Maxima Goes on Vacation

by
Nathan C. Weber

    It was a warm breezy day on the beach, and the gulls were taking full advantage of it.  The large birds were floating in a low hover like stringless kites.  Occasionally, one would dip down as the thermals faded, then it would flap its wings as it searched for a new lift of warm air.  A young boy with dark skin, made considerably darker by the sun, and short, woolly hair stood with his hand shading his eyes watching the birds floating over the ocean.  Privately, he understood what it was they were feeling.  Like them, he also knew the pleasures of flight.

    "Steaks are ready!" called a voice over the dunes.

    Gerald Davis' stomach grumbled in response.  With not a little regret, Gerald turned and headed back toward the rented beach house and his family.

    The Davises had finally gotten the chance to take a relaxing vacation.  Even Gerald's big sister Marissa, who was usually away at college, was able to take advantage of the opportunity.  Gerald climbed onto the patio to find his father working away at the grill, while his mother was busy setting the picnic table for lunch.  Marissa was sitting in a deck recliner reading an Omar Tyree novel.

    "Honey, why don't you help me set the table," said Gerald's mother.

    Gerald glanced in his sister's direction with a frown.  He was about to point out that his mother already had available assistance within her reach when another voice shut him up.

    Don't you say one word, Gerald.  The voice came from inside his head.  It was Matahn, the extra-terrestrial engineer who shared Gerald's body.  Your mother asked you to do a job, continued Matahn.  If your sister wants to be a slacker, that's not your affair.

    It was annoying sometimes having two minds inside one head.  More than once Gerald thought that he had two mothers instead of one.  One he could see, and one he couldn't but whose presence was much more pervasive.

    Gerald took a deep breath and headed into the kitchen to retrieve plates and flatware.

    You're supposed to be here to relax, thought Gerald.

    You don't take a vacation from your responsibilities, replied Matahn.  You're the one who wanted to be a hero.  If you're going to go around helping people, you have to learn how to be someone that people can trust.  Being reliable is a good way to foster that trust.

    Yeah, yeah, sighed Gerald to himself.  There was no way to shield his thoughts from Matahn, so he never made the attempt.  Still, it would be nice to have thoughts to myself once in a while.

    How do you think I feel, quipped Matahn.

    Gerald laid out the plates, knives and forks on the checkered table cloth that covered the picnic table.  He then, under his mother's direction, set out the condiments.  Steak sauce, ketchup, butter, and salad dressings.  Gerald's mother retrieved a platter laden with corn on the cob.  Each cob had holding pins stuck into both ends.  Next came a small wicker basket lined with a large cloth napkin that sported the same pattern as the tablecloth.  Filling the basket to the brim and then some was a heaping helping of home fries.  This was followed by another basket of dinner rolls and a large bowl with an artfully decorated Cobb salad.  It took no time at all for the table to be completed and the family to be situated.  Gerald's father approached the table reverently carrying a platter of well done rib eye steaks.

    "Mmm, do those look good," commented Gerald's mother.

    "Thank you, Cerise," said Gerald's father.  He began to serve the steaks to each member of his family.  "Isn't it nice to get away from the big city with its noise and craziness."

    "And spandex wearing lunatics," muttered Marissa.

    Gerald couldn't help but take the comment personally.  "They're not lunatics, Marissa," he grumbled.

    "Alright then," she sneered nastily, "what would you call someone wearing a skimpy outfit running around in the middle of the night committing vigilantism which, I might add, is against the law they claim to be protecting."

    Gerald's jaw dropped, partly because he didn't have a ready answer and partly because he couldn't believe his sister had said all that without taking a breath.

    Gerald's father settled the argument.  "Alright, you two.  No arguing at the table.  We may be on vacation, but house rules are still in effect."

    "Sorry, Dad," sighed Gerald.

