Mortal Desire

by Alexander Bryn

  ‘I use to ... but since the attack, not so frequently. And you?’

  ‘I come here perhaps two or three nights a week, on work days, only to socialize with the other Elevator Operators. We are only allowed one alcoholic beverage a day you know—it’s written into our contract,’ I answered her.

  ‘I know … you have said that before … but really? By the looks of them tonight they have had far more than one drink!’ Sarah said with wonder in her voice.

  I turned around and looked at the boys. They were making a raucous, spilling drinks and up to mischief.

  ‘Aye, we had forced changes at work today. It is their way of dealing with the hand that we were dealt,’ I said, still looking at them before I looked into Sarah’s green eyes.

  ‘What sort of changes Liam?’

  ‘You’ll see when you come to the building next time … you’ll see.’ I turned away from the dukes towards the bar again and sipped on my water. I felt Sarah shift closer to me.

  ‘Liam, I need to spend some time with you ... I ... I ... just need to spend some time with you,’ she said to me. Her voice was soft and lacking in confidence.

  I turned my head towards her. ‘You are attracted to me because of the ‘halo effect’ Sarah. Give it time—it will pass,’ I responded to her, trying to fob off her feelings for me, even though I was well aware that it was the red thread that tied us together.

  ‘No, it’s not Liam. When we touch ...’

  Trouble was brewing. At once I sucked in a deep breath to pull my blue energy force under the surface of my skin.

  ‘When we touch Liam, I feel ... I feel like I am alive for the first time,’ she tried to explain as she placed her hand on my arm.

  I breathed in impossibly more and tightened all of the muscles in my body to hold the blue energy force inside of me. ‘Then perhaps we should spend some time together Sarah. You will see then that it is the ‘halo effect’, and will be cured of its magic that binds you to me,’ I said quietly against her ear. I too, felt alive for the first time when I was with her. But we could never be together.

  ‘You will fall in true love with a mortal, but you cannot know

  her in an intimate way. It is forbidden …’

  ‘Yes mamma …’

  I closed my eyes, exhaled and breathed in deeply again, holding my blue energy field under my skin and brought my glass of water to my lips.

  ‘Well then, since you are so obliging and have played into my hands so perfectly, how about tomorrow, Mr. O’Connell?’

  I choked on my water. I did not expect her to take me up on the offer so quickly.

  ‘Hmmm … Saturday … sure … sounds like a plan,’ I said, smirking at her.

  She slipped me her business card.

  ‘Send me an email Mr. O’Connell. I will look forward to hearing from you,’ she asserted. Then she stood and left the bar.

  Shocked by her audacity, I sat alone at the bar for a while longer before I went to farewell my fellow operator dukes, some for the last time. I knew which ones had lost their jobs because of the red energy aura that glowed around them. Their faces showed no emotion, but their auras did to those who could see it. Auras could not conceal true emotions like the face could.

  I touched their arms with my fingertips, and sent my amnis of white healing energy through to the amygdala; the emotional centre of the brain. My eye contact and well wishes in words were sent there too, strengthening the healing bond.

  I pulled my collar up around my neck when I exited the bar and walked through the cool night air as the mist of darkness descended.

  Albert was sitting in his reading chair knitting when I entered our apartment.

  ‘Buona sera Albert,’ I said and placed my coat and work satchel in the cloak room.

  ‘Good evening to you also, Liam. Sì sono io lavoro a maglia, fare quel sorrisetto dalla faccia!’ Albert said without an ounce of humour.

  ‘Who said that I was smirking at you knitting? Perhaps you are jumping to conclusions?’ I said and chuckled under my breath.

  ‘I know you better than you know yourself Liam. Are you mocking me for taking up the sport of knitting?’ Albert asked. He put his knitting down and walked to the dining table with me. He had prepared an interesting dinner.

  ‘Certainly not! I was thinking that you could knit yourself a head cover to stop the girls screaming and running away from you!’ I added, trying to judge his demeanour this evening.

  He poked his tongue out at me.

  ‘Well that is certainly mature for a four hundred year old, Albert!’ I said through smiling lips.

