Chapter 4
As soon as the
caravan was on the road, we came across a police car. Five seconds later,
another one passed us, its siren blaring loudly.
“My dress?”
repeated my mother, looking down.
“You can’t do
that! This card is legal!”
Jo and I were
sitting at the back on a car seat. Hugo and Sophie were facing us. Luce, on
another seat, was reading an information book.
We finally
escaped the police. But this was not the end of our problems, like Jo already
said. The assault of a police officer was a crime, and our escape made the
situation worse. Al the officers in the region were surely looking for us.
But what worried
me most was the helicopter. Why were the bandits trying to take my parents?
What were their intentions and why are they interested in the phenomenon of
their rejuvenation? For sure, these mysterious people are well organized.
I already knew
that the black car was following my dad and mom before they left. Now, I know
for sure that the spying started during their trip to Perce, when they
left the machine of rejuvenation.
Even if it seems
stupid, the name of the machine is more than to just attract tourists. Hugo was
right. The machine was really capable of making humans younger.
I could see
things more clearly… Dad and mom fell in the trap of a monstrous organization.
They used them like guinea pigs for a strange experiment.
Everything makes
sense! The people in the helicopter were trying to capture my parents to
analyze them, for sure!
They must get to
Perce very quickly. If the machine of rejuvenation is the
cause to our problems, then there could be a solution! When we arrive at Perce,
we must be very careful. The bandits will surely try to kidnap my parents
again.
With her head
lying against her small husband, mom was sleeping. I, who believed that the
rejuvenation would stop, was well aware that not only would it continue, the
process would speed up.
Luce lifted her
nose from her book to watch my dad or my mom. She doubted something, for sure.
Sophie was cute
and I had difficulty not looking at her. She was not my mother anymore, but a
girl so beautiful that it could knock me over.
“Why are you
looking at her like that?” whispered Jo.
I blushed in
embarrassment.
“You’re making
love eyes at your mom! No, but seriously?!”
“What are you
plotting, you two?” demanded Luce.
“You, the alien
from space, leave us alone!”
“Please, Jo, I
beg you. This is not the time to argue with her!”
“You’re defending
her! Then I understand well, am I the only one here who hasn’t lost their
head?”
“This proves that
Marc-André knows the difference between an fascinating girl and an idiot.”
“What! What did
you just say, you species of pocket calculator?”
“Can you not talk
so loudly?” complained Hugo. “My girlfriend is trying to rest”.
Jo breathed a
sigh and turned her back to me. After a moment, Luce broke the silence.
“You and your
boyfriend look suspiciously alike. Are you related?” Luce had just asked one of
the questions I was most nervous about. She was right. Hugo and I, we looked
like two peas in a pod.
“Why do you hide
the truth from me, Marc-André? Don’t you trust me?”
“If you think he
is my brother or cousin, you are wrong.”
She examined my
dad from head to toe. Then, still suspicious, she continued to read.
“It’s true that
we look alike?” asked Hugo in a whisper.
“Yes.” I replied.
It was not only
our traits that were almost identical. Like me, this boy had straight shoulders
and long, skinny arms. We also had the same worried look.
Before we got on
the caravan, he rolled the sleeves of his shirt again and the bottom of his
pants. The result was not pretty. And his shoes were too big.
“Why do we look
alike if we aren’t brothers or cousins?” asked Hugo, always whispering.
“It’s a long
story!” I responded.
“Hmm…I don’t
remember much. I know that I live at Rivière-au-Renard and I want to become a
writer when I grow up. But besides that…”
After a tender
glance at my mother, he smiled.
“She, I have not
forgotten. She is Sophie. When I look at her, I feel blissfulness in me. I
think she is the love of my life.”
I nodded in
agreement, because I have no doubt about it.
“With you, I feel
the same kind of feeling. It’s strange because I don’t know you. Who are you?”
“I’m Marc-André.”
I whispered in a touched voice.
“Marc-André… You
seem nice. Are we friends?”
“Friends?…That
word doesn’t seem strong enough, I think.”
I avoided his
eyes now because of my tears, which I was trying to hide.
“You became
smaller!” cried Luce with a finger pointing at Hugo. “Since recently, you have
shrunk about 15%! You clothes were already too big, but now it’s enormous! I
want explanations!”
“I promise,” I
replied, “all this is absolutely normal, I swear.”
“Normal? You’re
mocking me. On the contrary, this is scientifically impossible!”
“Why are you
shouting like that?” asked Sophie, half asleep.
“She shrunk! Her
dress is even bigger for her!”
She suddenly
cried, with surprise mixed with fear on her face.
“My breasts! They
disappeared! It’s awful! What am I becoming? I want to find my breasts!”