    Marissa just grinned wickedly.  For some reason Gerald didn't understand, Marissa had always made a point of niggling him every chance she got.  She only started doing this after she went to college.  When he tried to talk to her in a friendly manner, she would simply push him off with some kind of disparaging remark.  It was something that really bothered him.  Ever since he was little, he had idolized his sister.  She was super smart in school when he always had trouble.  She was always sure of herself when he was self-conscious.  At least, that's the way it had always been.  Until now.

    Ever since that fateful night that bound Gerald and Matahn to one another, Gerald had developed a new personality.  He was confidant now thanks to the leadership experience of the alien engineering chief.  He could ace his school studies thanks to the advanced knowledge of a technologically superior being.  His sister, on the other hand found out that just because she was top student in high school, didn't mean she would enjoy the same accolades in college.  She discovered to her shock that she was one of hundreds of top students in a much larger world.  Her grades went from A+ in high school to C- in college.  The difficulty of the curricula and the heavier responsibilities took their toll early on.  Eventually, Marissa was able to get the hang of college life.  Now, she had a B average.  Apparently, it wasn't enough for her.  She became sullen and short tempered at the worst of times and simply disrespectful at the best.  She only came home for Christmas and Summer Break.  The more Gerald saw of her, the less he liked the new Marissa.

    Having finished lunch, the family settled down to the serious task of relaxing.  Gerald once more assisted his mother and helped clear off the table.  At one point, while carrying the ketchup and salad dressing bottles into the kitchen, Marissa muttered, "Suck up," as he passed.  To Gerald, it would have almost been laughable if it hadn't been so hurtful.  He followed his own best judgment and pretended not to hear her.  One day he would learn why his sister had turned against him, and he would set things right between them.

    It may not have anything to do with you, you know, said Matahn.  Your sister may be going through some rough experience that she doesn't know how to deal with.

    But that's why you go to your family, returned Gerald.

    That's something that she still has yet to learn, apparently, replied Matahn.

    After cleaning up, Gerald decided to do some beach combing.  The coastline along the beach ran relatively straight.  The beach itself was about three miles in length.  Gerald found that he could walk its entire length in a little over an hour.  As he walked, Gerald saw shells and beached jellyfish.  Also, there seemed to be a lot of drift wood about.  Further in from the coast was the boardwalk with its many tourist traps.  Gerald rather liked the arcade they had with it's classic pinball games.  He did better at pinball than he did at video games.  There were places where beach volleyball courts were set up.  Currently, no one was out playing.  Also, along the boardwalk were row upon row of recliners where people were busy tanning themselves or reading.

    Looking further down the beach, Gerald noticed a large crowd of people.  Life guards were trying to keep the people back but were mostly unsuccessful.  Gerald decided to investigate further.

    They're trying to keep people away, said Matahn.  Your going there isn't helping matters.

    "You're just a curious as I am," responded Gerald.  "Besides, maybe we can help."

    Matahn didn't comment since it was in fact true that she was curious.  However, she felt it necessary to be the voice of reason when Gerald got adventurous.  Gerald didn't mind all that much since she had saved his butt on more than one occasion.  As Gerald neared the crowd, it became quite apparent what was drawing so much attention.  There on the sand was a beached dolphin.  People were crowding about trying to take pictures or to touch the cetacean while the life guards were attempting to ward people away.

    "Keep back," called one life guard, "he's still a wild animal , and he's in distress.  The coast guard should be on their way."

    I don't think he'll last long enough, thought Matahn to Gerald with some concern in her voice.

    Gerald took a quick look around.  Near a group of recliners was a line of five dressing tents where people change into their swimsuits.  Gerald ran towards them and ducked into the first one he saw.  Inside the tent, Gerald began his remarkable transformation.  Growing and changing, Gerald evolved into a tall, statuesque woman in a form fitting red and blue uniform.  Taking a cautious peek to see if anyone was watching, Maxima stepped out of the tent.  It would be unfortunate if someone were to note Gerald going in and Maxima coming out.  No doubt a scandal would ensue.  Assuming anyone even cared.

    Maxima jogged over to the thickening crowd where the dolphin lay.  Her appearance had a magical effect.  People stood back to get a good look at this strange newcomer.  Maxima noticed some of men sucking in their stomachs.  Maxima smiled to herself.  They really needn't bother.  She may look like a copper skinned goddess, but she had the mind of a teenage boy.

