Dinner And A Show

“So, if you had anywhere that you could travel in the entire world, where would it be?”  Arkonel asked her as they sat over coffee and dessert at the diner in town.

“England.  Or Ireland.  Somewhere magical…the places we read about in the history texts but we never get to visit.”

“They’re cold.”  Arkonel complained.

“Yeah, but during the summer, they must be beautiful.  Rolling hills, stone henge, the entire nine yards.”  Ari looked out the window in distaste at the landscape.  “Small towns.  Really small towns, not like here.  Everyone might know your name, but they also shop at Wal-Mart.  I’m talking farm market and small town pubs small town.”

“Greece has that, too, you know.”  Arkonel said.

“I know, but I can speak English.  I can’t necessarily learn Greek over a span of one night, if you know what I mean.  And the Greek culture is so different from ours.  If I had one place I’d like to go first, it really would be England or Ireland, where I at least have a grasp of the language, and I get a hold of the culture at a later date, or while I’m there.”

“You have vast dreams.  I like it.”  Arkonel said, smiling.

“You’ve been there, haven’t you?”  Ari asked him.  “I know you have.  You’re a god.  You’ve been everywhere and done just about everything.”

“Wrong.  Four hundred and fifty years is not that long.”  Arkonel muted their conversation so it was for their ears only after getting a strange look from a neighboring table.  “I never roller skated until a few weeks ago, after all.”

“Yeah, but that’s different.”  Ari protested, sipping her coffee.

“How so?  Its all the same, in the end.  I can’t possibly visit everywhere and do everything that mortals have done.  Not do it and enjoy it, anyway.”

“So what’s your favorite place?”

“Well, I’ve always been fond of Greece, obviously. It is where the majority of our followers reside.  But the favorite place of mine would probably be an undiscovered island off of the eastern coast of Florida.  We cloaked it when we realized that humans were spreading like one of their diseases, and its been our refuge when we want to enjoy the earth but not its mortal inhabitants.

“Doesn’t it have flora?  Animals?”

“Yes, but those beings are not quite as wrapped up in themselves as humans are.  We are more friends than the gods of those beings.  They too have a strong sense of divinity within.”

“So they’re better?”

“I didn’t say that.  They’re just different.”

“You still haven’t told me what your favorite place is.  You have a bad habit of that.”  Ari pointed out to him, and he laughed, sipping his coffee and truly enjoying the bitter taste.

“I really like Egypt.  The pyramids, anyway.  The humans call it one of the wonders of the mortal world, and I really do agree with them.  They are amazing structures that should be honored.”

“I wish I could see them.”

“I’m sure you will some day.”  Arkonel said.  “Are we done here?”

“I think so.”  Ari said.

“I’ll take care of the check.”  Arkonel said, standing up and removing his magically materialized wallet out of his front pocket.  He walked up to the desk and handed the hostess some money, telling her to keep the change.

“Where to now?”  Ari asked.  “And how did you have money?”

“I can create things.  I can move things.”

“So is the money real?”

“Basically.  If they run the serial number, they will realize that there are two bills with that serial number circulating, but how often does that happen?”

“Oh.  Okay.  So you could be a millionaire here, on earth?”  She asked him as he held the door open for her.  As she walked under his arm, he dropped it to wrap it around her shoulders.

“I could, but it would be too much work.  You know, convincing the residents of the area that you were an okay person; getting the IRS and all of your federal organizations to forget about that piece of land; remembering to age yourself so you don’t appear immortal to the people of the town.  It was easier, I’m sure, in the old days.  But its very hard to be anonymous and have any sort of ownership in these days.”

“Understandable.  Hey, the car is this way.”  Ari pulled gently on his hand and pointed with her free hand in the opposite direction to which they were heading.

“I know.  I want to show you something.”  Arkonel said.  “Can you trust me?”

“Do I have a choice?”  Ari asked him.  He smiled, leaned down and kissed her forehead.

“Yes, you do. If you’re scared of trusting me, I won’t take you where I want to.  But I promise it won’t take long to get there, and you’ll love it when we do arrive.”

“Okay. I trust you.”  Ari said, squeezing his hand.

“Great.  Can you close your eyes for me?  You might feel a little dizzy.”

“Are we going to fly?”  Ari asked, her grip tightening on Arkonel’s hand.

“Yes, but not very far.  Don’t worry – no one will see us.”

“Have you ever done this with a mortal before?”  She asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry about a thing.”  Arkonel reached over with the hand that was draped over her shoulder to poke her nose.  “Just close your eyes and relax.”

Arkonel had never done it with something alive, before.  But he was sure it couldn’t be that much trouble.  He just wanted to find the nearest empty field and show her the stars.  The first place he could find that you couldn’t hear traffic or see street lights.

They lifted off gently and seconds later found what he had been looking for.  A clearing in a patch of the woods just south of town.  No cars, no street lights.  Arkonel created a buffer around the patch of sky that they could see, warning airplanes not to enter.

“You can open your eyes.”  Arkonel said to her and he felt Ari release his hand.  He realized that she had been gripping it so hard, had he actually been human, it would have been bruised come morning.

“Where are we?”  Ariana asked him, awe apparent in her voice.

“Only a few miles away.  I wanted a place that was quiet, where you could see the stars.”

“Well, I see you’ve accomplished the second part.  But nowhere in this scheme do I see the recognition of the term ‘quiet’.”  Ari said, leaning back into Arkonel’s body.  The crickets weaved their melodies in and out of the human’s ears.

“Well, I tried.  I know you wouldn’t want me to kill all of them just for being horny, so I decided to leave them.”  Arkonel materialized a blanket, laid out and pretty next to them.  He pointed to it and guided her down onto it, lying beside her.

