Daniel
Alexander Apátiga
Revised
Version 2
A
new ending to the end of a story by Poe
M. Valdemar, being on the brink
of death, was still in a state of deep hypnosis when suddenly a woman from the
future briskly entered the room without revealing her true purpose. At this point he was beyond death in either
world—heaven or hell. Just as the
hypnosis experiment had entered the phase in which he was “reanimated,” she and
I had a chance to talk. Chasity told me
she’s a doctor who has a cure. There was
no cure besides the one I had theorized, in my expert opinion, though she
convinced me hers was different. I did
not believe in her because I had no idea who she was. Despite wanting to see my experiment be drawn
to its inevitable ending, which was as I theorized, a death without a death…
also better known as the state of reanimation, I allowed her to carry out her
plan. I decided to allow her to follow
through because she was stunning. The
corpse of M. Valdemar would have some remnant of life left of who he was had I
been allowed to follow through with my experiment. Perhaps his memory, speech, and cognition,
would all be there still intact indefinitely, though not truly, because he
would be in a state of hypnosis. And my
solution to mortality would not spell the impending apocalypse as promised in
the bible—as every sick, old, decrepit human being scrambles to plead for my
aid—hypnosis on their death beds as a means of escaping judgment.
She might have
been a fallen Angel, but I began to know her as the days grew brighter as Miss Chasity. The way she lightly moved around the cabin
made me rethink her purpose. She made
some intelligent movements with her hands over M. Valdemar that weren’t sexual in
nature, but rather of unearthly methods beyond my grasp. She pulled out a shiny device that emitted a
beam that most closely resembled light, though it was a state of matter that
wasn’t energy, as I instantly knew as a baby would immediately know solid from a
liquid for the first time. Nor was it
solid, liquid, gaseous, or plasma; it was something never before seen. To have this ulterior scientific knowledge
could make me famous if I had decided to steal it from her. My conscious helped me see that it wasn’t a
knowledge we were ready for, it was for some grander purpose that she is
here. Not only that, my obsession with
the promise of hypnosis as a way to extend life had evaporated, which would
mean I’d have to pursue some other art.
My desire though for fame was greatly outshined by my desire for her
intricate personality, which wasn’t limiting me from fantasizing her beside me
in bed.
As she finished her strange
movements, I felt greatly inferior to her knowhow with a device that produced
strange results. It was for some purpose
that I could not explain, but M. Valdemar began to speak, telling me of how he felt
better and that what I had done had cured him.
It was most surprising. I thought
that he was suspended from death indefinitely, that it was her action that had
saved him.
He began to speak
as if it was the most important thing in the world, “I hear melodies and
harmonies!”
The lady, Miss Chasity,
muttered something in his ear, her device long hidden from view. She left rather matter-of-factly, unhurriedly,
because I had wanted to see her.
“When I get home I
will write down this divine melody, because the complicated music is up in my
mind.” He told me.
This piece, which
was very moving and later affected many people in society, was one of his many
soon-to-be-famous compositions. I knew
he was a musician beforehand, but imagine if he had died and no one became
acquainted with this musical genius! He
was a composer before I had met him and he sought my aid in the techniques of
hypnosis when he became infected with Tuberculosis. But I did not save him, she did.
Months later,
after he transcribed it onto some parchment, I told him, “I’m glad that you are
alive.”
In short, if he
had not been resurrected by her I wouldn’t hear people sing his songs. I wouldn’t see them cry at the moving music,
their souls touched as she touched his.
This future would be different and society both high and low would have
been robbed. Only God could guess what affect good music
has on a generation, society, and the future of a race.
She disappeared
from view and society later that week.
M. Valdemar and I tried to find her and even called the police, but
there was no one by that name who matched her appearance. Later, the government police contacted me and
questioned me just the same as I had questioned the police. One thing remained unclear, however, and that
was how she did it. There are no words
to describe it. She did it to save or
avert us from the fate of the future.
