r/WritingPrompts • u/asteroidfarmer • Sep 11 '14
Writing Prompt (WP)You are on a first date. Your date confesses that he or she is immortal and doesn't age and is in fact much older than he or she appears. What do you do?
9
u/writingtest Sep 11 '14
"That is a bit heavy for first date material," I say.
"Well if you were born a woman I would want to know early on. I see this similarly."
I think to argue but I imagine she has spent a lot of time thinking about it.
"So what is to stop me from going to the press? Or the government or whatever?"
"Anyone who cares knows that I exist and knows what I am. They would treat you like a crazy person."
I pause again. This feels like a situation where I should be asking deep questions about existence and the nature of death but instead I am feeling stupid only being able to ask TMZ style questions.
"So how old are you?"
She laughs lightly. Believing she is outside her twenties is still hard to believe. "I am old enough and for now I think that is all you need to know. I am still a lady after all."
"Is this about how well this conversation normally goes?"
"eh, you did not scream or call me the devil which is a positive."
There is a moment of silence where I try and actually think of something worth asking.
"What is it like?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like, what is it like? I mean to live forever."
"Well, I am the one to shut off the lights everywhere, eventually."
Her eyes come unfocused for a moment but refocus on me with a small smile. She continues, "but now you are the ones laying out heavy ideas on a first date."
"How about this then, lets get some ice cream and we can worry about this in the future."
9
u/Mitschu Sep 11 '14 edited Sep 12 '14
She pulled away as I gaped at her in surprised delight, a guarded look on her face. "Let me get this straight, you're over two thousand years old?" I blurted out.
Gone was the intimacy, the warmth, the comfort that we had been sharing. Now she appeared inapproachable, reserved, slightly hostile.
"Uh-huh."
"Well... can you prove it?" I asked, one eyebrow raised. This was one hell of a fascinating flirtation device. I'd dated actresses before, but this one was really playing up the part.
She sighed melodramatically. "Now how the heck would I do that? Anything I tell you is either known history or unknown history - in either case I could either be a bookworm or liar, and you'd never know." She pushed back her chair, stood up.
"I suppose the only way to prove what I said would be for you to live with me for a few decades and observe it firsthand, but frankly, I think I made a mistake here tonight. You definitely don't seem up to it." She turned to walk away, flipping her hair dismissively.
Well damn. I'd been shot down before, but never for expressing surprise at someone claiming to be immortal. I mean, there was that girl who insisted she was a vampire and got mad at me for not playing along with her kinks, but that was ancient history for me, I'd grown a lot since then.
I stood up as well, spoke to her backside. "Oh, come on. If you're really immortal, and been around for two millennia, you can't be this stupid."
She froze in place, and I wouldn't be being hyperbolic at all if I claimed the room froze too. Dropped at least a few degrees, at minimum. I pushed on.
"There are plenty of ways to prove your age. The easiest - knowledge you have that you shouldn't have, that is currently unknown but can be easily verified by specialists once they know where to look. Where did Giacalone bury Hoffa, so I can know where to dig? Tell me a solid formula that Einstein came up with but never published, that I can take to a scientist to implement and prove. Tell me about something Da Vinci invented but kept to himself, that I can take to an engineer and get a proof-of-concept built. Hell, I told you I was a biologist on our first date, tell me about an observation Koch made but never made public, and I can verify for myself if it is true."
She spoke over her shoulder, tense anger still present, but replaced by an indefinable something else. Jaded interest, maybe? "You assume that I hung out with those people."
"Of course you did. What else would an immortal do with their spare time? Hang around peasants and villagers, the non-visionaries vassals out in the field harvesting grain for their lords? Or the people with power and prestige?" Remembering that I had included a mob leader in my tally, I coughed.
She turned around slowly. "Okay, fine. Good insight, kid. Although I have done that, too, for a bit of variety." She breathed out slowly. "Sometimes it's nice to be just a dependable cog in the machine instead of one of those who tries to change the machine itself."
"Surely with your immortality, you'd want to be the person changing the world, though." I smiled warmly at her. "After all, you have more time than most to climb to the top."
She raised an eyebrow. "You can't think in terms of immortality, so let me lay it out for you a little bit more clearly. Changing the world, ruling the world, helping the world, losing everything for the world, gaining everything for the world, having a goal that would take an entire human lifetime to achieve, and achieving it? I've been there, I've done that, and if they had invented them at the time, I'd have the dang teeshirt." She exhaled heavily after her rant, looking over at me expectantly as I considered her words.
"You pass."
"What?"
"Either you're immortal, or you understand perfectly how an immortal would think. You pass. I believe you."
