The Sands of Time - I

They sat alone in the small cafe, watching people hurrying to work, watching them go about their daily lives. This was something they'd done more times than any human could conceive of, it was near enough a daily ritual, one they'd observed for nearly half their existing life.

It didn't require coffee, in fact they'd been doing it since before humans had even discovered coffee in its current form, and they had to admit, it was one of humanity's greatest inventions. What it did require though, was time to sit quietly and watch as the human world washes over them.

As humans were wont to be humans, that wasn't always possible. They'd lived through sieges and riots, which had their own unique charm. Humanity's love of war was something that still baffled them though. Their lives were so short, yet they persisted in making them shorter. But today, in this place, at this time, there was no war, no fighting, so they enjoyed it.

They were sipping their coffee as he entered, a rather beautiful man, a type they'd seen many times. They flashed him a smile. After getting his coffee, he asked if the seat across from them was taken, they replied that it wasn't.

The two sat talking for a couple of hours, talking about things they'd talked about so many times, but they never tired of. They watched with a contented smile as he laughed at a joke they'd been telling for over 2000 years, it was their favourite, and in that moment they knew he'd go on to tell it to many more people.

When the time came to part he passed them a note with nothing but numbers. A new ritual. But one they knew how to perform.

As they watched him laying there, smile on his face, they realised how easily they could have him join them on their never ending journey, it was just a bite away. A bite that would achieve what so many kings and queens had asked for, a bite that many had spent their lives trying to achieve the effects of, but they don't, as they know where it leads.

They'd seen so much, and knew they'd see much more. But it was a long and hard journey, one they couldn't subject another to. At times it was unbearable, the ephemeralness of it all got to them. They had known so many people, so many wonderful people, and now they were but memories that only they held.

There were so many wonderful people that no one would ever know of, never hear of, never remember. They remembered them all, and at times it crushed them, it bore down on them so heavily, the thought that if they ever passed that no one would ever remember them all again.

They snapped back into the moment; he was asking what was wrong. They replied by saying nothing, and cuddled into him. He was yet another wonderful person that they would remember, and these would be the moments they'd remember forever.