    The life guards weren't sure what to make of this unusual apparition.  Maxima walked right up to the dolphin and knelt down beside it.  She rubbed her hand gently along the dolphin's back.

    "Hey, you can't do that," protested one of the life guards.

    Maxima stood up.  "How long until the Coast Guard gets here?" she asked.

    This was a trick Matahn had taught Gerald early on.  If you act like you're in charge in the midst of a confused situation, people tend to accept that.  Most people would rather not be the ones who had to make the tough decisions.

    "We're not sure," piped up the second guard.  "We radioed for help about twenty minutes ago."

    Maxima shook her head.  "His skin is drying out.  He needs to get back into the water now."

    "We don't have the staff or the equipment to do that," complained the first life guard.

    Maxima gave him her sweetest smile.  "Not a problem," she said.  "I'll take care of everything."

    Maxima knelt down beside the dolphin and began to judge its weight, as well as the best way to support it.  The crowd was getting bolder and began to move in again.

    "Move back!" snapped Maxima.  People jumped at the commanding sound of her voice, and the crowd began to backstroke slightly.

    Maxima knew it wouldn't last.  Carefully, she scooped her arms beneath the dolphin.

    "Are you nuts?" yelled someone from the crowd.  "Do you have any idea how much that thing weighs?"

    Maxima turned to the speaker.  "You're not from around here, are you?"

    Gently, yet effortlessly, Maxima lifted the stranded sea mammal into her arms.

    "You were saying?" she commented to the heckler.

    At the moment, no one was saying anything.  Mouths were uniformly agape as she began to levitate into the air and float out to sea.  It was at this point that Maxima discovered that the dolphin's weight was now moot.  Apparently, as she levitated herself, she levitated the dolphin as well, making his mass negligible.  Once she gaged that she had gone far enough out, Maxima carefully lowered herself into the water.  She was chest high in the water when she finally released the dolphin, who immediately began to swim further out.  Its progress was slow at first, but soon it had hit its stride and was out of sight.  With a contented sigh, Maxima launched herself out of the water and flew back to shore.  The crowd was still standing where she had left it.  She landed smoothly on the sand next to the life guards.

    "Well, that's that," said Maxima, making a show of wiping her palms as if to brush dust off of them.  She looked at one of the life guards.  "You might want to call off the Coast Guard," she said.

    The life guard seemed to snap out of a daze.  "What?  Oh, uh, right.  Sure."

    "By the way," she added, "the name's Maxima.  In case you didn't get it."

    With a jaunty salute, Maxima flew off.  The crowd remained silent for a few more moments.

    "Well, hell," said the life guard.

    "Yup," opined one of the crowd members, "that about sums it up."

* * *

    "Hey, you're one of those superheroes, aren't you."

    Maxima froze like a deer in headlights.  It was Gerald's sister.  No doubt she had seen Maxima land.

    "How come you're hiding over here?"

    Maxima had to think swiftly.  "I'm trying to keep out of the public eye," she said.  "You'd be surprised how hard it is for someone like me to find some privacy."

    "Huh," exclaimed Marissa.  "Tell me about it.  I can't do anything without my parents trying to pry into my business."

    This was an unexpected tack.  Gerald wasn't sure just what to do.

    Let me handle this, said Matahn.

    Gerald could feel Matahn's mind shift to the forefront of consciousness as his perception changed.  Now, he felt like a distant observer watching events unfold without actually participating.  Matahn quickly took control of her body.

    "Parent troubles, huh?" asked Matahn.

    Marissa climbed over the rocks and sat down next to Maxima.  "They're constantly asking me questions.  Like I'm being given the third degree."

    "Maybe they're worried about you," said Matahn.  "Parents tend to do that kind of thing."

    "I'm nineteen years old," she cried defiantly.

    Maxima raised an eyebrow.  "And?" prompted Matahn.

    "What do you mean 'and'?"