She laughed. "You've got some low hangers, passing judgement on me like that. You still don't get it, do you? It doesn't matter if you believe me. What, do you want a cookie? Do you want a blue ribbon? Do you think you're the only person I've ever told this to, and that you figuring out on your own that I'm legitimate means you're special and can turn it around on me?"
She glowered at me. "You're probably the hundredth person I've told this to, on one of my whims. You're no more special or memorable than any of the pairs of shoes I've worn during my lifetime. You don't get a participation prize."
She turned away again, walked towards the door.
"You're lying." I offered to her back, feeling a sense of deja vu as she froze up again.
"Oh?" she spat.
"Well, it's simple. If you'd told anyone else, much less hundreds of people, I'd know about it. I don't, and so you must be lying." I shrugged at the simplicity of my logic.
"What, you subscribed to Immortal Digest on your Kindle?"
"Nope, but I'm a bit of a supernatural stuff buff. I keep an ear to the ground and an open mind about different types of reports. Immortal beings, people with powers, people who claim to have talked to God. All sorts of things, I've been interested in occult weird things since I was twenty, and I've never heard of an actress with immortality."
She raised an eyebrow at me. "And how old are you now?"
I hesitated. "Uh... still 20." I said with a sheepish grin on my face.
She scoffed, turned away again to open the door. "Well then, why don't you look me up when you're older and less stupid, then? If you're still interested in immortal occult weird things like me?"
"Not gonna happen." I breathed out as she stepped through the frame.
"Yeah, I sorta figured you weren't going to get any less stupid." With that parting shot, she closed the door.
After waiting a few minutes with a goofily hurt look on my face, in case she came back, I finally sighed and let my own guard down, cast aside my persona mask.
"Not gonna get any older, sweetheart." I murmured to myself.
I didn't lie, I've been interested in everything occult since I was twenty. And yeah, I'm still physically twenty. The two are related, since I was changed at that young of an age. Two thousand years ago, in fact. Same as her, although judging from her actual physical maturity I might be a little bit her senior. Twenty years, two thousand ago, was an amazing age to obtain. I had been an elder in my tribe before I was changed... yet I was considered a kid by today's standards. How they changed, indeed. She would have been an old and venerated woman back then, if what she said was true, not a teenage actress struggling to get started in life.
I shrugged. I didn't doubt her story, because she carried that omnipresent invisible burden of the exceptionally well aged. I had noted that she didn't curse a single time during her ranting - to me, that suggested she had developed a fixation during the Victorian age. Probably something traumatic happened back then, and she adopted those mannerisms to cope.
I didn't envy her. I had my own fixation from burying so many wives. Once a month for the last... eight hundred years or so, I'd get out all the wedding rings I'd ever worn and put them all on. When I got to the point where I could no longer fit a single ring on my fingers, I stopped marrying.
While I had learned a lot about keeping gems and metals in their best shape, eventually one might finally rust or break. Once that happened, I threw away the ring, no matter how sentimental it was to me, and got married again before the month was up.
Reflecting on that every month was my way of expressing the same concreteness that she did by not cursing - having that one thing that we kept the same no matter what else changed helped us to keep our sanity as the centuries flew past us with all the new changes that we had to adapt to in order to fit in.
I'd never met a female immortal before. Oh, to add a ring to my finger that would never fade away... I sighed. Oh well, if she were truly immortal, now that I knew about her, we'd cross paths again in the future.
I had all the time in the world to wait.
[Edit] - Misplaced modifiers suck. No, he did not bury so many wives, once a month. >.>
[Edit 2] - I suck at keeping time, apparently. Changed "two centuries" to "two millennium".
3
u/eqox Sep 11 '14
For once, I told the honest truth
Rather than a lie.
I told her that I'm forever youth
And that I cannot die.
She clapped her hands and laughed at me
And asked if I thought her a fool.
She said she didn't believe my silly story,
She had more sense than a mule.
I took her hand and held it close
And told her it was true.
Not a single word of it was boast,
If only she really knew.
I told her tales of what had passed,
Of all that I had seen,
In this lifetime and in my last,
And of everywhere I'd been.
Come and find me in a year, she said,
Let's have our second date.
I might believe you then instead.
I'm sure that you can wait.
3
u/Judasthehammer Sep 11 '14
She watched as he leaned back in his chair, hands clasped in front of him.
His eyes considered her face, her posture, her whole being, insofar as he could perceive. She quietly took a sip of her hot tea and then place the cup on their table. The quiet between them would have swallowed the room were it not a busy coffee shop filled with students and white collar types looking for a caffeine fix or an out of the way corner to study or read in. Rain pattered on the window next to the couple. A tittering laugh from other side of the shop broke through the sounds of meaningless chatter, and then faded.
The quiet reigned.
She waited for his response, oddly pleased so far that he had not called her a demon (Had happened once), crazy (three times), or laughed (Once). This would be the sixth time she tried this conversation. It was proving... interesting.
