To Drink from the Fountain

My name is Henry Watkins. I'm pushing 70 now and I'm looking back at a life that was not what I had hoped for. Over forty years ago I stood at the altar and exchanged vows with my lovely wife, Diane. It was the happiest day of my life. I remember kneeling in the church the day of the wedding and praying for guidance, for wisdom, for patience, and saying prayers of thanks. I had found the most wonderful woman in the world and I would spend the rest of my life with her.

Yes, the rest of my life...the rest of my long and disappointing life.

Don't get me wrong. We did and still do love each other. We had some happy years, but my mother once told me that you don't really know someone until you live with them a few years. Thanks, mom. You waited until I'd been married for a decade before you dropped them gem on me. By then, it was far too late.

Diane was always longing for the good things: good cars, expensive clothes, jewelry that cost just a bit more than I was comfortable with. I knew this about her when we dated, but I was young and in love and I was determined to provide for her. As the years past, her demands increased. I wanted a house that was comfortable, but she wanted a house that was expensive and more impressive. The cars were never good enough. We had to have a membership in the country club even though we didn't play tennis or golf. My wife was generous and took boxes of clothes to the thrift shop, and that made room in her closet for newer clothes. There were always newer clothes.

Three kids came along and I poured my love and affection into them. They were good kids and I was determined that they not grow up with their mother's materialism. I wanted to be their softball coach, their soccer coach, and their basketball coach; but Diane always pushed me to work more and provide for an ever better life. She never appreciated my need to be a dad to my kids. They had her and she had other plans for me.

Don't get me wrong. I loved Diane. I really did. It's just that as the years past it felt as if my value to her lay solely in my ability to provide her with the status she needed. Meanwhile, all I really wanted was to spend time with my family and the people I loved. I wanted time, just time, but that is what I never had. I worked hard to provide her with the material things she required and year by year that robbed me of what I wanted most.

I was an important man in our town, but all I really wanted was time with those I loved.

You're probably thinking that Diane was so completely selfish that she cheated on me. She didn't. As far as I know, she never even considered it. We had an active and satisfying sex life throughout our marriage; but as the years past and she slowly robbed me of what I wanted most, my resentment grew. I hid it well, or maybe I denied it even to myself. As far as she knew, I was the loving husband who would never amount to anything if she wasn't standing behind me always pushing me onward. Maybe she was right. Maybe I did make something more of myself because of her constant need that I excel, but it wasn't what I wanted.

And so here we are. The kids are grown. The grandchildren have arrived. I hardly know any of them, or at least we aren't as close as I had wanted. I worked so hard to provide my wife with the life she wanted that my kids are virtual strangers to me. Now, much too late, I've started working less. Diane and I are on vacation. It was a tough sell, but we're staying at a small resort on a rustic island in the Caribbean. She wanted to go someplace swanky, but this year I'd have none of it. I'm sitting on the beach, swimming and fishing, and eating fresh food taken from the sea and the garden that same day.

I'd befriended the young man who tends to our needs on the beach. "It must be lovely to live here all year, sit in the sun, swim in the ocean, and just enjoy life. I'm really jealous of you, Manuel."

"Ah, Mr. Watkins, for you it is vacation. For me, it is work."

"Still, it must beat working in an office, going to endless meetings, and fighting the traffic every day."

"Well, sir, that traffic brings opportunity. You have many more places to eat, you have movies, and..."

"Yes, yes, but it isn't worth it. This is the life. I swear if I were young again I'd plant myself here on this island and just enjoy my life and spend time with the people. You know, I'd live a life that's worth living instead of just a life of work."

"If you were a young man again, Mr. Watkins?"

"Yes, Manuel. If I were a young man again, I'd live my life very differently."

"And what about your wife, Mr. Watkins?"

"She's had the life she wanted. She made sure of that. I lived my life giving her the life she wanted. If I were young again, I'd live my life the way I wanted."

"Enjoy your vacation, Mr. Watkins."

"Enjoy your day, too, Manuel." With that, I settled back to soak in the warmth of the sun and the ocean breeze.