    "You can be thirty-five," said Matahn, "but that's not going to stop your parents from being concerned about you."

    "They're smothering me," Marissa complained.  "I feel like I can't breathe sometimes."

    Maxima leaned back against some rocks.  "So, what happened at school?"

    Marissa blinked.  "What?  You can read minds or something?"

    Matahn chuckled.  "You don't have to be a mind reader to know something's troubling someone.  It's written all over your face.  You said you're nineteen, so I can only assume that you're in college."

    Gerald was a little worried about how his sister was going to react to this grilling.  Instead, he was startled and surprised to see his sister open up to a complete stranger.  Someone she had practically derided during lunch.  What she told Matahn shocked Gerald even further.  Suddenly, an anger rose in him like he had never felt before, but since he was no longer in control, there was nothing he could do.

    "And you didn't tell your parents about this?" asked Matahn.  The sound of her voice had changed.  Gerald heard sorrow and regret, tinged with something else.  Familiarity.  That was when the memory hit him full in the face.

    Gerald was himself again.  However, his surroundings had changed.  He was in room that had a quiet lavender color to the walls.  Soft light filled the room, but didn't seem to originate from any specific point.  In the room was a desk and a bed.  On the bed, a man had a woman pinned to the mattress.  When Gerald notice what they were doing, he reddened with embarrassment.  He was about to turn when he realized that he recognized the woman.  It was Matahn, though much younger.  She struggled at first, but eventually she stopped.  Tears ran down her the sides of her face.  She never uttered a sound.  The anger that Gerald had felt before returned in force.  He reached for the man and tried to grab him by the hair.  He wanted to pull the man off of Matahn but his hands went through him, as if he were trying to grab beams of sunlight.  Matahn turned toward Gerald as if seeing him for the first time.  You can't stop it, Gerald, she said.  It already happened.  A long time ago.  Gerald sat down on the floor and wept bitterly.

    "I don't know what to say to them,"  said Marissa sniffling.  "They'll probably hate me."

    Gerald suddenly realized that he was back on the rocks near the surf.  Despair clutched at his heart as he understood, truly understood, what Matahn had gone through.  What his sister had also gone through.

    "Never," said Matahn emphatically.  "Your parents will love you no matter what.  You know this deep in your heart."

    "But they'll say it was my fault," said Marissa.

    "It was not your fault," said Matahn.  "Just as it wasn't my fault."

    Marissa's eyes went wide.  "You?  But you're a superhero."

    "I wasn't always," said Matahn.  "The mistake I made was not telling someone.  Eventually, he attacked someone who did report the incident.  He ended up in a correctional facility.  Everyone is vulnerable at some point in their lives.  That's why you stand with your family."

    "Did your family stand by you?" asked Marissa.

    Matahn paused before answering her.  Gerald understood why.  "My family was gone when it happened," she said, "but if they were alive, they would have."

    Marissa and Matahn sat in silence for a while.  Gulls screamed above their heads as the tide slowly made its way in.  Gerald felt a heaviness in his heart.  Now, he understood why his sister had changed so much.  Now, he understood why things at school were so hard for her.  She was trying to deal with the trauma alone.

    Marissa wiped her tears away on her sleeve.  "I think, I should talk to my parents now, but it's going to be hard."

    Maxima nodded her head.  "It's always difficult to face pain straight on, but it's worth the effort.  You'll see."

    "Will you come with me?"

    Maxima looked at Marissa.  She was torn for a few moments.  "I don't think it would be appropriate," Matahn said.

    "Please," said Marissa.

    Matahn was about to refuse again.  Go on, urged Gerald.

    This is for the family, said Matahn.  I'm not family.

    I think you are, said Gerald.  Besides, she really needs your support.  You've started to help her.  You should see it through.

    Matahn realized that Gerald was right.  "Alright," she said to Marissa, "I'll go with you.  We'll see this thing through together.  But I must say, I don't think your parents will be too thrilled about your telling a stranger before you told them."