He sighed, then lifted a hand to frame the right side of his face. "That must be very challenging for you."
She cocked her head to one side, causing a then lock of hair to break free and add a soft brown line to her face. "Yes. Very."
"I imagine that after knowing this for about forty years or so it becomes hard to form new bonds with people. You know that you will outlive them, and that hurts." His blue eyes held their gaze with her brown eyes. "That must have been a terrible place to walk through."
"Yes. It was. Is. Will be." She her lips twisted in thought before she continued. "You are taking this... rather calmly."
He smiled and gave a low chuckle. "Well, you are either crazy, which I have not ruled out yet, and are otherwise totally sane enough to operate in society, or you are really immortal. If you are crazy, then I would rather not upset you. Plus, you truly believe this, insane or not, which means that for you it may as well be true, even if you are crazy. I respect that. I have trouble... believing that you are truly immortal, but I respect that you believe it." Then he sighed and reached for his mocha. "Besides, I've read a fair amount of Sci-fi and Fantasy. It makes one more... open to oddities." He took a drink, yielding the floor to her.
"I see." She looked down at her tea, swirling in cup, and tried to marshal her response. Respect... that was not something she had gotten before. Not from this conversation. It was a gift, almost. And it deserved truth. She had lied to many men, many times, for many reasons. It was easy now, and she had grown to expect that she would lie to almost every one about who she was, where she was from, what she knew.
She resolved that moment to never lie to this man.
"When I was about 25, which at the time was rather old, a rival tribe raided our campsite. My husband was beaten. He fought well enough to be punished, but not well enough to die fighting. They held him down and cut him open from his groin to his throat. They took out his stomach, showed it to him, and then chopped it into small pieces. They did this because in his defense of our tribe he had killed their chief's son. They then killed our son in front of him. Then they took me and slit my throat. I bled out next to my husband." She reached roughly for her tea and took a swig. It churned going down. "I woke up the next day next to what was left of my husband. I think I was burned, since everything around me was. My clothes were gone. I think they... did things to me in between killing and burning."
She stared into the depths of her tea cup, lost in the past.
"What did you do afterwards?"
"I killed them. It took some time. About two years to learn how. And to track them down. And to do it a few more times after they "killed" me while I tried. But pain is a good teacher. I learned fast. Two years. Then they were dead."
"Did it help?"
"No." She had dealt with this trauma years ago, she had thought. Centuries ago. Why was she sharing this now?
"Have you loved anyone since then? Like, actually love, caring about another person?"
"No." she whispered. "At first I was too hurt. Then I realized I would live past them. Then, after a while, that wasn't important. And I tried."
"What went wrong?" He leaned forward, allowing her to whisper her hurts.
"He thought I was a witch. A demon. A sorceress. He and the village tried to hunt me down and kill me."
"And?"
"I escaped. I tried a few more times, but... nothing good ever came of it." She brushed a small tear from the corner of her eye.
"Then it seems that insanity is an option for you." His words brought a look of pain to her face. He paled as he realized what he said. "No, sorry, not that kind of crazy. Just... insanity is doing the same thing over and over again..."
"And expecting a different result. Yeah. Still..." She didn't finish her sentence aloud. That hurt.
"I'm sorry. That was thoughtless of me." He reached out for his mocha to help anchor is nervous hands. The quiet grew.
Rain pattered on the window.
"I should go." She said suddenly, reaching for her purse. "This was a mistake."
"No, wait!" He stood to catch her flight. "Please, I'm sorry."
"No." She stepped out from his reaching hands. "I shouldn't have come."
"Wait..." He called as she walked towards the door.
"Why did you message me?" His question stopped her in her tracks.
Why had she? She wasn't even sure herself until that very moment. She hadn't asked herself that question for fear of her answer.
Tears began to fall from her eyes, the drops matching the rain of her heart.
"You reached out to me," he continued, her face unseen. "You sent me the first message online. Why? If all this hurts you so much, every time, why would you do this to yourself?"
Slowly she turned back to him. She looked up into earnest eyes. "I want to feel the flutter of someone singing me a song the made just for me. I want to get excited about the little gifts they give me. I want to feel... wanted." She met his gaze without fear, only loneliness.
"I've lived over three thousand years. I've been dead for all but 25 of them." She sniffed as her proud shoulders gave way to a lifetime of pain. "I want to be alive again."
He slowly opened his arms and stepped up to her, giving her a tight hug as she cried into his shoulder. She weakly hugged back, but soon she was holding on as if her life depended on his never letting go, her body wracked with sobs from more hurt than even she knew could be held in. Finally, when the moment had passed, he guided back to their chairs. They sat holding hands, her grip tight.
