Elixir

by James O. Sy, PhD

  Feeling bone-tired and totally exhausted, JT started to maneuver his growing but skinny five feet and nine point five inches frame into the inviting La-Z Boy leather sofa, but stopped midway. He remembered the letter that his unsettled mom handed him.

  In a half-crawling, half-dragging motion, he forced himself to cross the short distance to his backpack and deposited the sealed letter inside, placing the letter so that it was wedged between pages 101 and 102 of his chemistry textbook.

  Having safely stored the handwritten note away, he settled snugly into his La-Z Boy sofa. He dozed off almost instantly the moment he laid his head down on the soft, fluffy, monogramed pillow, too exhausted from the all the crazy happenings that went on today.

  ………

  The last two weeks of the semester came and went without any major surprises. Most of Jake’s time was spent at the library, studying and preparing for the final exams. He took his Organic Chemistry 3 and Physics 3 final exams on the last school day of the spring quarter and had turned in his term paper a day before to fulfill the final requirement necessary to pass English 103: composition and critical thinking course.

  The only thing holding him back from welcoming the relaxing, carefree summer of 2017 was the thankless chore of packing up his stuff and joining his roommates in cleaning the messy apartment before they could officially vacate.

  CHAPTER 14

  BFF

  One relationship expert opined that a person is extremely lucky if, in that person’s lifetime, he or she is able to meet three special friends. These special friends are pretty rare because they have unflinching loyalty; are pillars of strength and power; are beacons of hope; are always looking out for your best interests; are ready to extend a helping hand; are eager listeners and sources of wisdom and guidance; are there to help clean up your mess and by your side as you fight your bloody battles; are ever present to encourage and motivate as you strive to reach the greatness of your God-given talents and potential; are there to serve as a steadying force as you are buffeted by life’s ill winds, trials, and tribulations; and are there to help lift you up when you get weighed down by the burdens of daily living.

  They cry with you in your moments of grief and pain; suffer with you during your agonizing defeats and abject failures; rejoice with you as you celebrate your successes; and are always willing, able, and committed to see you through the lowest ebbs of life and make sure you emerged from life’s crucibles of fire a stronger and a more compassionate being.

  ………

  Jake Timothy was lucky because he found one such friend during his sophomore year at UC San Diego. He met his BFF (best female friend) by accident. Sherry is an indefatigable, enthusiastic, athletic, live wire of a young girl. She is like an Amazon princess, figuratively of course. There was no task, problem, barrier, or challenge that could deter her optimism.

  Although she is only one year older than Jake, she is infinitely more mature in her actions and way of thinking. She grew up in the Midwest, living a fun and care-free existence in an idyllic small university town of Ames, Iowa. She is into equestrianism (the Brits have always had the knack of using fancy words)—horseback riding—ever since her Grandpa Bill gifted her with a young colt when she was nine years old. She is quite fond of her magnificent, chestnut-colored horse, whom she affectionately called Prince. She felt exhilaration whenever she prodded Prince into full gallop, both rider and the majestic beast unrestrainedly racing into the wind, going furiously against competitors during an imagined Kentucky Derby run. She occasionally engaged in cosplay, fully geared up and pretending to be one of those highly skilled jockeys competing in the run for the roses.

  But it wasn’t all fun and games whenever Sherry was at her grandpa’s farm. She did a variety of chores, helping in every way she could during the corn-growing and harvesting season. She was such a quick study. She learned to operate both the tractor and the combine harvester by the time she was twelve. She could also fix the small problems periodically besetting those machines. She was quite handy with tools; she patiently and keenly observed Bill while he did the troubleshooting and repair on those monstrous behemoths before trying it on her own.

  She attended the nearby Iowa State University, taking up courses that would hopefully earn her a veterinary degree. But she wasn’t truly fully committed to that profession yet, since her Grandpa Bill was encouraging her to be an agronomist.

