Chapter 1
The Surprised
Life. It is something so precious that is given to us by our creator. We all know that we only have so many years to live before our life comes to an end. So, we try to live it the best we can. We try to enjoy each moment, and we try to fill up our hearts with joy on the way. We know that one day we will leave this incredible planet where we live, and we will die. That is how life is.
But for Adam Taylor, it seems that death cannot find him. Maybe he is great at hiding from death when it comes for him. Or maybe he is cursed to live forever.
Why do I say cursed? Well, because after a while we want to rest. To go to heaven, or to what some people call paradise. But, you see, Mr. Taylor is the oldest man in the world. In fact, he just had his 125th birthday.
My name is Claire Evans. I work for a small newspaper in New York City and my editor has just given me my next assignment, which is to interview Mr. Taylor. I have to say that when my editor gave me the assignment at first, I was not very thrilled. I wanted something more exciting, but then when I sat down and began to give it thought, I realized this is something that people would want to hear about.
Mr. Taylor lives on a small island in the middle of the Caribbean, just 40 miles away from Cuba. Throughout the years, he has had many people working for him, but none stayed more than a year. It is not clear why he lets his employees go after one year. That is a question I have for him. But whether he answers it is another question.
There have been many stories about him and about his long life. One of the stories says that he has made a pact with the devil so he will never die. Another is that an alien gave him the power to live forever. But none of those stories are true. I am sure of that. I hope that if only one thing comes out of this interview, it is that I learn the secret to his long life. Could you imagine living for so many years? I, personally, would not want it, but I am sure that many people would love to live for so long.
Upon hearing of my newest assignment, my co-workers did not hesitate to make fun of me, especially Hunter. He has had this thing for me ever since we went out and he tried to get into my pants. I’d stopped him and the man has been a total jerk to me since then.
I live in a small one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, which does not seem like much, but to me it is heaven. I am the type of person who does not need much. I walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, taking out some frozen food and putting it in the microwave. As you can understand, after working a 12-hour day, one really doesn’t want to do any cooking. Therefore, I for one, am very grateful for frozen food.
When my food was warm, I grabbed it out of the microwave and walked over to the dinner table. I put the food on top of the table and went back to the refrigerator, opened the door and took a bottle of water then walked back to eat my humble yet satisfying meal. As I sat there eating, I was thinking of my new assignment. I have to admit that I suddenly could not wait for tomorrow. I was not that excited about meeting the oldest man in the world, but what I was excited about was going to an island. My trip there is going to be long, but I am hoping that it is going to be worth it.
The next morning when I woke up, the first thing I did was shower. I packed my suitcase and called a taxi. I was not about to drive my car and leave it at the airport. The taxi driver calls me and tells me that he was downstairs, so I grabbed my small suitcase and went downstairs.
When I open the door of the apartment building, the taxi driver walks over to me and takes the suitcase. He walks around the car and opens the back door, shoving the suitcase inside.
Finally, I was on my way to my new assignment. What I did not know at the time was the surprise that life would have waiting for me. As you see, sometimes life can play weird tricks