The Truth Berries

XVI

       They said the trees of the Forest Park have seen and heard everything the world has to offer. From two young sweethearts just starting to know each other or a whole school bus of Grade Three students having the best day of the school year to a solitude man or woman wanting nothing more than to savor every moment with nature in the middle of a bustling city. They have heard everything too – from laughter amongst children and their parents or couples quarreling over some petty issues to some devastated lover whose tears were quietly falling along with the trees’ yellowed leaves. The Park has stood as a silent witness to anything for quite some time now and it has kept each of those secrets trapped within it.

       But that day, the trees were witnessing Helen’s impatience for almost an hour already. She has been waiting there for that somebody that could help her with the matter at hand, but it seemed he was planning to stand her. Normally, she would teach that somebody a good lesson when he comes, something she knew he more than deserved, but not this time. She knew she was in no position to do so, especially if she was the one asking him a favor, or he would turn his back on her without having any second thoughts. So she took the slight although not as gracefully as she would have wanted. He was the only one she knew who could help her decipher whatever mystery the chest was hiding. Yes, she would forget her ego for this one time, but this one time only.

She was still lost in her deep thoughts that she did not notice a man in his mid-to-late forties slowly crept behind her. When the man grabbed both of her exposed shoulders, she cursed under her breath and she almost broke into a run. The man laughed at her. He was wearing a black denim pants and a red sports jacket with a plain white shirt underneath. His long black hair with several rebellious gray ones bounced with the light breeze as he lolled his head back while laughing.

       “Jeez, Dr. Winson! Why did you have to do something childish like that? You scared the hell out of me!”, she protested.

       “How many times do I have to tell you not to take too much caffeine? And it’s Herbert for you, just Herbert. So drop the doctor crap and we’ll get along just fine. Besides, we’re almost of the same age.”

       Yeah, she thought, almost. Dr. Herbert Winson was eleven years older than her and if he was trying his best to conceal his liking for Helen, he was not doing a convincing job. He was her History professor and from the very start, he made it clear that he wanted her to be more than just his student. She tried to turn him down in the most polite way that she could muster but it was then that things got worse. He then started staring at her even during his classes though she always made sure to dress accordingly. There was once an incident where they randomly met at the university’s hallways. From afar, Dr. Winson lasciviously looked upon her from head to toe, pausing shortly just above and below her belly. And then as if he was satisfied with what he was seeing, he licked his lips and swallowed loudly. Since then, he secretly became Dr. p*****t Bitchson for her and she tried the best that she could to avoid any confrontation with him.

       But she knew she needed help. Sure, there were others who would qualify for the job but she knew it would be very hard to trust somebody she barely knew. Not that she trusted Dr. Winson, but she was sure she could charm her way into letting him do the expert researching for her. She would worry about her actions’ repercussions afterwards. Moreover, Dr. Winson was more than qualified with his quite impressive resume. He was a Stanford University alumnus and he graduated there with flying colors. He took his Master’s Degree at the same university and he finished top three of his class. Then he taught for three renowned universities in the span of four years before settling for good in University of Washington. Twelve years of teaching about the past and numerous seminars held made her decision of choosing a lot easier, not to mention his absolute authority to use all the university’s resources at his disposal. All of that in exchange for some unbearable time to spend with him.

       “It is unusually cold today, wouldn’t you say, Helen?”

       With two hands stuck in her pockets, Helen feigned a light shiver.

       “Now that you mentioned it, I am actually freezing right now.”

       The trick worked. Dr. Winson instinctively removed his jacket and got behind her to help her put the jacket on. As he helped her with it, his face was just a few inches away from her neck, getting him a whiff of her perfume. He took a long drag of her scent with his eyes closed. Helen heard him breathing closely to her so she casually stepped away from him. Without him suspecting anything, Helen took out the black flashdrive that she’s been over and over again inside her pocket and hid it in her clenched fist. Then, she pulled out both of her hands and slid it into the jacket’s side pockets. She looked at Dr. Winson to see if he was watching her but he was still intoxicated with her scent.

       “Is that Euphoria of Calvin Klein?”

       “I’m sorry?”

       “Your perfume, is it Euphoria?”

        Helen chuckled nervously.

       “Oh, no it’s not. It’s just one of the cheap brands that anyone could buy in the market. I can’t afford to buy those kinds of luxurious things.”

       “You know you could, if you would only want.”

       Dr. Winson looked her straight in her eyes to let the words sink into her. Helen could not believe what she was hearing.

       “Are you totally out of your mind? You’re really asking me to be your mistress?”

       “I wouldn’t call it that.”

       She was stung and she was seething inside. The nerve of this man, she thought.

       “Then Doctor, with all due respect, what would you call it?”

       “A sponsorship.”

       “Oh.”

       A cold gust of wind passed by but no one dared to avert their eyes from each other. They were quite a sight to behold for he was staring down at her, mockery in his face, while she was defiantly standing there in front of him, afraid of nothing. A minute after the odd face-off, Helen blinked her eyes.