    "It'll be ok," said Marissa.  Relief spread though her tall, thin frame as she realized that she had succeeded in taking a first step.  She took Maxima by the hand and led her over the outcropping and down the dunes toward the beach house.

* * *

    Gerald was sitting on the beach tossing pebbles out into the ocean.  Yesterday's experience was definitely one he won't soon forget.  As Matahn had predicted, Gerald's parents were understanding and comforting to Marissa.  They reacted in predictable ways at first.  Gerald's mother cried at the suffering of her daughter while his dad punched a wall calling the boy who had attacked Marissa a few choice names contesting the authenticity of his parentage.  Matahn found his vocabulary to be quite a learning experience.

    As for Matahn, she was also right that Gerald's parents were disappointed that Marissa couldn't come talk to them, but they were quite thankful that Maxima was able to pull Marissa out of her solitude.  She was invited to stay for dinner, but Matahn had to decline since things would start to get awkward when Gerald didn't show up for dinner.  Later, when Gerald did arrive home he found his sister to be less sullen, but sad.  Gerald had a difficult time not letting his true feelings show since technically he wasn't supposed to have known what was going on.  Still, he managed to give his sister a big hug.  "What was that for?" she had asked bewildered.  "'Cause you don't hug me like you used to," said Gerald, "so I thought I'd remind you."  Afterwards, she squeezed him until he thought he heard his bones creak.

    Gerald picked up another pebble and tossed it out into the water.

    You really meant what you said yesterday, said Matahn suddenly.  It used to spook Gerald when Matahn spoke from out of the blue.  These days he was used to it.

    About what? asked Gerald.

    Me being family, said Matahn.

    Gerald smiled to himself.  Of course.  You're my other big sister.  He paused a moment.  You know, if you ever want to take over your body again, you're quite welcome to do so.

    There was a long silence in the back of Gerald's mind.  That's very sweet of you, Gerald, but I don't think...

    Don't say anything, now, interrupted Gerald.  You're still trying to come to grips with being, well, deceased.  But when you took over your body to talk to my sister, I could feel your elation.  You were alive again.  The truth is, you always were.  You haven't died.  You've just been transformed.  When you're ready, just let me know.  Your body is always here for you.

    Thank you, was all Matahn could manage.  Gerald was aware that she was a jumble of mixed emotions.  He decided to give her as much space as he possibly could by actively ignoring her.  She needed time to think.  A shadow fell across Gerald's legs.  He looked up and saw Marissa standing next to him.

    "Whatcha doin' squirt?" she asked in a teasing manner.

    Gerald could tell it was forced, but he was proud of her for putting on a brave face for his sake.  "I'm just sittin' here tossing pebbles into the water.  Wanna join me?"

    Marissa sat down cross-legged in the sand next to Gerald.  Soon, she too was tossing pebbles into the ocean.

    "Did mom and dad tell you what happened yesterday afternoon?"

    Gerald flung another pebble.  "No, but I figured something was up.  You could cut the tension with a knife."

    Marissa took a deep breath.

    "You know, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," said Gerald.

    "No, You should know what's going on," said Marissa.  "I've been nasty to you all through vacation, and I'm really sorry."

    "I assumed you were missing out on some important plans and didn't want to be here," said Gerald.  This was actually true.  Gerald hadn't thought much about his sister's behavior other than that it annoyed him.

    "Do you remember that guy I introduced to the family when you all came up for Parents Day?"

    "You mean Terrence, the resident assistant?"  Gerald fought hard not to express his loathing.

    "Yeah, him," said Marissa.  "He did something.  He hurt me."

    Gerald flung another pebble, putting all his anger into the throw.  "I'm not that young," said Gerald.  "I am in junior high.  He did something that no man should ever do to a woman."

    Marissa looked at her little brother and blinked.  Immediately, she began to reassess him as a person.  "I've always complained about mom and dad not treating me like an adult, but you've done some growing of your own."

    Gerald turned to his sister and smiled.  "Life goes on, sis."

    Life goes on, said Matahn.

T H E   E N D

Return to The Document Library.