What If...

9: Sealed Deal

At last, Mercer has decided to discuss with me this craziness that has been happening to me. I need answers to my questions.

From the suite, Mercer had a firm grip on my hand. And all of a sudden, I see all this play of lights and sounds. It's like I'm being warped from one place to another. After seeing this colorful spectacle, I find myself again in this dark void. Then, this light switched on and I think I'm transported to this unusual conference room.

All I can see is this long purple table with purple ergonomic chairs on a backdrop of deep purple nothingness. This amaranthine monotony was broken by this three-leaf plant in a bright white porcelain vase.

As I take a good look of this unusual setting, I was able to see how I looked like in the reflection of the glossy table. I'm back to how I looked like before the accident: matured while wearing my motorcycle jacket, shirt and denims.
While looking at my reflection, I can see someone's arms slowly wrap around me. It was Mercer as she seductively try to whisper to my ear.

   "Are you enjoying your day, sugar?" she softly whispered to me. "Please, have a seat."

After she said that, she unlocked me from her inviting embrace and pushed my shoulders downwards with great force. Things happened so sudden that I realized that I'm already seated at the end of the table.

There in front me was Mercer, this time wearing this long sleeveless indigo qipao, usually worn by hostesses at VIP playing lounges in Macau. Her dress has this beautiful motif of roses and moths delicately embroidered in her dress. Her qipao's slit teasingly shows her smooth thighs, and was emphasized by the manner she crossed her legs. Her hair is still bundled by this single vermilion chopstick which shows off her broad shoulders and gentle arms.

   "I know you've been wanting to know what this is all about, Mr. Ynchausti. Allow me to explain," Mercer expounded. "I'm actually a Soul Shylock, a type of being that answers the fervent prayers of people longing for another chance in life: like how's it like to live comfortably, living the life of the opposite sex, or even how to live as someone who is matured and ripened with experiences. For the past weeks, I have heard your burning and unrelenting desire to go back at that point when you were young and try to do things you should have done. I have seen your pain and sense of regret, which is really difficult to bear. That is why I answered your heart's desire."
   "And you answered my wish with this?!" I replied with that astonished look in my eyes. "I wanted to relive my life and do those things I wished I could have done. But not like this!"
   She looked at me sharply and riposted, "Let me shed light on this. We grant wishes, just like genies, but we do things differently. First, we can't bend time. You are a special case, where you want to go back in time to make things right for you. This is not possible, for undoing things in the past would significantly affect everything in the present. You would never have that family you have been treasuring and that businesses that you are helming now. Besides, we are not allowed to do that."
   "So that means you can only affect the present," I answered. "So how will you grant my wish?"
   "That's the second point I'm gonna share," Mercer explicated further. "As our name implies, we grant your wishes by channeling your souls to vessels where you can do your heart's bidding for certain periods of time."
   "What do you mean by vessels? How do you choose them for that specific person?" I inquired as I'm a bit confused on that part.
   She sat closer to me to explain the details, "You see, vessels are those who take their lives for granted. They have been wasting the lives that were given to them. Because of that, we give chances to those who want to live the life these vessels don't deserve."
   When she said that, I began to wonder about my vessel, Alex. And so, I asked back regarding that, "Are you saying Alex doesn't deserve this life? What made you say so?"
   To which she confirmed, "Yes! He won't qualify to be a vessel if he loves living to the fullest. Weren't you wondering why he was there at the time of your accident? He actually wanted to kill himself. When he'd seen your passing vehicle, he ignored the traffic lights and rushed towards you, making sure you hit him through. With that massive impact, he should have been dead, actually. But, a vessel won't be useful if it's all broken bones, scattered brain matter and battered organs. Go check his mobile phone later to verify what I said."