  ‘Interesting day at the office, Liam. I see that your rebellious antics did not work in your favour.’

  ‘No, they didn’t,’ I said, shaking my head.

  ‘Do not despair Liam, everything happens for a reason. You will see.’

  ‘Have you seen already may I ask?’

  ‘No, you may not ask,’ he answered, and raised an eyebrow at me.

  ‘Spoil sport,’ I said with fondness of my Protector.

  ‘Spoilt brat!’ he added to the flying insults.

  ‘Knitting nerd!’ I retaliated.

  ‘Lover boy!’ he sneaked in.

  I placed my knife and fork onto the table, clasped my hands together and leaned towards Albert.

  ‘Tell me what you know,’ I said in a low voice.

  ‘If I tell you, I will have to kill you,’ Albert joked.

  Although, I did not think that it was funny. I returned to eating my meal. ‘I miei complimenti allo chef.’

  ‘Thank-you Liam, and flattery will get you nowhere,’ said Albert.

  ‘I know that you are a stubborn old mule Albert. My compliment of your cooking was from the heart,’ I explained.

  He narrowed his eyes at me and continued to eat.

  ‘What do you know of love Albert?’ I asked, genuinely wanting his opinion for guidance in this very unfamiliar territory that I was about to enter, or perhaps had already entered.

  ‘Ha! You’re asking an ugly brute like me?’ His laughter resonated throughout the walls and his belly bounced up and down as he guffawed. Then he stilled and became serious. ‘Love ... or lust?’ His voice was deep.

  ‘Both,’ I responded.

  He sat back in his chair, folded his hands over his over-large stomach and took a huge unnecessary breath.

  ‘Love is kind, love is patient. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. This definition Liam, can be found in an Earth human book called the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13:4—It sums up love perfectly. Lust on the other hand …’ He looked up to the ceiling and tilted his head to the left, and then to the right, cracking a couple of vertebrae. ‘Lust is … how shall I put it? Lust is an intense sexual craving. It is about possession and greed. Lust has as its focus on pleasing oneself, and it is about fulfilling one’s desires with no regard to the consequences. Lust is a devastating fire that will devour you and destroy relationships. It is lethal to your soul.’

  I raised my eyebrows on hearing Albert’s last words. ‘How will I know whether I am feeling love or lust?’

  ‘Lust is all about you Liam. You won’t care about the other person or their feelings. It will be all about their looks and their body and nothing else. Love, on the other hand ... you will want to talk to her, spend time with her, you will be concerned about her feelings, you will be interested in things that she does. You will want to be a better person for her. That is how you will know. Why do you ask boy?’

  ‘I’m just … expanding my knowledge of worldly things Albert.’

  ‘Ah, don’t ever think that love is worldly. Lust is worldly, but love was defined before there was even a human being on the Earth. Things will come to pass, but love endures forever.’

  I pondered his words for a moment. ‘I am wondering if it i
s the red thread that is pulling Sarah and I together ... ’

  ‘Perhaps, but time will tell. Love endures, but a crush will not. Enjoy the journey and see where it takes you Liam. That is my advice. You have taken your immortality far too seriously for four hundred years. Live a little on the mortal side!’

  ‘In that case, I must go and email someone. Thanks for the advice. You are a rare gemstone in the pile of sludgy rocks!’

  He snorted, then got up to clear the table from dinner. I went to the study room and powered up the computer, butterflies bumping into the walls of my stomach.

  FROM: Liam O’Connell

  DATE: 3 May 21:10

  TO: Sarah Flynn

  SUBJECT: Saturday, May the 4th be with you.

  Dear Miss Flynn,

  There is a flowering Jacaranda tree outside Cafe Oooh Laa

  Laaa! I would like to meet you there at 6:30am.

  Liam.

  Send ...

  FROM: Sarah Flynn

  DATE: 3 May 21:13

  TO: Liam O’Connell

  SUBJECT: RE: Saturday, May the 4th be with you.

  Dear Mr. O’Connell,

  No civil person gets up that early on a Saturday morning.

  I will see you under the flowering Jacaranda tree at 7am.