The next few days were uneventful, which is exactly what I wanted. Diane wasn't happy. She did all the shopping the island had to offer on that first day. I encouraged her to just relax, enjoy the sun and surf, but none of this was what she wanted. She was bored.

Well, I wasn't bored. When I wasn't lying on the beach or swimming in the surf, I was cruising the island. I rented a scooter and I traveled the back roads. I was fascinated by the way the local people lived. Their houses were scattered in small groups and every house had a garden in the back where they raised their vegetables. Every family had a small boat that they used to fish. There were chickens everywhere. I grew envious of every family on the island. Their lives were simple and they seemed to live close to one another, enjoying their lives and their time together.

A few days before our vacation was to come to an end, I was again on the beach talking with my friend Manuel.

"Have you enjoyed your vacation, Mr. Watkins?"

"Very much, Manuel."

"Do you still wish you could be young again, to live your life differently?"

"Oh, yes, very much, Manuel!"

"Mr. Watkins, you seem like a nice man. Have you not enjoyed your life? Are you not pleased to have a wife who has been with you all these years? Do you not enjoy your children and grandchildren? You have shown me their pictures, so I know you are proud of them."

"I do, Manuel, but I wish I had more time with them. They grew up so fast and I worked too much. If I were young again, I would spend my days playing with my grandchildren and my nights sitting with my children."

"Maybe you can, Mr. Watkins."

"Manuel, now you're just making jokes at an old man's expense. My youth is long gone. I have some years ahead of me, but not many. I'll be in decline, tired all the time, I'll grow weak, and before you know it I'll be the child and they will need to take care of me."

"Mr. Watkins, I will tell you something. You can be young again."

"Manuel, please..."

"No, Mr. Watkins, I am serious. You have heard of the Fountain of Youth? It is here, Mr. Watkins. It is on this island."

"Manuel, I'm old, but I'm not senile. We both know there is no Fountain of Youth."

"There is, Mr. Watkins, and it is here."

"Ok, I'll bite. Where is it, Manuel? Is it here at the resort? What's the price of admission?" I knew he was pulling my leg, but I was enjoying it and Manuel was a nice fellow.

"It is up on the mountain, far off the road. Only the local people know about it, Mr. Watkins. We tell almost no one."

"And you'll show me for a price?"

"No, Mr. Watkins. This is something you must do. It is considered a private matter not to be shared with strangers. I like you, Mr. Watkins, but this is something I cannot do with you. I must tell you that many people have gone there and many have regretted it. Life is meant to be a voyage you take only once. We pass from birth to death and then into life everlasting. If you should choose to take that voyage again, it is a private decision that you share only with those you love."

"That sounds ominous, Manuel. Where are you sending me?"

"It is not dangerous, Mr. Watkins. However, you should be sure that you want to do this. The second life often does not meet our hopes and expectations. You must be sure."

"Manuel, if it were real, I would drink until I was full."

"One more thing, Mr. Watkins, you must take your wife with you. This is something you must do together. No one may share the fountain's gift a second time. You drink only once and then the gift is given. It is once and only once."

Manuel proceeded to tell me how to find the fountain and I must confess that I became intrigued. I knew he was pulling my leg, but the more I thought about it the more I wanted the adventure of looking for it.

That night I told Diane. She only laughed at me. "You old goat! You think you can go off and find some young thing to replace me? He's obviously having a laugh at your expense."

"I know, but I need the adventure. Come with me, Diane."

"No. I'm getting together with some of the other women here. We're going to the other side of the island. There are some restaurants and stores we haven't tried."

Okay, she made her choice. The next morning I rented a scooter and I was off.

I had a fairly good idea of where Manuel was sending me. I'd been to that part of the island already. I went up the back roads, climbing in altitude as I went, until I came to the place where the path began. I parked my scooter and I started up the path, and I do mean "up"! Every step took me higher up the mountain. I wasn't old, yet; but I wasn't young, either! The climb was taking everything out of me. It was draining me and I began to wonder if I had the strength to reach the top.

