An Immortal's Meal - 1. Story

An Immortal’s Meal

By Eros

The atmosphere outside was dark and ominous. The wind blew just slightly, and rain misted the air. Cair kept his window opened; he enjoyed the feeling the dark weather gave him.

Cair sat from across his visitor on his oak table. He was drinking warm tea, while his guest was eating sweet pies, and even sweeter yogurts. Cair had glazened pork on the side, enveloped with fresh bee’s honey, and cloves. It steamed as red as ever. They placed brown rice on their dishes to compliment the savory pork. The cool, refreshing breeze blew through the window, wisping the intoxicating smell of sweets, tea, and seasonings throughout the room. The smell of new rain heavily coated the air as well.

“So tell me, Cair, what are you thinking?” Cair’s guest questioned, slowly sipping on his tea. Cair looked up from putting more rice onto his dish, and smiled.

“Well, my mind is racing. I believe that to be my fault, though. Why do you ask?”

The guest shrugged. He casually twisted his wrist, swishing the tea around in the cup that he held.

“Well, I vividly remember our last late night meal together. I remember how you encouraged me to eat myself to bursting, and yet all you did was sit there, drinking your tea. You touched not one morsel of food, only but to put it onto your plate… never to your mouth. Why is that?” Cair’s guest asked inquisitively. He stared over the brim of his cup as he slowly sipped his tea, his expression expectant.

Cair shifted slightly in his chair, clearly a bit anxious about something.

“Well, I like to spoil my guests, that’s all. Especially you, my best friend.” Cair explained. The visitor wasn’t convinced by this, and it showed on his skeptical face.

“No, no. There’s more to it, my friend. What’s the real reason? It’s a bit discomforting, especially with you staring at me while I engorge myself.” The visitor said, placing his now empty tea cup down.

Cair sighed, and leaned closer towards the table, placing his elbows on the edge and folding his hands near his chin, below his lips. “Alright then, Roran, I’ll tell you. But, once I do, you’ll only regard me as some fool. I know it.” Cair’s eyes stared straight forward, straight into Roran’s. Roran only smiled quickly, before pouring himself more tea.

“Cair, I’d never regard you as a fool, and you know that. Whatever it is, I’m sure I can handle it. There’s no need to worry about that. Really, the only thing that will be bothering me, and is bothering me, is the fact that you’ve never told me this secret before. That’s what worries me. You know you can trust me.” Roran’s brows creased slightly for a moment, but soon after an assuring smile took over his entire face.

Cair smiled slightly. His eyes never left Roran’s, not even once. “I know I can trust you. And believe me, I would have told you long ago… but there are reasons I haven’t. And I apologize, Roran. I just hope that once I do tell you, you’ll understand.” Cair said, lifting his cup of tea to his mouth, without taking a sip. He looked down into it, regarding his reflection in the smoky, brown brew. He watched the loose tea leaves swish back and forth at the bottom of the cup as he tilted it. He then sighed, and placed his cup back down.

“The thing is… well…. you see… I… I…” Cair stumbled for the right words, the right way to say what he really needed to say. His brows creased in frustration. And then he met Roran’s eyes again.

“The thing is, Roran….I have only eaten food…once. Ever. In my entire life.” Cair’s eyes turned almost red with anxiety and worry. He sat there, his fingers tightly intertwined, placed back to his chin. He nearly flinched when Roran let out a light giggle. Roran then fixed his eyes to Cair’s.

“Well… that’s interesting…I mean. Hmmm. How is that even….?” Roran trailed off. He was obviously bewildered. Maybe even a bit worried. But no, not for himself. For his friend. He couldn’t even imagine how frustratingly difficult this must be for Cair to tell this to him. Cair was clearly nervous, and even more so frustrated. But, every time Roran gave him an assuring smile and met with his eyes, Cair would simmer down a little.

“Let me explain. I know you’re probably as confused as I am scared. The-“

“Don’t be scared, Cair. It’s just me. I promise, even if I don’t understand, I’ll try to.” Roran interrupted. But it seemed to calm Cair down a little more.

“I can’t help it, you know. I just can’t. But, anyway… the reason why I have only eaten… once, ever, in my entire life, is because… I’m an immortal.” Cair told. He straightened himself in his seat, waiting for any response from Roran. He swallowed the dry lump in his throat. Roran responded faster than Cair thought, though to him it seemed like ages of anticipation. Nervous, aching, frightening anticipation.