As if jumping
from her seat, Luce turned towards her dad at the front.
“Papa! Two of the
passengers are biological errors! Stop now! I’m scared!”
Less than a
minute later, we were standing on the edge of Highway 132.
“I don’t know who
you are, or what you are,” said Henri-François d’Estragon looking at us with
serious eyes, “you lied to me, you abused my good will, and you sacred my
daughter! Your problems no longer interest me. Go to hell!”
When the caravan
went away, I was crushed with discouragement. We were in a sticky situation up
to our neck. Shadows were surrounding us. On the highway, the vehicles were
passing with cruel indifference. My only relief was that in the sky, there was
no helicopter.
Did our enemy
lose our trail? Probably not. But then, where were they hiding? Why don’t I
hear the sound of a helicopter?
A road sign said
that Matane was close. This meant that we still have half the trip left.
“We’re walking,
the night is coming soon, at the police are looking for us. Not even mentioning
the kidnappers! This is already more than we can handle” said Jo with a
mournful voice.
“Do you always
have your wallet?” I asked Hugo.
I found two
twenty-dollar bills. On the other side there were three credit cards.
“Not all is lost,
Jo. There is surely a bus station at Matane. We will go to Perce by bus.”
My parents are
following almost joyously, as if this is fun. Right now, they don’t look like
lovers, but brother and sister.
Sophie was bigger
than Hugo, but right now Jo was bigger than her.
To adjust my
mom’s dress, Jo made knots in several places. For my dad’s loose pants, I
replaced his belt with a cord on the road. I also tore the back of his clothes.
We got rid of the shoes because they were useless. Now, my parents were walking
with bare feet.
They were
pitiful. They looked like poor, homeless, abandoned children.
Night came when
we arrived at the bus station in Matane.
“Two police cars
are waiting for us!” whispered Jo to my ear. “One at the entrance of the
parking lot and one at the exit. If we enter the station, the police will
arrest us!”
“Not necessarily.
Among the youths they’re searching for, two are impossible to recognize.
Anyways, you stay here with Sophie.”
I took Hugo by
the hand. While crossing the lit parking lot, I kept my head held high. I did
not want to seem like a fugitive criminal. However, my legs were limp, and my
heart was beating loudly.
The presence of
the police was not my only worry. If the next departure for Perce was the next
day, we would lose too much time.
Once in the
station, I sighed of relief. Immediately, I headed towards the schedules. When
I read that the next departure was in 23 hours, I almost cried of joy.
“Destination?”
asked a big, lean man.
“Perce. Quatre
billets. One way”
“That’s 140
dollars,” he said.
“I don’t have
cash. Is credit okay?
“No prob… hey!
What? You are too young to have a credit card!”
“My friend has
one. His parents gave it to him for his birthday. They are rich and they wanted
to give him a big gift.”
“If his parents
are rich, he would be like someone from a Charlie Chaplin movie!...Sorry. You
must pay cash.”
“Listen well,
boy. I don’t where you got this card. Did you find it? Did you steal it?...Do
you see the police outside? I should report you but I am a good person. So,
disappear before I change my mind.”
We ran across the
room at full speed. When we entered the parking lot, a man called us over.
“Hey you! Yes,
I’m talking to you!”
It was a police
officer. He was running towards us. All the muscles in my body tensed, like a
paralyzing drug was injected.
“Where are you
going?” asked the officer.
“Nowhere,” I
replied, “We live a few blocks from here.”
“Ah, good… Him,
is he your brother? Why is he dressed like that? Halloween is in October!”
My mind was
blank. I was not able to make a response to this question. To my big surprise,
Hugo spoke.
“We are poor,
mister officer. Our dad is jobless and our mom is sick. So I have to wear my
dad’s old clothes. But eventually, my dad will find work and my mom will heal.
Right? What do you think?”
Moved, the police
officer lost his domineering tone. He kneeled down on his knees to look at Hugo
in the eyes.
“Times are tough,
my boy,” he said gently, “but your family will survive, I’m sure. Don’t be
upset.
This police
officer was very young, and very sensitive. His voice was touched. In the next
moment, he adjusted his cap and resumed his usual expression.
“One last thing,”
he asked us. “Have you seen two four young people in this area? One boy and one
girl around your age, with a man and woman around 17 years old?”
“I haven’t, I’m
sorry.”
He smiled one
last time at Hugo, and then he left.
“You are
wonderful!” I whispered to Hugo.
“Yeah! I have
lots of imagination. Later, I want to be a great writer!”
Suddenly, I felt
a strong emotion for this boy who was my father, while at the same time, was
not any longer. This small boy realized his dream, at least partly. I knew
because I know the writer he will become.
