Nigkala Tales Pt. Coda: My life ends
But my new life begins
Thanks to my editor kenjisato. Also, to LanguageTool. Combined, they put me right. Any problems left all belong to me.
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Years ago, Filipe retired from action films. His body just wasn't up to the demands of such films. Instead, he did voice acting and dramas. He needed a cane, as well. Yet neither of us minded, as it was just simple age. I, too, was thinking about what age would do to me in a decade when I became his age. My hair had already faded from black and white to gray and white. My strength was also down to merely strong, rather than world-champion strong.
But a year ago, it started to unravel. Filipe was diagnosed with inoperable cancer. He decided that chemo and or radiation would reduce his quality of life beyond what he was willing to endure, and so he opted for pain-management care. As he was eighty-one, we both felt it was the right choice. Our finances were more than enough for whatever care he needed, so that was not a concern. I decided to limit my own work to work I could do from home, or work done locally for a half day or less, so that I could spend time with Filipe. Our children spent far more time with us. To encourage this, I hired a full-time babysitter. She would watch whatever children were about the place, and help the maid when no kids were about. She even lived on site, in one of the bedrooms.
I also hired a personnel manager, to handle all the requests for visits and interviews. Many came to visit and comfort Filipe, but a number also came to support me. While a number of people wanted to interview Filipe, I, and his doctor, insisted such interviews be short, and subject to his desire. I only did one interview a week, at most, unless it was about my own work. Those interviews, I insisted, be only about the work, and not about my family life.
When he died, I felt many emotions. Because my family was with me so much at this time, I did not feel lonely. And since Filipe went happy and in peace, I was at peace, even though I missed him greatly. Knowing he would not want me to pine away, I chose to get back in the game, and did three films, although two were animated. Many noticed that my attire became less risquΓ©, even though I still often flashed others. Likewise, my sex life slowed down, to only having sex once or twice a week.
I found my enthusiasm for acting waning, so I transitioned into mostly voice acting. Likewise, I attended fewer conventions, but did more chatting online. I also spent more time visiting family. I found I liked the quieter life. Two years went by, and suddenly the Nigkala stories became popular. One of my four-breasted granddaughters, from my donated ovaries, played the role. While not as tall as me, she was tall enough. While I briefly thought about getting back into the role myself, I quickly realized it would never work. But that got me thinking about what happened early in my career. My hand had been amputated and I used my mental skills to regrow it. What if I could regrow myself? Not as a new body, but rather, renewing all my parts by regeneration of the cells. Could I regenerate into a young new body?
Over the next two months, I spent a lot of time thinking about it. I even spoke to Inanna about the possibility and desirability. She was skeptical about achievement, but felt that if I desired it, I should try. Eventually, I decided to try. I then spent several months planning what needed to happen. I noticed my birthday was two months away, so I decided to start on that day. Well, the day after, since family would be visiting. It took some time to track down the doctor that had monitored the regeneration of my hand.
Doctor Holiday answered, "Hello?"
"Hi, Doc, this is Becky Sue."
"Do I know you?"
"I know it has been quite some time. You should remember me. You spent over a year monitoring and documenting the regeneration of my amputated hand."
"Oh! That Becky Sue. It has been a long time. What has been happening since we last saw each other?"
"I have made many films, donated my ovaries to an egg bank, met some of those children, and had a lot of fun. But there is a sad part, as well. My husband Filipe passed away a few years ago."
"My condolences. If I had known, I would have sent a card, as traveling is near impossible for me these days."
"It is?"
"Yes. My eyesight has been failing for many years now, and a few years ago I was declared legally blind. Now, I can tell if it is day or night, but that is about it."
"I am so sorry. That breaks my plans."
"How so?"
"I had planned to hire you again for a similar regeneration project."
"Another? Did something happen to you again?"
"Just age."
"Then what would you be doing?"
"I wanted to see if I could regenerate everything, resulting in a new, younger body."
There was silence for nearly a minute. "You want to reverse the aging process?"
"Essentially yes. You know how much my mind is able to control my body. I want to see if I can push it farther."
"I so want to do it, but there is no way I can. Hmm... but there might be a way I could help."
"Oh? Do tell."
"My youngest son followed in my footsteps. I have told him a little about your regeneration, but never with any evidence, and nothing recorded. Only an anecdotal account, and I only described your mental power, and what I saw happen with your hand. Even so, he knows that I don't lie about medical stuff. I think he would jump at the chance, and I know he is qualified to monitor as I did."
"Can you give me his contact info?"
"Sure."
I wrote down the info, and then said, "I will call again soon, after I speak with him."
"I look forward to that." We said our goodbyes, and rather than call immediately, I looked up this son.
I was surprised. This Doctor William Holiday was a research scientist, in the area of virology. He lived not far from his father. His research was into enabling the body's own defenses to fight the ills affecting it. This included fighting cancer. While I thought immediately of Filipe, I soon realized their progress was nowhere near application. Still, it had a lot of potential. I read what I could find about his work ethic, and other aspects of his personality. Finally satisfied, I gave him a call.
"Hello, Bill Holiday here, how can I help you?"
"Such a nice greeting for a young man. Your father gave me your number. He said I might be able to hire you."
"Ma'am, I have a full-time job."
"I know, I looked you up. Your father said he mentioned me to you many years ago. You should know me as the woman who regrew her hand."
"Yeah, right. You're just pranking me."
"What if I can prove it? Would you let me hire you?"
"Unlikely. I make a pretty penny."
"I could easily match it. But if you are okay with it, you could continue with your job and only work a few hours on the weekends, and effectively double your pay."
"I still think you are pulling my leg, but I do admit, double pay sounds quite interesting."
"How about we meet?"
"No. I don't want to waste my time."
"I see. I guess I'll have to find another way to convince you. Goodbye."
I called his father and told him how the call went.
"I really thought he would go for it."