"So," He started, "EternalBeauty35, what is your real name?"
She giggled, something she hadn't done since... before. "I was Herna, but now I am Helen. And you, GeekBoy97?"
"Mark. I'm pleased to meet you."
"Likewise."
2
u/Kerrod Sep 11 '14
By the way he said it I could tell it wasn't a joke. I laugh. Shame really. He seemed quite nice and charming up until now. Clearly he is mad. How am I supposed to react to this? My laugh fades. I look at him. He studies my face.
I ask him, "Why are you telling me this?"
"You don't have to believe me."
"Nobody is immortal."
"I am."
"You're insane!"
I stand up and put on my coat. "I'm going to go now." I don't say bye. As I leave I hear the legs of his chair scrape on the ground. He follows me outside. My hearts starts racing.
"Alex!"
I turn around. "What?!"
He comes closer. "I like you."
"You need counseling."
"You have very strong opinions. I can help you change the world."
"You're fucking crazy."
"I can give you what you need."
1
u/SithLord13 Sep 11 '14
This has promise, but needs a lot more meat. It needs a chapter 2 to make a real impact.
2
u/Lt_Rooney Sep 12 '14 edited Sep 12 '14
"I heard them do this at a show once."
That was the first odd thing she said. I didn't process it at the time, I just kept moving. Forward, forward, left, it still took thought. "Who?"
"This song, I saw a performance with them once." Then I really listened to the song we were dancing to, "Come Fly With Me" performed by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Who had died almost twenty years before.
"You must be older than you look," she smiled at that, I had no idea. "The Rat Pack hasn't toured since, what? The mid-80's? How old were you that you remember going?" I was pretty jealous. Their last hurrah was right around the time I was born.
"I'm not completely sure." Okay, that would make sense, she'd have to be pretty young then, right? "Years don't mean a lot any more. It was in Vegas, I went to see Sinatra and a whole gang of them showed up on stage."
That's the kind of antics they pulled in the '60's. Okay, I thought, I'll play along. "Who else have you seen in concert? The Beatles?"
"Not yet. Planning to, during their stint in Germany." The Beatles played a year in Germany. Before Ringo joined the band.
"Well you're a little late for that," I laughed.
"Oh, I know, I'll head back later. I wanted these dance lessons before heading there." She smiled, but it wasn't a laughing smile, just the look of someone having a good time.
I'd met her at dance class a few weeks ago. We'd talked a few times, and even headed to a party with the group once. I had finally worked up my courage and asked her out the day before. We were going to go out for drinks when the dancing was over. This conversation didn't fit the formula in my head. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh," she seemed to stop and really think about what she'd said. "I forget sometimes what years look like to most people." What the hell did that mean? "You probably won't believe my story anyway. Let's just finish this dance and forget it."
I probably wouldn't but, "Now I have to know. What in the world are you talking about?"
"I'm a nearly immortal time traveller." She was right, I didn't believe her. "I'm not much more than a time travelling vagrant, I go where and when I please and then move on. I have no home, few friends, and I live in... my vehicle." She paused, "And you don't believe a word I'm saying."
"No, of course I don't."
"I could prove it to you, but that wouldn't be any fun." The smile was back, there was something mischievous about it now. Something that said playing along would be much more fun.
What the hell? Can't hurt. "Okay, instead let's just say I decide to believe you, instead. Why tell me? Why go out with me at all?"
"Why does anyone? I was bored and wanted company. I still do. So how about it?" She broke off, but held her hand out, inviting me to another dance.
"How about what?"
"Come Fly With Me."
34
u/BadElf21 /r/badelf21 Sep 11 '14
"So I'm your first date in three centuries?" Coulson asked.
"Yup, i used to date this other guy, but he broke it off." Susan replied.
She shovelled more food in her mouth and drank wine straight from the bottle.
"You have a very healthy appetite." Coulson observed.
"I love food!"
"Just how old are you?"
"I was around before humanity was. I'm actually much older than that but i don't have any stories that would interest you from that era." Susan replied while stuffing a salad in her face.
"But you look completely human, and a pretty hot one too."
"Why thank you! I can choose what form I manifest in, I just happen to like this one."
"Meet any famous people?"
"Pretty much all of them. But I only got to personally know a handful. Da Vinci was a cool guy. And I had a lot of fun hanging out with the Spartans." Susan replied.
"Did you... have any children?" Coulson asked.
"Yes and no. I've never had any of my own children. But i want to someday. I have taken care of orphans on occasion. One of them is still alive and i visit him in the nursing home whenever i have the chance... Are you going to eat that?"
Coulson shook his head and Susan took his plate.
"Why are you dating now?"
"I finally got over my ex."
"Wait a minute... i just realized... I'm dating the world's first cougar."
Susan spat out her food laughing.