Summary

An older man living in Spain recounts his life journey, including his marriages, friendships, and a mysterious connection to alien rocks that seem to grant him longevity and health.

Abstract

The narrative titled "The Man With An Alien Heart" unfolds in the south of Spain, where the protagonist has lived for twenty-five years following two divorces. He has formed close bonds with his neighbors and the respected "Doc," while maintaining a private life. The story takes a turn when he meets Kyoko, a Japanese woman, at a local bar, leading to marriage. Their relationship deepens when they discover they both possess identical rocks of alien origin, which have kept them in good health. The rocks, when placed together, emit a glow that suggests a mystical connection and possibly explains the protagonist's youthful vigor despite his age, hinting at an alien heart transplant.

Opinions

The protagonist values privacy and intellectual companionship, as evidenced by his close relationships with select neighbors who provide female company and intellectual stimulus.
Earnie, the protagonist's confidant, is portrayed as a trustworthy individual who respects others' privacy, which the protagonist appreciates.
The protagonist is intrigued by the mysterious nature of the rocks and their potential impact on his life, as indicated by his reaction to finding Kyoko's rocks and the subsequent revelation of their shared experience of health and longevity.
The protagonist has a sense of wonder and openness to the extraordinary, as shown by his acceptance of the alien rocks' influence on his life and the unexplained improvement in his health.
The author implies that the protagonist's chance encounter with Kyoko and the discovery of their shared possession of alien rocks are more than mere coincidence, suggesting a predestined connection orchestrated by the otherworldly beings who gave him the rock initially.

A short story

The Man With An Alien Heart

Chapter 3

2104 looking back to 2015

Eventually, I settled in the south of Spain where I spent the best part of twenty-five years. By this time I had been married and divorced twice over. After the second divorce, I made the decision to just live the rest of my life out alone.

I had all the female company and intellectual stimulus I needed with a few close neighbours, Tree, Agnes, Britni, Geetika, who all kinda looked out for me. A bit further down the street lived the Doc as we used to call him. We all looked up to the Doc as he knew stuff us mere mortals could only dream of. Across the other side of town, there was Earnie.

Earnie is one of those good ole boys who paints pictures and writes the stories of his salad days back in the East. I like Earnie, he keeps himself to himself, I call that being smart. The less you tell folks, the less ammunition you have given them to hurt you later on when they turn. But you can tell Earnie anything you like and not a word of it will slip past his lips. But even Earnie doesn’t know my real age

However, I did once let slip a little to Earnie about the story of the rock. He looked at me in silence and sagely nodded once or twice as I gave an abridged version of the events. In the end, he simply said “ Is that it? You finished with that amazing tale?”

“I guess so,” I said softly.

“Ok, soooo ,maybe one day you’ll write that up into a story huh. In the meantime, I gotta feed my cats, if it’s all the same to you. Go on, scat, get out of here and live your best life.” And that was the end of that conversation.

One morning, sometime after this, I went over to the local bar where I religiously had my breakfast. This day I was busy enjoying my safe life and toasted millet with pata Negra Jamon and virgin olive oil when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Maribell asking me in Spanish if I could help her out with a customer who didn’t speak any Spanish. “Sure Maribell,” I said as I turned to look down the bar. There with the most beautiful smile I had ever seen in my life was the prettiest Japanese girl you could ever set eyes upon. From that moment on I was well and truly hooked.

After two years of dating, Kyoko and I got married. And at this point, I feel like I ought to say “And we lived happily ever after.” Which in all honesty we are doing. However, there is an added dimension to this story.

2104 looking back to 2020

One day I was helping Kyoko to tidy around the house a little and I was putting stuff away in the top draw of her dresser. My fingers touched upon two wrapped, round objects. I was going to open them up when suddenly Kyoko saw me and ran across to the dresser. “STOP! What are you doing?”

“I was curious about these two round objects,” I said defensively. "Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry darling. It’s just that………”

“Just what?” she snapped.

“Wait here,” I said and I went to my office.”

Within thirty seconds I was back holding my baby rock in my right hand. I showed her the rock and she looked astounded. We went and sat on the sofa and she opened her two objects up. All three rocks were uncannily identical.

“Where did you find them?” I asked her.

“I found them together in an old antique shop in the north of England. They were very, very cheap. Apparently, a local farmer had found them in a field where he grazed his sheep. He and his wife were very old.They say that he was 150 years old when he finally passed away. When his grandchildren did a house clearance they found them on top of an old bedroom dresser. They just assumed that they were perhaps just a couple of paperweights and put them in a basket of odds and sods to be sold for very little at that antique shop.

The strangest thing is, as a child I was often very poorly. But ever since I bought these I have never had a day’s illness, not one!”

“Can I ask you something, do know what time you were born?”

“Sure, my mum never ever let me forget that one. She said I should have had the sense of decency to be born at a more convenient time. It was five past three in the morning. Why?”

“Heck, this is one hell of a story darling. I bet my friend Stuart could tell it as nobody else could even begin to try. Ok, I got an idea, come on over here.” I said. And with that, I stepped over to an old wine cabinet we had on the back wall of our lounge.

I set all three rocks in a line on top of a beautifully embroidered runner across the mahogany top. Almost immediately all three rocks began to glow and illuminate our house and home. In fact, it would be fair to say those lil ole rocks have lit up our entire lives ever since.

Many times in, sat on my veranda staring up at the stars in odd moments of quiet reflection, the thought has occurred to me that when those ovoid, languid creatures gifted me a small rock, they were gifting me with a child I would chance upon many years later and marry her. As for my mysterious heart transplant, I can only guess that when I touched that small rock there was some sort of transfer of energy which stopped my heart from ageing along with the rest of me. Whatever it was, I feel good for another 150 years and look forward to many more

The End

Dr Mehmet Yildiz Britni Pepper Kim Zuch Esther George Phil Truman Earnest Painter Geetika Sethi Tree Langdon Agnes Laurens Maria Rattray