  Sarah

  #Iamknittingyouascarfforyourneck!

  FROM: Liam O’Connell

  DATE: 3 May 21:20

  TO: Sarah Flynn

  SUBJECT: RE: RE: Saturday, May the 4th be with you.

  Dear Miss Flynn,

  I look forward to meeting you then.

  Liam

  #scarveslooknicewrappedaroundjacarandatrees!

  Send ...

  After rereading our three emails several times, I headed off to prepare for the customary routine of human sleep. Albert still sat in his wing chair knitting under the muted light when I walked past to go to my room.

  ‘Take an extra long warm shower tonight Liam. I can hear your heart thumping away from here. Sogni d’oro intossicato uno!’

  ‘Sweet dreams to you too Albert, and I am not intoxicated!’ I replied.

  ‘You have been exposed to the love potion Liam. Watch out before you see rainbows and unicorns everywhere!’

  ‘Oh - grow up ancient one. I’ll give you a sip of my love potion. It might fix up your ugly face!’ I retaliated.

  ‘Be careful Liam. What is said cannot be unsaid!’ he stated, and chuckled to himself.

  ‘They do say that love is blind don’t they? Buona notte amico mio, tu lo sai che ti amo,’ I called over my shoulder as I headed to my room.

  ‘Yes, good night Liam, and … I too, love you,’ Albert replied, and brushed off the comment with a waving of his hand in the air like a butterfly fluttering about.

  The warmth of the water quietened my thumping heart before I made myself comfortable on the extravagantly adorned mattress. Waves of pleasure streamed through me while thoughts of meeting Sarah continually invaded my head space.

  ‘Il coraggio, la temperanza, la saggezza, la giustizia, la pazienza, courage, temperance, wisdom, justice, patience.’ I meditated on these five words while I held the blue energy mass of light, letting it lift me higher until I experienced my spirit free from my body. But this time, instead of wanting to stay captured in that state, I wanted to return to my human form, eager to meet Sarah Flynn in the morning at 7am.

  I re-entered my body, and felt the heaviness of the bone, muscle, blood and organs that were anchored to the Earth by gravity. I watched the blue mass of light ascend to hover above me when I realized how similar the feeling of love was to the uplifting energy of the blue energy mass of light.

  I shuddered as my new thought scared me.

  I looked to my left; the lesser red ball of caution still hovered. The danger was not finished.

  Was I heading into trouble by meeting Sarah tomorrow at 7am, or did danger lay elsewhere?

  Albert did say that the immortals had not finished with me yet. Before I gave in to the delta sleep zone, I set my mind for energizing to heightened alertness to intuition in my unconscious and conscious state.

  All things are possible ...

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  I changed my clothes three times before I was happy with what I was wearing. It was ridiculous that one person could have such an effect on one’s choice in clothing! Never in my four hundred years of walking the Earth had I been indecisive about what to cover my human nakedness with. This was simply ... irrational!

  ‘Matisse approves of your woody oriental aftershave today,’ Albert commented as I walked by him at the breakfast table.

  ‘Tell Matisse that she needs to get out more and smell the catnip!’

  ‘She is the Observer. You know that she likes to pass judgment on us as we live in her castle. You should bring home a new box for her to sit in and ponder about our human antics. That will keep her happy,’ Albert suggested, tongue in cheek.

  ‘The aftershave masks my immortality Albert. That is why I wear it,’ I commented.

  ‘Of course it does!’ Albert teased and winked at me. ‘Would you like to carry the antidote to the love potion?’ he continued.

  I walked out the door, waved him off and shook my head at him in disgust.

  Although I was wearing aftershave, I pulled my collar up to cover my neck while I walked to the jacaranda tree. Old habits die hard. And besides, the aftershave had not passed the test of fire in its deceit with immortals yet. At this point in time, it was still hypothetical that it may work in masking my immortal scent.

  I arrived at the jacaranda tree before Sarah did and leaned against its trunk. I looked skywards into the abundant bloom of delicate flowers that provided a canopy of a sea of purple, broken by dabs of blue.

