Never throw away broken pieces;
you never know where they may fit.
A Fool's Book of Wisdom
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The man awoke and stretched. He could not remember the last time he had slept so long or in as comfortable a bed. He smiled and stretched again. He felt good; his spirit lighter somehow. Then a thought marred his previous happiness and a small frown tugged at the corners of his mouth and drew a crease between his brows. He looked around and realized that he did not recognize the place where he found himself, nor did he remember just how he came about being there. The bed where he lay was in the center of a round room, the walls constructed of gray blocks of rough hewn stone. He struggled to a sitting position and his frown deepened, as his body did not respond as he thought it should. He felt sluggish and clumsy as if he were a wee babe just learning how to control his movements.
"Where the hell am I and what the fuck did I do last night?" He groaned.
He almost fell out of the bed when he heard a sniggering laugh come from behind him and a deep male voice responded, "Well, Jacob, you are not anywhere and, unfortunately, you did not do anything last night, but I most certainly did." As Jacob fought to turn his body around, the voice took on a serious note, "However, I would like to thank you for the use of your body. Your assistance shall not go unrewarded."
A female voice joined the male, "Yes, dearest Jacob, thank you. When you wake, we give you a choice: you may continue with your life as you have or you may avail yourself of the gift we left you. The decision is yours to make, choose well."
"Fare thee well, Jacob." Just as the voices echoed throughout the room, Jacob managed to roll over and promptly fell off the bed.
