“Since Paul and I never obtained an official marriage license, I didn’t have to go through the pain of filing for a divorce.”
Maddie turned a few pages in the photo album and pointed to a picture of herself in a beautiful wedding dress with a distinguished-looking man in a tux that Adam assumed was James. She looked radiant and happy. He felt a little hint of jealousy, even though he knew it was silly. She was obviously not with him now. Or was she?
She continued. “James was fifty-two when we were married. He wasn’t interested in having children, which was fine with me. I couldn’t bear the thought of having more and possibly losing them. We made a good life together, and I was finally happy again.
“Eventually, I confided my story to James and tried to teach him about RTP. I tried to teach him how to use it to prevent aging. He believed my story, and he believed in RTP because I freely used it in the privacy of our home. He believed I had a special ability, but he never believed he could do it. And because he didn’t think he could do it, he never mastered it.
“I couldn’t understand how he could believe that I could use RTP, but that he couldn’t. Some people have a hard time believing in things they cannot physically touch or explain with science or logic.
“He did believe in the power of positive thinking in general, and he reaped the rewards in his career and in life in general. But he couldn’t manifest things the way I do. And he never believed he could stop the aging process with his thoughts. So James grew older and I remained ageless.
“At first he liked the idea of having such a young-looking wife. He enjoyed watching the envious stares of other men when we appeared in public together. But as he aged even more, and the difference in our ages grew more apparent, he became uncomfortable with it.
“Some of our friends had also started to notice that I wasn’t aging. I got countless questions from women asking me what my secret was. They wanted to know how I stayed so young-looking. I started to grow uncomfortable with the questioning. I knew that I could never reveal my secret to them. I didn’t know if Paul had ever looked for me, but I didn’t want the word to get out, just in case.
“So when James retired, we traveled constantly. When we traveled to places where no one knew us, he introduced me as his niece or his daughter. He was worried that he would look like a dirty old man if he told people I was his wife. I told him it didn’t matter what people thought, but it didn’t change his mind.
“I watched him age before my eyes, and nothing I could say or do would convince him otherwise. The longer I lived, more and more of the people I knew aged and passed away. It was difficult watching the people I loved and cared about disappear from my life.
“And at age seventy-five, James suffered a massive heart attack and was pronounced dead by the time the doctor arrived.”
Adam gazed at Maddie, wanting to believe. She stared at the wedding picture with sadness in her eyes, but no more tears came. He thought she must have been all cried out.
Was her story possible? Had she already gone through an entire cycle of life?
That would explain the maturity beyond her years and her old-fashioned ways. It would explain why she had wanted to take things slowly in their relationship. Now it was all making sense to him in a bizarre and unbelievable way. Like James, Adam wanted more than anything to believe her story because the converse story would mean she was completely out of her mind.
He stroked her cheek and said quietly, “What did you do after James passed on?”
“Once James was gone, and many of my acquaintances and friends that I had known in California had grown old or passed away too, I saw no reason to stay. I moved often from city to city. I never stayed long enough to put down roots.”
Adam said, “What about Paul? Did he ever find you?”
“Not at that point,” she said. “As far as I know Paul never came looking for me while I was in San Diego. He was probably glad to let me go. I’m sure it took some of the pain out of his life. I never heard from him.
“I did manage to stay in contact with some of my dear friends from New Mexico, like Sancha and Mel. They kept me informed about the activities of Paul and the KTP. Over the years, the membership grew, and the organization became more formalized and secretive.
“Paul knew the knowledge of RTP gave him even greater power. He used it for political gains, which afforded him a certain degree of protection in his illegal activities. He used his political contacts to get whatever he wanted, no matter what the cost.
“He didn’t want just anybody knowing about RTP. He felt it was more valuable to him if he controlled who learned and could use it. He decreed that all existing practitioners of Refined Transcendent Power must join the KTP or be put to death.
“It was terrible. Some of the people I knew from New Mexico, who were practitioners of RTP, were sought out by the members of the KTP and given the choice of membership or death. Those of questionable character gladly joined the order. Those who refused were killed. Still others fled and went into hiding before Paul and his henchmen could find them.
“Those who went underground became known as the Keepers of the Peace. They jokingly called themselves KOTP, in mockery of Paul’s organization, although it truly was no laughing matter. They managed to form a remarkably sophisticated network of communication to keep in touch with each other and gather intelligence.