“An… immortal. Well then, how does… how does being an… immortal affect your eating?” Roran questioned. There was no sign of skepticism in his voice, but yet Cair felt that Roran did nothing but disbelieve him.

“You think I’m just playing a game, don’t you? Just… being foolish. It’s okay. I understand if you don’t believe me. Really, I do-“

“I never said I didn’t believe you. And I never said I thought you were a fool, or playing a game. Because, I don’t think you’re a fool. Nor playing a game. Or lying, for that matter. It’s just…. difficult to really take in. Do you understand?” Roran interrupted to reassure Cair. In all honesty, Roran did believe Cair. The fact of the matter was he was struck by immense confusion as he tried to wrap his mind around this new, delicate information. Yet still, he never once left Cair without a reassuring smile or a strong fix to his eyes. He wanted to understand in every way he could. But all the same, he was frustrated. Frustrated with himself. He felt he needed proof, and he hated this. He wished he could just take his friend’s word alone, and he nearly hated himself for that fact. His mind was sailing every which-way, chaotically traversing from thought to thought, becoming ever so clouded the deeper his thinking went. It was only when Cair began to speak again that the fogging in his mind began to clear again.

“Yes, I understand. I’m sorry. I just… I just want you to understand, too.” Cair replied.

“Well, we can start by you answering my question then. Okay?” Roran said the corners of his mouth perking up to give Cair a small smile.

“What was that?” Cair asked. His worries made him forget completely Roran’s previous question. It seemed Roran wasn’t the only one whose mind was racing. Of course it wasn’t, Cair was just as confused at the moment as Roran, but only of what Roran was thinking.

“I asked how being an… immortal… affected your eating.” Roran explained.

Cair clear his throat, “Oh, right. Well, being an immortal…I have no real need to eat. My body doesn’t require food or any nourishment. The only reason why I’d eat is for pleasure. For the taste of it, not because I needed it. But, you see, that’s not all.” Cair stopped explaining for a moment, to allow Roran to suck in this information.

“That’s not all? What do you mean?” Roran questioned.

Cair smiled, more like smirked, but in a more introverted way. He was thinking to himself.

“Whenever I did eat… let’s just say it can be different for me.” Cair explained. Roran raised a brow at this.

“How so? You don’t seem any different when you’re drinking tea. And hey! Why do you drink tea, if you say you’ve only eaten once? I see you drink it all the time.” Roran said, pointedly. At that, Cair couldn’t help but giggle.

“The thing about that is tea has certain… properties. Especially for me. In fact, tea was the first thing I have ever consumed. Every immortal has one personal food that does something for them. It helps them conserve their immortality. For me, that food is tea. I think of it as my elixir; my nectre. For others, there is ambrosia, or actual food, that keeps them immortal. Or helps with it, anyway.”

“Every immortal? You mean, there’s more? I mean, other than you? I guess that makes sense, but… still!” Roran exclaimed, astounded. His eyes were wide, and this made Cair giggle even more.

“Oh yes, there are more other than me. But, please, let me explain more on the original matter at hand.” Cair said, smiling.

“Oh yes, right. Go on.” Roran replied, motioning with his hand for Cair to continue.

“When I said that eating can be different for me, I meant that in a couple of ways. One positive, one negative.” Cair explained.

“The positive aspect is somewhat elaborate. Like I said before, tea is like my nectre. It helps preserve my immortality. But, other foods, well… they do other things for me. For instance-“

“Uh, sorry… but, just curious… I know you said that tea was your nectre, and It probably doesn’t apply here, and I’m just making further reference to classical mythology… but… shouldn’t you also have an ambrosia? Or… well, no. Never mind. Go on” Roran said, shaking his head.

“No, no, that’s actually a good question. You see, I drink loose leaf tea. So, therefore, I’m consuming both nectre and ambrosia. The liquid, water, and the tea leaves. So, I guess that does apply here.” Roran nodded as Cair explained this. He was finally beginning to understand. His mind was calming as Cair explained to him. And his need for proof was beginning to diminish as well.

