colorful dress and had two large acid-green eyes set above a detestable set of pincer-like jaws.

"I'm here to collect your cured husband, madam," said the creature in a beautiful sing-song voice.