I got lucky. I didn't need to reach the top of the mountain, but I did hike ever upward for well over an hour. The path made its way through the forest where it was quiet with just the sound of the birds to keep me company. I heard the fountain before I saw it. I expected so much; but it was just a natural spring, just a void in the rock. The water passed through the air for perhaps 6 to 8 inches and then ran into a small, natural bowl that overflowed gently and disappeared into the ground. All there was to indicate I had found my destination were the words carved in the rock "Youth is a Gift".

They say there is no fool like an old fool, but I bent over the bowl and drank from the spring. The water was cool and refreshing and even if it were nothing more than a drink of water, it was exactly what I needed after my hard climb. I sat with my back to the rock, listened to the gurgling sound of the spring and the songs of the birds in the trees, and I took a nap. When I awoke, I made my way back down the path to my scooter and then back to my room as the day was ending and night was coming on. I felt refreshed. I felt alive! I felt the years lifting from my bones. I started to believe that when morning came I truly would be young again.

"Hello, you old goat! Did you enjoy your adventure?" My loving wife was laughing at me.

"As a matter of fact, I did. I feel great! I feel rejuvenated. I feel better than I've felt in years!"

She looked at me like I was nuts. "You are a gullible old fool, you know that?"

"I may be gullible, but I feel great! Right now, I'll take gullible over jaded anytime."

"Have you had dinner?"

"Actually, I haven't even had lunch!"

"I got you some rice and beans with a couple of fish tacos. It's cold, but I can ask the hotel to warm it for you."

"Cold is fine. The food here is so fresh, I bet it's delicious!" It was.

I told Diane about my adventure. All she could do was shake her head and look at me with mocked pity. I know I seemed foolish, but that day was the best day of my vacation and I honestly started thinking that I might wake up young again.

We headed for bed. With youth comes the desire for sex and I felt my libido rising. Forty years of marriage may have taken its toll on my sex drive, but that night I was a teenager again! To my delight, Diane responded with genuine enthusiasm. "It's been a long time since you were this randy!"

"I'm telling you, that fountain does wonders!"

"Maybe I'll need to head up there myself!"

I made love to my wife with more energy and purpose that I'd had in a very long time. Then I got it up for a second round. Of course, Diane laughed at that, too. Still, I felt the fountain was working.

In the morning I awoke, rolled out of bed, and immediately felt every one of my almost 70 years. Damn fountain! Damn fool! It was all a joke. My euphoric energy of the night before had been all in my mind. I sat in a chair and felt older than I have ever felt before.

Diane stirred and I knew what was coming. I'd be the butt of her jokes for the rest of the vacation and every time she told her friends about our trip. She threw back the sheet and bounded out of bed.

I could not believe my eyes. She was gorgeous! She was the babe I married so many years before. She looked like she was twenty-two again.

I sat there staring at my lovely wife. She stood there looking in the mirror and then looking back at her old husband. Neither of us spoke.

Such a cruel joke! I finally understood the meaning of the words that were carved on the stone by the fountain, "Youth is a Gift". The fountain wasn't for me. I drank the water, but the promise of the fountain was passed along to my wife when we made love. Youth is a gift and the fountain only worked its magic when I passed it on to another. Manuel had told me to take my wife, but I had not understood. We were both intended to drink from the fountain and then pass the gift to each other.

For all her faults and difficulties, Diane did love me. She went with me that day to the fountain and she drank. We made love again that night, but it didn't work. Apparently that one drink rule was more powerful than I understood. My wife was young and beautiful and I was still old. Diane became my trophy wife and I looked the fool. She stayed with me for a time, but no young woman wants to be saddled with an aging and infirmed man who looks more like her father, or even her grandfather, than her husband. We drifted apart and eventually she moved on.

That damn fountain! Youth may be a gift, but it was not for me.

*** *** ***

Sorry, but not all stories have happy endings. The idea for this was originally inspired by AutumnWriter's lovely story "The Sweet Water of the Fountain". That took me back to the Twilight Zone episode "A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain" and from there my mind went in a dark direction.