“Anyway, like I said, other foods do different things to me than tea does. For instance, many years ago, when I consumed food other than tea for the first time, it was like I was hit with instant euphoria. It was addicting, and I couldn’t stop eating it. It made me feel… amazing. My mind warmed, and my mouth watered, as if I couldn’t get enough. I started shaking uncontrollably, because of its effects on me. I couldn’t stop eating. I just couldn’t. And I wished I could have eaten it forever, and I would if I could, really”. Cair explained. Roran raised his brows, a question emerging into his mind.

“So, why can’t you?” he asked.

“Well, what I just told you was the positive aspect of me eating food. But, it’s also, at the same time, the negative.” Cair told him.

A warm breeze swiftly blew through the window, and over the food. Flashes of lightning could be seen off into the distance, and vague sounds of thunder pounded the skies. Cair grabbed the round brim of his cup, and began making circular motions with it.

“When I eat food, it makes me almost lose control of myself. It makes me feel amazing. But, also… it slowly strips me of my immortality. It slowly makes me die. That’s the negative aspect of me eating.” Roran’s eyes widened at these words. It scared him to think that his friend could be dying. He had a sudden urge to throw every single portion of food on the table in front of him out the window.

“So, are you dying then? Because you ate that one time in your life?” Roran asked sincerely. A great deal of worry and almost despair, was in his voice. Cair only smiled, and shook his head.

“No, I’m not dying. I’ve been drinking tea since then, so my immortality is no longer threatened.”

Roran relaxed in his seat. He swallowed, and then sighed.

“Okay, good. I was about to throw everything out of the window!” He admitted aloud, with a laugh in his voice. Cair giggled himself, amused at Roran’s reaction. It made him feel good that his friend would do something as that, just for his protection.

“There’s no need for that, I promise. Besides, I made this meal for you. To be honest, I like watching you eat it. It intrigues me… it makes me feel good, that you can happily enjoy it, even while I can’t. I like to watch you eat it, because I like seeing you eat the one thing that can truly destroy me. Because I know just how good it is. It’s as close as I can get to ever enjoying it again. It’s a weird concept, I know… but I think it’s morbidly beautiful.” Cair smiled, and poured himself another cup of tea. He offered Roran another cup, as well, which he happily accepted.

“I suppose I can deal with that. All of this, actually. But it almost makes me feel bad, eating-“

“Please, don’t feel bad about eating in front of me. I’m the one who made it for you, just for that purpose. It really does help me, in more ways than one.” Cair explained. He took a sip of his tea, and motioned with his hand for Roran to continue eating.

“Roran, please, eat. Enjoy it. I think it’ll do us both some good.” Cair said with a smile. He lifted a cutting knife from next to the pork, and sliced a thick piece from the side of it. Pungent smoke escaped from the exposed reddish skin where the slice once was. A golden honey glaze that smelt of cloves seeped from the same spot. The smoke from the pork wafted at Cair’s nose, making him smile. His eyes nearly blurred at its effects, but it wasn’t dangerous. He wasn’t consuming it, so he remained safe.

He placed the slice onto Roran’s plate, and gestured for Roran to try it. Roran looked Cair in the eyes and smiled. With his fork and a small cutting knife, he sliced off a piece of the share Cair gave to him. He raised it to his mouth, and ate it. A broad smile took over his face. He closed his eyes, relishing the flavor, the savory flavor. It was sweet, and warm. He tasted the moist glaze, and the strong cloves. It was bliss; a meal for the gods.

“Mmmm, this is amazing, Cair. I can’t even tell you.” Roran spoke through a full mouth of the rich meat he was chewing on. Cair smiled, and thanked him. He was content. It was an amazing feeling that he could make not just himself happy, but also his friend, in a respectable way. He was also happy that he was able to disclose who he truly was, what he truly was, to his friend. He was even more so happy that his friend accepted him with seemingly perfect ease. At first, he was worried, scared, of being rejected. He only expected it. Of course he did, it wasn’t every day that one tells their friend that they’re an immortal, and that they’ve only eaten food once in their entire life, and the one time that they did, it nearly killed them. He appreciated that his friend trusted him. He wished he could have a friend like Roran forever. And that’s what hurt him the most. Cair knew that Roran’s time in the world was nothing compared to his. It was just a grain of sand in Cair’s massive hour glass. But he didn’t let those thoughts ruin all the time he did have with his beloved friend, the one person who he ever trusted enough to come clean about the most important aspect of his life.

© 2010 Eros

The image displayed is by dragonflysky and has been used under the Creative Commons license.

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