Buried Planet

12

"You must drink all of it." He told me as he grabbed hold of one of those mugs.

"Ouch!" I complained, "Too hot."

"That is how it is served, and how it should be taken." He went on to sit quite comfortably on an old dusty chair across that table. He drank his share in one swift gulp, and then he burped as he lit some sort of stick which he then placed in his mouth. He seemed to be sucking on it and every time he did, the timid fire at the end of it grew for a moment, before fading again. Curiosity was pouring from his eyes and lips now, just as that liquid had poured from that metal pot.

"That was the beginning." I cut off any further insistence...

"The rest is all in here, huh?" He tried to sound uncaring, but I could see right through him.

"You are meant to read it." I decided to indulge in the insisting game as well, and as I stood up, I fondly gazed at that notebook.

"Right." He grabbed hold of it and placed it upon his lap, "According to you, that ol' fool wanted me to..." And then he opened it...

I slowly began making my way to the next room, for there was something that easily caught my eye the moment I set foot into his place. "In there you will learn how I made it to where you found me... waiting for you."

This large box of clean glass filled to the brim with bubbling water, and in it, there were these weird samples of life swimming back and forth. Restlessly.

They reminded me of all those that I had met; in the way in which they could see the world in its entirety, but always constricted by the invisible walls, we all have around ourselves. They also reminded me... of myself.

"You know, at my age, this may take a while." He flipped the first page with his left hand while his right went for a bigger pair of glasses. "Quite a while in fact."

"You must go through all of it," I remarked, "and understand."

"Wish I had something better than tea to palliate the process though." He murmured.

"I will be in the next room," I spoke softly.

"Oh, you like aquariums, do you?"

"Aquariums..." I murmured...

"We can talk all about it later; but for now, I think you should grab some rest."

He did not even look at me, his eyes were already too busy scurrying through those first pages.

"There is quite a comfortable couch in there as well. Why don't you give it a try? Don't worry, I will call for you when I am done with this."

"I just might."

And with that, I left him to it...