My Shorts 2019 - 3. MS19 - The Ring

It has been a long forty-years. I worked for Abrams, Santina, & Shiller since I was fresh out of high school at eighteen-years-old, and today on my fifty-eight birthday was my last day. When I was hired my first position was in the mailroom, and I’m finishing my career as a vice-president of human relations. I owe a lot to A.S.S., and I’m thankful for the opportunities they have given me.

We had just finished up with one of those feel good ‘farewell’ parties, complete with store-bought cake and ice cream, and I was now in my office getting ready to leave for the last time. My belongings were already gone, I spent a week taking things home, and all that was left was the few things my coworkers gave me today. So, imagine my surprise when the knock came, and this big brute of a man just strolls in.

“All yours, bud.” He drops an envelope, one of the small tan-yellow padded ones, onto my desk, and walks out before I can say anything.

Shaking my head, I picked up the envelope, blowing out a frustrated breath. It was light, addressed to me, but with no return address nor postage. Curious what was in it, I opened the flap. Inside was a silver-colored ring, but didn’t have the weight or feel of silver, and a note.

Sam,
Place the titanium ring, on your left ring-finger, and prepare yourself for a major change.
A Friend

‘What the hell…’ I thought. Thinking it was one last retirement prank, I slipped the ring onto my finger. I could not have been more wrong if I had tried.

~.~

I woke up and looked around… it was not my office I was in. The room was small, plain, and a solid white color. Two chairs were in the center of the room, and one of them was already occupied.

“Ric? Where am I? How did I get here? How did you get here? You’re dead!” Trembling I felt for my pulse, which I didn’t need to as it felt like my heart was about to beat out of my chest.

Ric laughed at me. “You’re not dead, and neither am I. Have a seat.” He pointed at the chair across from me. “We need to have a talk.”

With my mind running a million miles an hour, I got up and sat down on the chair. “Um Ric… why are we naked, and you look thirty-years younger?”

He smiled. “That’s what we have to talk about. From the beginning… I recommended you for a special job, the same that had happened to me. If you accept the position, you’ll become immortal, your age will turn back to when you were twenty-one, and you’ll be set up with a cover identity to do your job.”

“And what is the job?”

“It would be as a guardian. They assign you either a person, family, or place and you make sure they remain safe. Either by your influence, or you call people in. Your charges will often change up. In this position, your charges don’t know they are being cared for.” He paused a moment. “However, there might be another one you would be good for. We call them fixers.”

“And that is?”

“They are guardians, but they have more hands on task. You’re assigned one person, who you take care of, in whatever why you deem appropriate.”

“Why do you think I’ll be good for that?”

“Your heart. You’re always looking to help others. I’ve seen you take your jacket off and give it to someone on the street. Also, you’re gay, like me. There’s just a few of us guardians who are gay, and we’re getting more and more cases to watch over gay people.”

More than a little stunned, I sat and thought about the offer. “If, I’m hands on, wouldn’t me not aging be a red flag?”

“No, that would be taken care of with a rebirth process. You are ‘born’ as a new person, age dependent on the person you’re assigned to, and then live until the assignment is over. Either with your assignee no longer needing guardianship or passes away. You would then be rebirth for your next assignment.”

“And what if part of that taking care of, involves a physical relationship?”

“Whatever it takes, you may do. Including termination of individuals.”

It was a lot to take in. I sat and thought about my options. “How do I accept?”

“If you want the job, just leave the ring on, and go through the door over there. You’ll get your first assignment, and knowledge of what a guardian can do. If you decline. Take the ring off, and walk through the door, and you’ll wake up in your office as if, nothing had ever happened.”

“Is it worth it?”

“Yes, it is. Even with the one time I had to leave the guy I fell in love with.”

“You and I were in love when I thought you died… you were my guardian?”

“Yes, I was.” He looked a little sad. “It was the hardest day for me in centuries, but I had to leave you once you were in a place where you could take care of yourself. They assigned me someone else to help.”

“All right, I’ll do it.”

We stood up and walked to the door that appeared out of nowhere and stepped through.