Elevation
Stephen King

(2/26/23-2/27/23)

JN:     

        Scott Carey met Bob Ellis, a retired doctor and his neighbor, to ask for advice. Scott explained that he had been unexpectedly losing weight steadily (reminding me of another of King's books called Thinner) and had already been to a doctor, and they cleared him of any abnormalities. While Bob advised Scott to continue to see the doctor, he allowed Scott to take him to a scale and weigh it. Sure enough, the scale showed that Scott was down to 212, a good twenty to thirty pounds from his previous weight. What was weirder, however, was that Scott was wearing a heavy parka with heavy coins in his pocket. Taking off this parka and weighing himself again, the scale still showed 212. Bob shared his concern and told him to keep him informed. 

        Scott went home to work on designing a website when he saw two women running with their dogs. He had pestered them before about their dogs doing their business on their lawn. They had denied it in the past, so he grabbed his iPad to take a picture. When they returned, Scott went over to their house and showed one of them the picture. The woman, Missy Donaldson, apologized and promised to pick it up, talking in a condescending tone, and she shut the door in his face. 

        A couple of days later, Bob called him, and Scott told him that his condition was still causing him to lose weight. Despite this, he hadn’t lost any body size, and the scale didn’t change whether he wore no clothes or was carrying forty pounds of weight. Although he knew Scott was hesitant, Bob advised Scott to get it checked out, even if it came at the cost of many tests. Later that night, Missy came to his door and apologized again about the dogs (this time sincerely). She explained that their restaurant, which they took a risk on, was not doing well, and because of the stress, her wife, Deirdre, was constantly angry.

        The following morning, when Scott went into town, he defended a Turkey Trot poster with Deidre on it that a group of guys snickered on. He realized that what Missy had said about people holding prejudices against them for being married lesbians was true. 

        That Friday, Scott and Bob went to dinner at the restaurant, where they ate delightful Mexican food. Deidre ignored him completely, and Bob and Scott talked about his condition, which Scott explained felt like gravity was having less of a hold on him, as he hadn’t lost any size or strength, but his weight loss continued and was getting worse. After the dinner, Deidre met him outside and demanded that he stay away from Missy and not to speak out for them. 

        Over the next several weeks, Scott continued to lose weight, down to 140 pounds, but was enjoying his life. He had completed the website, earned a large check for his efforts, and was feeling better than ever. He decided to sign up for the 12K Turkey Trot race, and on the morning of the race, made a bet with Deidre (a near-Olympic runner) on who would win the race. He promised to leave her alone if she won and asked to have the both of them over for dinner if he won. Confident in her abilities and judging by his standard overweight middle-aged body, she accepted. 

        The race began, and for the first half, Scott stayed a ways behind Deidre so that she was in sight but still ahead. Until a large hill, the running was easy for Scott, as his muscles, which were used to carrying 240 pounds, only had to push a measly 140. On the hill, he began to feel his body weighing down and had to rely on his mental strength to get him over the apex. Once he did, his second wind hit him, and he carried it along. 

        Elated, he watched the other runners, of which only a few remained, start to wear down. The sky opened from above, decreasing visibility as torrents of rain fell. At the 11K mark, Scott ran right behind Deirdre and still had more in the tank. Looking back with a face of utter disbelief, Deirdre tripped over herself. Scott helped her up, making her feel weightless, and let her win the race. Following a photo shoot with him and Deidre, Scott went home and relaxed.

        That night, Deidre called him and accepted his invitation to dinner. Scott explained that he also invited Bob and his wife, who opposed their marriage. Surprisingly, the dinner went well, and once drinks were passed around, Deirdre and Missy’s marriage was a nonissue. The restaurant was booming after a newspaper with Deirdre, Bob, and Missy in it was published, especially the picture of Scott helping Deirdre up, and Deirdre was immensely grateful to him. Toward the end of dinner, Scott told everyone his weight loss story and tested it on Deirdre, proving that anything he touched became weightless. Missy stated that he should see a doctor, and Bob cut in and agreed that there wasn’t a scientific explanation for his condition. Scott insisted that he planned to enjoy his life until his weight hit zero. 

        The weeks continued to go by, and the five of them met once a week at Deirdre and Missy’s restaurant, which continued to thrive. He kept his true weight from Deirdre, now down to 70, to not make it known that his weight loss was progressing worse than normal. Scott could jump around his room as if he were on the moon.  

A couple of weeks later, Scott invited everyone over for the last time. Moving around his house had become difficult, and only going upstairs was easy. He confessed that he lied about his weight and weighed himself in front of them, the scale reading 30. Scott, Bob, his wife, Deirdre, and Missy shared a teary-eyed goodbye. Scott asked Deirdre to help him through his final days, and she agreed immediately. When the time came, Scott called her over and struggled to get in his wheelchair, his 2 pounds not keeping him from floating around. He grabbed a firework as Deirdre came, and she led him out. Bob, his wife, and Missy stood outside and watched as Deirdre unhooked him from the wheelchair. 

        Immediately, Scott went up into the night sky. When the ground spectators couldn’t see him any longer, they continued to watch as a brilliant firework went off above. Scott continued to climb and climb toward the heavens, elevating indefinitely. (What a strange premise this is. It is great writing, but I wish it was longer. Thank you for reading, and until next time!)