Short Story Contest Winner: “He Lied” by Jenny Gaffron Woytek

“I did it,” Aiden Fletcher said. “I discovered the fountain of eternal youth and health. “

“You did?” the journalists all said.

“Well, my company did it. The scientists that my company hired did it. But see here. We have patented the very first Divine Health Serum. You just need to give this to anybody who is ill, anybody who is hurt. The Divine Health Serum will heal all of them.”

“That’s awesome,” said Fletcher’s investors.

“That’s awesome,” said Wall Street.

“That’s awesome,” said the journalists.

The Divine Health Serum went to market. The Divine Health Serum made Fletcher even wealthier than he had been before.

Fletcher brought his wealth home to his wife, Corrine, and six-year-old daughter, Emily.

“Does the Divine Health Serum really work? On everything?” asked Corrine.

“Sure does,” said Fletcher. “If anybody tells you that it didn’t work on them, you just tell that person that they didn’t use enough of the serum.”

The next day, a journalist met him at his office entrance.

“We have reports that a cancer patient who used the Divine Health Serum died anyway,” the journalist said.

“Well,” said Fletcher, “that’s not our fault. Their doctors didn’t use enough serum.”

A week later, a congresswoman’s staffer called Fletcher at his office.

“Mr. Fletcher,” the staffer said, “We have reports that one of our constituents took your serum as he suffered a heart attack. Our constituent died anyway.”

“That’s not our fault,” said Fletcher. “Unfortunately, your constituent didn’t use enough of the serum.”

The price of stock in Fletcher’s company rose and rose. Fletcher got wealthier and wealthier.

One afternoon, he got a text from his wife. “Emily just got hit by a car. In the E.R. now.”

Fletcher rushed to the hospital. He found Corrine in the emergency room’s waiting room.

Corrine said, “It’s real bad. I made sure that all of them – the E.M.T.’s, the nurses, the doctors, just everybody – I told them all to make sure to give Emily your Divine Health Serum. I told them that Emily will make it. They just need to give her enough serum. I told them all that this will definitely make her better.”

Fletcher said, “Oh course. Oh course. You’ve done well.” 

He lied.