       “No”, she said firmly.

       “It’s up to you, darling. No pressure here”, he said as if he could not care less.

       “You know what, I think I’m feeling a little warm already.”

       She took off the red jacket and gave it to him, leaving the flashdrive in the pocket.

       “Thanks for the jacket”, she said.

       “And my offer?”

       “Thanks, but no thanks.”

       He donned his jacket and brushed invisible dirt on its left shoulder. Then, he turned his back to her and started walking away for a few yards before stopping suddenly. He looked backed, c*****g his head sideways.

       “Don’t worry, it’s an open offer. You could say yes when you are finally ready. And trust me, someday you will be. Have a good day, Helen.”

       She dismissed his last words out of her head for there was one thing left to do. She took out her phone and searched through her contacts. Then she put a call to a Dr. William Curtis and waited as the line kept ringing. The first attempt went unanswered so she dialed again. It almost rung to its full duration before the line got answered at the very last second. The male voice at the other end of the line sounded so old that she thought she was talking to some long-forgotten god.

       “Curtis. Who’s calling?”

       “Good day to you, Doctor. It’s me, Helen Sandoval. I sent that e-mail asking if I could come and see you personally. I have something that might interest you, Sir. Something that could change everything that we currently know about our present world. Something of great importance that we could not talk about it over the phone.”

       “Hmm”, was all he said.

       “Is today a good time for you, Sir? You know, to accommodate a new friend?”, she tested.

       She counted the seconds that passed before he said a dull ‘okay’ and she reached twenty-two. He gave her the directions to his house before the line got dropped. Here’s a man of many a great accomplishments but of very few words, she thought to herself. She spent fifteen minutes just to call for a cab and a light drizzle has already began by the time it dropped her at the address that Dr. Curtis gave her. She paid the driver and looked at her watch. Dr. p*****t Bitchson should be home by this time, she calculated. She gave him a call and it was answered in no time at all.

       “Hey Herbert. I’ve been thinking thoroughly for quite some time after our meeting.”

       “And?”

       “Maybe we could give it a try, I guess?”

       “Well, well. That’s more like it!”

       She could sense his excitement from his voice. What a brat, she told herself. She was disgusted but she held back.

       “Only on one condition.”

       “And that is?”, disappointment in his voice.

       “Search your jacket’s pockets. You should find a black flashdrive left in it.”

       “What?! You left something in my pocket? How could you –“

       “Just search your damn jacket”, she said with her newly acquired power over him.

       He did as he was told and sure enough, there it was. He inspected it very closely just to find anything that might suggest something but there was nothing that would indicate what it was, so he asked her.

       “What’s in this?”

       “I was hoping you could tell me that. Inside are pictures of something that I think is of great significance. True, I have vague ideas about it but I know you could do a lot more. So here’s how it’s going to be. Know everything about that then tell me all about it. Then, and only then, can we give your offer a shot. But we shall take it slowly, okay? Maybe a date tomorrow evening?”

       Dr. Winson could not mumble a single word. His curiosity was eating him alive but there was a far more powerful force inside him that’s making his hands sweat and his knees buckle.

       “And remember, not a single word to anyone or this would be over before it could ever start. Is that possible with you?”

       Dr. Winson snapped out of his daydream. He answered immediately before she could take back everything she’s said.

       “Consider it done, darling. Consider it done.”

       After that, she put her phone inside her pouch, right beside the bag which contained the seed, but she did not ring the doorbell to Dr. Curtis house right away. She needed some time to think and to evaluate her made decisions. Was it the right approach with Dr. Winson? She was definitely sure it wasn’t but she knew that was the only plausible way to convince him. She decided it was not totally a bad thing. After all, she really needed someone to give her affection to after a very long time. The best thing about it was phase one of her plan was already done. Tomorrow evening she would have her questions answered.

       But phase two did not look as promising as phase one. Convincing Dr. Winson was a piece of cake for her compared to her dilemma at the moment for Dr. Curtis seemed reluctant. Unlike Winson, she had nothing to bargain with Dr. Curtis. Although he had already agreed to meet her, he did not promise her his help. She was not even sure if he believed what she told him over the phone. What if he did not believe her? Or would he even listen to her long enough for her to show him the seed she has brought? What if she just shows it to him right away? She was certain that would be a very bad idea. He would simply say it was from an ordinary fruit-bearing plant and she would be sent away in an instant. Questions flooded her head and she started to feel a light migraine. She massaged her temples and tried to calm herself down. She needed Dr. Curtis for there was no other that could par with his knowledge in botany. The other man was living halfway across the world.

        The light drizzle was starting to grow into a thunderstorm so she had no choice but to ring the doorbell. She took a deep breath and stretched her forefinger, listened as the sound of the bell reverberated inside his house. Then, she muttered her own mantra:

       “Never take a NO as an answer.”