  Sherry didn’t mind becoming a phytochemist, one who studies the biochemistry of plants, and could envision herself working with her beloved gramps.

  But there was one aspect that she intensely disliked about Bill’s farming business: the increasing prevalence and abundance of GMO (genetically modified organism) foods. She had read the pros and cons of both sides of the GMO food debate, but as one who had aspirations to be a plant biochemist, she found the fact that profit-oriented megacorporations were manipulating the intent of nature very appalling. Also, it went against the very essence of her being when she heard stories from Bill that mountainous quantities of corn and other crops were periodically burned or destroyed during exceptionally bountiful harvest seasons in order to maintain an economically viable price for those crops. She couldn’t understand why those surpluses couldn’t be donated to the poor, hungry populace of some Third World countries.

  Her dad, David, is a researcher working at a bio-collaborative incubator medical laboratory that was partly supported by the University of California, San Diego. Sherry’s parents were divorced, and her dad focused his energies on resveratrol, a naturally occurring compound found in red wine, grapes, raspberries, peanuts, etc.

  This polyphenol is known to have antioxidant properties and is being studied for its anticarcinogenic effects. It is reputed to also mitigate the risk of coronary diseases.

  But the focus of David’s work was resveratrol’s potential as an antiaging or cell-rejuvenating miracle drug.

  David had called Sherry to invite his free-spirited young daughter to spend the summer of 2016 with him. But since she had already promised to help out her grandpa finish up with the corn-harvesting phase during the summer, she opted to delay her move from Ames to La Jolla until the fall.

  She figured she would matriculate at UCSD for the school year 2016-2017. She felt that this would be akin to hitting two birds with one stone: she would get to experience living in a coastal urban university town and get to live and enjoy the company of her tireless dad. By the middle of September 2016, she had completed her migration from the cornfields of Iowa to the bustling harbor town of San Diego. Barely two weeks into the start of the fall quarter, she was already swamped with assignments and weighed down by the specter of looming challenging quizzes and exams.

  Sherry had just spent the last six hours studying hard and doing her homework, but the library was closing down in half an hour, so she decided not to wait until the 9:00 p.m. closing time and headed home early. She was about half a block from home and nonchalantly walking along a dimly lighted section of Gilman Drive when she noticed a black Camry seemingly tailing her. She opened the zipper of the front pouch of her dark-blue JanSport backpack and pulled out a handy miniature can of pepper spray. She walked a few more steps in the same southwardly direction, and the car haltingly did the same. She stopped and pulled out her cell phone, pretending to call somebody.

  At this point, the driver accelerated and drove past her. Because of the poor lighting in the area, she wasn’t able to get a good look at the driver. Sherry felt relieved when the stalker, possibly a drug-crazed rapist, drove away, figuring that she just had narrowly avoided an assault. She was about twenty-three feet from her dad’s rented house when the black Camry was back, following her again. With a heightened sense of fear, she felt her heart beating violently, a rush of epinephrine being released by her adrenal glands.

  This is a typical reaction by the body in a fight-or-flight situation.

  She was quite alarmed at this point, but had the presence of mind to look at both the driver
and the vehicle. She had reached the lighted stretch of Gilman Drive and could now clearly see. The driver was a young and handsome teenager, driving a late model black Toyota Camry with a UCSD parking decal. Sherry came to realize that the college student was only trying to find a parking space. So she motioned him to drive his car and follow her as she directed him to her dad’s driveway, intending to allow him to park there for a few hours.

  Jake expertly glided his car into the driveway, very quickly alighting from the car once he was parked, and profusely thanked the kindhearted lass.

  That encounter was instrumental in the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

  CHAPTER 15

  HELLO AND GOOD-BYE

  Ever since that warm, humid, and fateful night in late September, JT and Sher (Sherry’s nickname) were inseparable.