“I figured that even if you didn’t want to stay, I could show you something of what our special island was like.  Untouched by human hands.”

“I’m sure humans have trespassed here.”  Ari said, distracted by the clarity with which she could see the stars.

“Yes, I’m sure they have as well.  But they have not left their feet and finger prints all over.  And you cannot hear the bustle of the cars on the country roads, nor can you see plans above here, interrupting the otherwise peaceful scene.”

“You did good.”  Ari said, snuggling closer to him.  “I wish I could have someone like you as my boyfriend.”

“What, after all this, I don’t count as a boyfriend?”  Arkonel asked her, pulling her closer to him.

“Is it…how could that work, anyway?”  Ari asked him.  “I mean, what, you expect me to be okay with the fact that you have to fulfill your deflowering virgins quota for the year?  We get into a fight, and suddenly the twin towers go down?  Again?”

“No…there are rules to immortal arguments.”  Arkonel said.  “And I don’t have a virgin quota.”

“They don’t have to be virgins?”  Ari asked him, laughing.

“I don’t have to take so many women a year.”  Arkonel argued, running his fingers along her ribs.  “Plus, dating an immortal has its benefits.”

“And what if we really do fall in love?”  Ari asked Arkonel, rolling over so that she was on top of him.  “Do you watch me grow old and die?  Do you save me from Hades’ judgment?  I spend the rest of eternity as a decrepit old woman, in your strong and willing arms?  I don’t think you’d be much for that.”

“That’s not how it works.  Trust me, we can work it out if you want to.  Needless to say, you and I is an option.  Maybe a rough road at times, but it can definitely work out.”

“But what about my hopes and my dreams?  One of us would have to spend eternity with the other – and the mortal world is the only one I’ve ever known.”

“Relax, don’t get so flustered.”  Arkonel said, laughing.  “You’re absolutely right in those aspects.  I would never, ever hold you back from becoming what you want to be.  I view the world a lot differently than you, and I forget sometimes.  Let’s talk about it later, and just enjoy the show for now.”

“What show?”  Ari asked him, returning her attention to the sky above her and removing herself from his lap.  She lay back down next to him.

“Lightning bug mating dances.”  He told her.  She nodded against his arm.

“So they don’t bother you at all, but humans do?”  Ari asked him quietly as they watched the flickering lights against an already starry background.

“Yes, because humans have the capacity to plot and scheme and lie.  They’re so focused on themselves and the other humans around them – I’m just generalizing, I don’t mean every human – that they tend to forget that other beings exist.  In fact, most of the time, humans refuse to believe that other beings exist.  Its like they create their own little worlds and trap themselves inside.”

“And immortals?”

“We do the exact same thing, except not quite so much.  We are just as guilty of deception and cruelty as our mortal children, but we have put limits on it by having a small council that sees to moderation.  When we achieve our full immortality – our titles – we must submit to the power of the council.  Until then, we are delegated to the care of our parents.”

“So, similar to the United States.”

“Yes, except unlike you, we don’t receive the pleasure of a jury of our peers.  We just get a jury.”  Arkonel said.  “Now be quiet and watch the show.”

“One last question.  Did you make them appear?  The bugs?”

“No.  If they hadn’t though, I would have encouraged them.”  Arkonel said.  “Now, shh.”

Arkonel watched with Ari, as fascinated she was in the patterns of the individual bugs and the patterns of the ‘show’ altogether.  It was completely random, but also like a huge heart beat, a rhythm of life that the bugs were showing off.  A few minutes later, Arkonel spoke once more.

“If you want to go home, just let me know.  It’s a flight away, you know?  I can even drop you off at home then pick up your car and bring it home for you.”

“Both you driving and you flying my car scare me a little bit.  I’ll let you know when you can take us back to the car so I can drive us home.  What time is it, anyway?”

“I think a little bit after one. Basically, the dead of night. Why?”

“My mom didn’t set a curfew for me.  I was wondering if she was up wondering where the hell I was.”

“I’m pretty sure she trusts me with you by now.”  Arkonel pointed out.  “Really.”

“I know.  Hey, I am kind of getting tired.  But I love laying here, like this, with you.  None of my ex boyfriends would have done this with me.  They usually found nature appealing, but too much of it, boring.”

“Well, all of your old boyfriends sucked.”  Arkonel concluded.  “That means I’m back in the running, right?  You can’t leave me hanging for so damn long. Its killing me.”

“See, I’d take that more seriously, except for the fact that you can’t die.”  Ari retorted, slapping his stomach half heartedly.

“Oh.  Right.  Sorry.”  Arkonel said, laughing.  “So do you want to go home now?”

“I think so.  I’m just thinking about waking up tomorrow, and we did a ton of stuff today.”  Ari said.  “But I think you owe me a kiss.”

“Why?”

“For scaring me, earlier.”

“You weren’t that scared, were you?”  Arkonel asked with mock sympathy.  He knew she had been frightened, but more amazed than anything else.

“I was terrified.”

“Well, then I apologize.”  Arkonel said, turning onto his side and wrapping his leg around hers.  He leaned down and kissed her lips gently, then drew back.  “There is your kiss.”

“I didn’t mean that kind of kiss.”  Ari protested, yanking on his shirt collar to bring him back down on top of her.

“What kind of kiss did you mean, then, mistress?”  Arkonel asked her.

“The kind that will make me forget who and what I am, and who and what I’m kissing.”

“That, I can manage.”  Arkonel boldly declared and leaned in for his second fiery kiss.
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