  I followed the flight path of one flower as it sailed down from the umbrella of leaves and towards the ground. But my vision was interrupted mid-flight when my eyes settled on Sarah’s beautiful face as she stood before me.

  ‘Good morning Sarah,’ I said.

  She frowned and tilted her head to one side. ‘Good morning to you Liam,’ she replied, smiled and looked down.

  I placed my finger under her chin. ‘Look up. There is beauty to behold,’ I said, and lifted her head upwards. I watched her face to see her reaction to the canvas painted by nature.

  Her eyes widened, and a beautiful smile grew on her face.

  ‘Yes, it is magical Liam,’ she whispered. Her eyes met mine and locked, drawn by some inexplicable force of the universe.

  I breathed in deeply and closed my eyes. ‘Let’s eat, I’m hungry,’ I said.

  ‘Hmm ... men! Always thinking of your stomach! Let’s go inside before you starve to death,’ she said with sarcasm, laced with warmth.

  I smiled to myself and followed her inside Café Oooh Laa Laaa! I increased my walking pace and took the lead to the waiter to procure our table.

  Sunbeams cast a pretty patterned shadow across our small table. We sat opposite each other for the first time in our story together. I looked into Sarah’s eyes before I made a huge effort to avert my gaze, and examined the daisy flower centre piece of the table instead.

  I was most unfamiliar with the emotion of shyness that occupied my mind and feelings. She had set many different emotions alight in me since we first met. How could it be? I barely knew her, and yet, my reactions to her were akin to the dictionary definition of a high when taking drugs. I was puzzled, but very happy—deliriously.

  ‘Your eyes are more blue today Liam. Are you wearing coloured contact lenses?’ Sarah asked while she perused the breakfast menu, keeping her eyes from mine.

  ‘No. This is me, in the flesh. Naked ... except for my clothing,’ I replied, shook my head and pulled a face at the stupid words that I had just muttered. Thankfully, she was still looking at the menu.

  ‘It is very delicious,’ she said. She looked up at me, and caught me staring at her. ‘The food on the menu I mean,’ she added.

  I raised my chin a li
ttle before I nodded in agreement with her. Butterflies rammed into the sides of my stomach. I looked back to the menu.

  ‘Have you been here before?’ I asked, trying not to muddle up my words.

  ‘No, this is the first time. You?’

  ‘Same. Actually, I have never eaten out for breakfast before,’ I revealed to her, then looked into her green eyes.

  She stared at me and froze. ‘Like ... never?’ Her eyes were wide, her eyebrows raised and her mouth open.

  I frowned and shook my head. ‘No, my uncle cooks every morning. I have never had a need to grab breakfast out,’ I tried to explain.

  ‘Not even with friends?’ she asked me.

  ‘No.’ I didn’t know what else to say. I just simply have never been out for breakfast before.

  ‘What do you normally have for breakfast Liam?’

  ‘Bacon, eggs, cooked tomato, toast, cup of tea, fruit sometimes as well. And you?’

  ‘Toast and tea in the morning before I hit the art studio ... I am so ordering breakfast for you today,’ she said.

  I raised my eyebrows, surprised at her assertiveness. ‘If you insist Miss Flynn,’ I replied, playing along with her game.

  She smiled at me, and then motioned for the waiter to come to take our order. As the waiter stood beside her, she pointed to the items on the menu, and the waiter made careful eye contact with her, before they both smiled at each other.

  What plan was she hatching? I had absolutely no idea what she had ordered for me.

  Within a minute, two tea cups and a pot of tea had arrived. Sarah poured the tea for us both, after turning the tea pot three times anticlockwise, and three times clock wise.

  ‘Weird isn’t it?’ I said.

  ‘Mmmm?’ she said looking up at me.

  ‘The turning of the tea pot. Some people become obsessed with it, are you?’

  She stopped stirring the sugar into her tea and looked at me. ‘Do I look weird to you? No ... you had better not answer that! I like the tradition. It is a little bit fancy!’ she said.

  I nodded my head and smiled at her. She would be fascinated if she knew that I had four hundred years of history and traditions embedded into my memories.