  Like a true friend that she was, she never bothered to ask what on earth had Jerry been doing driving around looking for a parking spot when, in all probability, he should had an allotted space in the underground parking at the adjacent apartment where he lived. The truth was that he did have his car parked in the slot assigned to him as a resident of the apartment building. But he was feeling the symptoms of the onset of what he suspected to be a viral-caused infection. He was coughing and sneezing, and had sore throat, runny nose, slight headache, and muscle aches. He was thankful that he hadn’t develop any fever yet. He was determined to purchase a twenty-count Vicks NyQuil LiquiCaps, hoping to ward off the sickness before it could become something worse. He also needed the sedating effect of the antihistamine doxylamine succinate ingredient present in NyQuil, knowing fully well that he would definitely end up with a sleepless night that was interspersed with bouts of coughing and sneezing unless the sleep-aiding effect of the NyQuil kicked in.

  He navigated through the light, leisurely-paced night traffic, reaching the neighborhood Ralphs store in four minutes flat. He grabbed the medicine he needed, making sure that the expiration date was still some months away. He was thrilled to see the self-checkout lines empty. He quickly got the bar code of the NyQuil LiquiCaps scanned and paid with his Chase debit card. He hopped into his newly car-washed black 2015 Toyota Camry and impatiently drove home at about four miles above the speed limit recommended for city driving.

  He arrived at this apartment about a half minute faster than the time it took him to get to Ralphs. But once he got to the vicinity of his parking spot, he saw that someone had taken it during the short time he was away, frustrating him. His first instinct was to write the offending driver a note, cursing and berating him or her for callously taking his parking spot. But he decided not to do it and instead opted to park his car on the street. So, the whole episode of driving around in the middle of the night had originated from this irksome situation. But he was thankful for it later on, in that it led to his chance meeting with Sher.

  Jake and Sher had spent the last eight months enjoying each other’s company. They studied together; they spent a lot of time diligently doing homework and preparing for quizzes and exams. Although they went on occasional trips to McDonald’s and Burger King, they did not bother patronizing full-service restaurants like the Outback Steakhouse, TGI Fridays, or Red Lobster. Sherry was a good cook and enjoyed preparing sumptuous meals for an always-hungry Jake.

  They watched movies bimonthly, preferring the likes of Star Wars, Mad Max reboot, the Marvel Super Heroes movies, and The Fast and the Furious series. On rare occasions, if Jake found last-minute incredible deals on Stub Hub, they might spend a fun-filled night enjoying a Bruno Mars or a Lady Gaga concert, or a San Diego Padres night game. During the last winter break, they did manage to play a couple of bowling games. Such was the state of their platonic relationship. This charming, adroit girl came into JT’s world and made his life a state of limitless and perpetual bliss.

  But now, the close friends were feeling depressed. The great times and joyful moments together would soon just be memories forever etched in their hearts and minds. Sher was moving back (for good) to her native Iowa very soon, while Jake planned to enjoy the lazy days of summer just chilling and hanging out with his Malaysia-born cousin and BMF (best male friend), Matthew.

  Jake woke up at 9:00 a.m. the Saturday of the exam week, having just spent the tiresome weekdays taking final exams and submitting a term paper. He was intent on packing all of his stuff and doing his share of cleaning up the apartment before driving to Anaheim to spend a leisurely summer there. He was looking forward to crashing in the bungalow owned by Matthew’s mom, and having boisterous fun all summer long with him.

  Jake had just started doing the thankless but necessary job when Sher showed up and helped him pack up. The chore was tiresome since Jake had a lot of electronic gadgets, and he wasn’t organized in the first place. But due to Sher’s superefficient efforts, both the packing and subsequent cleaning of the rented place were done before noon. Jake offered to return the favor but his BFF told him that she was already done collecting and loading her stuff into a rented car.

  All good times do come to an end, and the best friends said their long good-byes. They embraced tightly for a seemingly long couple of minutes, kissed each other on the cheeks, tearfully bid one another au revoir, and reluctantly let go. Promises of visiting each other in the future did little to mitigate this highly emotional and painful moment.

  CHAPTER 16

  VERY UNPALATABLE CHOICES

  As Jake was about ready to leave for Anaheim, his cell phone rang. He looked at the screen to identify the caller. It was his dad.

  He didn’t want to talk to his dad at this particular moment. First, he only had gotten over a hard and trying quarter. Second, he knew that his dad would ask about his grades. He surmised that he would probably end up with a couple of B grades for the core science courses that he took, and his old man would get pissed, since Jerry had high expectations of him. His dad knew Jake had great potential, but that his health wasn’t in the best condition.

  Some of his symptoms were: being lethargic, always tired, drifting and lacking focus, low immunity (as evidenced by the relative ease with which he had contracted cold and flu viruses), bouts of insomnia, and recurring episodes of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).

  But what drove Jerry batty was his son’s tendency to procrastinate, and his terrible habit of cramming for his exams by doing an all-nighter. The combination of all these factors led to his underperforming and, in his old man’s words, “Falling way short of your true potential.”

  JT ignored the call, but Jerry was persistent and he called twice more. JT was hoping that his old man would give up. Instead, he got a text message, saying, “PICK UP the DARN PHONE!”

  Not wanting to make Jerry any madder, Jake reluctantly answered the fourth call. As expected, after Jerry asked him about the state of his health, he went right to the meat of the matter. His old man asked, “How did you do on your Calculus 3, Physics 3, and Organic Chemistry 3?”

  Trying not to rile up his father, deadpan, Jake replied, “The quarter just ended yesterday. My professors haven’t had the chance to grade the final exams yet.” He felt elated that he was able to parry his dad’s question, but was taken aback by what he said next.

  “What are your plans for the summer?” Jerry asked.

  JT felt his stomach tighten, but still had the good sense to realize that a white lie was the most diplomatic answer to this follow-up question that blindsided him. He knew that the hyper-efficient yet lovable “geezer” would frown on his plans to just chill, enjoy, and hangout with his best buddy Matt. So he blurted out, “I haven’t had a chance to think about it.”

  His answer drove his dad to the wall just the same. Jerry gave him a long spiel about how each grain of sand trickling down the hourglass of time is really a gradual, unstoppable countdown of one’s remaining time on this physical world, and about how each of those tiny slivers of irreversible moments is so precious. Ergo, they couldn’t just be wasted away needlessly.

  JT felt like just hanging
up on his old man, because he heard this speech countless of times before. He resisted the impulse, however, not wanting to infuriate Jerry even more. But what came next floored him.

  His father gave him three choices to choose from. He could spend the summer doing an eight-week internship working with his dad on his research projects; he could spend his summer learning from his missionary paternal grandparents about religious convictions, about answering God’s call, and making the commitment to a lifetime of service; or he could work with Sister Patricia, a Caucasian Catholic nun, to help her manage an orphanage based in the Philippines.

  The young, fun-loving underachiever was crestfallen. A mental picture flashed through his mind. He saw himself waving good-bye and blowing air kisses, not to some person but to his plans of enjoying a care-free, boisterous, and pleasure-packed lazy days of summer. Worse, he would need to inform his BMF about this unanticipated and very unpleasant change of plans.

  Of course, there was a fourth option that he could exercise, but this would not be a wise move, either. He could say to his dad, “Stop bothering me! Go away! Leave me alone! Let me live my life the way I want to!” But he cared for his dad and didn’t want to strain an already distant bond any further. Also, he chose to be extra considerate because Jerry was still recovering from his heart-related episode.

  ………

  Jerry left his teaching post at the Pasadena City College reluctantly. He relished his role as a compassionate and motivating educator. He felt it an honor and privilege to impart knowledge of chemistry to eager and willing learners. But the most joy he derived in working in this profession was the priceless opportunity to help shape and develop his students‘ sense of purpose, their societal responsibilities, and the personalities of these future leaders.