I sat uncomfortably in the overstuffed leather chair of the interview room at the magazine publisher I worked for. I nervously dabbed the sweat from my brow and refolded my handkerchief for the third time, this was supposed to be a big interview for the magazine; some wack-job claiming to have lived forever.
There was a knock at the door and I stood, smoothing out my navy blue suit, and called out,
“Come on in.”
The door opened and a tall man with short-cropped black hair entered, closing the door behind him. He wore a stone grey suit that he filled out in a muscular way, he smiled at me with perfect straight white teeth and the lights made his pale green eyes sparkle in a way that made them look endlessly deep.
He was handsome in an ordinary way, his skin tan and blemish free, he was clean shaven and gave off a friendly aura; but if you put him in a crowd he would disappear in obscurity. I extended my hand with my best interview smile and introduced myself.
“David Morgan, pleasure to meet you.”
He took my hand in a firm grasp and shook it gently.
“Pleasure,” he replied in a deep but soft voice that almost rolled past the ear without being heard.
He sat and glanced at the empty mugs on the small glass table between the chairs. He pointed to them and asked,
“Do you have any coffee, David?”
“Yes, yes, of course; allow me,” I said as I scrambled to pick up the mugs.
“A spoon each of cream and sugar if you would,” he requested.
“Fine taste in coffee sir,” I replied as I filled the mugs.
I sat down across from him and proffered the mug which he took with a smile. I turned on the recorder and picked up my notepad.
“David Morgan, date December 17th, 2023. Today we have the pleasure of interviewing..” I paused, “I’m sorry, I never asked your name. What should I call you?”
His smile grew wider as he held up ten fingers and then put a pinky down.
“I have gone by so many names over the years,” he began. “The Immortal, The Watcher, Father Time, John. The Guide, these days I go by Eternity. It’s got a nice flare to it don’t you think.”
I took a few notes in my pan and smiled at him.
“It’s unique for sure,” I picked up a folder and took out the first of many papers. “It says here in our notes that you claim to have been alive forever.”
“Yes! That is why I’ve come here today, I’d like to tell the world!” Eternity said gesturing with his hands dramatically.
“Alright, Eternity. Can you tell me about where and when you were born?”
He laughed a deep belly laugh that seemed to almost force a grin on my face before I started to chuckle softly along with him.
“Well,” he said, catching his breath, holding up nine fingers and dropping them down to eight. “I remember floating in a black nothingness and that lasted for a very long time. I faded in and out of consciousness during this time with nothing to see or do but grow and sleep. But then there was a bright flash and I was here. In a body that could be described as a toddler, I began to explore this bright and chaotic primal world.”
“So you were born before the creation of our world?” I said, scribbling in my notepad.
“Is that a question?” eternity asked raising eight fingers.
“More like a statement of confirmation,” I replied.
He lowered his hands.
“Fair enough. Yes, as far as I can tell, I came into being before Earth.”
“So you started exploring the new world,” I prompted.
“Oh, ho, ho. Cleaver wording,” he said wagging a finger. “I wandered and watched. It wasn’t much better than the blackness; sure there was more to look at but even among the primal chaos of a virgin planet it felt empty and quickly began to bore me. Once I grew tired of my new surroundings I laid down to sleep again. I can’t tell you how long I slept but when I woke again I had grown to the size you’d call late-teens.
The chaos had settled so I began a new lap around the world to see what had changed. It didn’t take long to come across small slimy creatures with four legs and tails crawling around. I got down on all fours like them and began to follow them around. I saw them eat and drink and thought to try it myself, food has gotten much better since then. I watched them for a while but they didn’t do much so when I grew bored I took a trip around the world and found a cozy place to sleep once more.” He took a large drink of his coffee and took out a cigar. “Do you mind?” He asked, gesturing at it with a lighter.
“Feel free,” I replied, taking a drink myself and taking out a cigarette.
“But I think you get the picture, next time I woke dinosaurs were roaming, and they were fun to watch; until they weren’t. I was sleeping by the time the meteor came down; that was quite the wake-up call.”
“That sounds pretty exciting,” I added.
“I had just woken up and I don’t remember much when I first wake up you know?”
I nodded so as not to interrupt.
“But there was fire and smoke and dust. The screams of dying things were everywhere, then everything was dark again; I don’t like the dark. So I curled up and went to sleep again.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” I said.
“It was a long long time ago,” he replied. “Next up was primitive man, the ice age, and so forth until now.”
“So what is your goal exactly?” I asked.
“Just to watch I suppose. I just wander around to see what’s going on,” he spoke while holding up eight fingers and lowering one.
I took a dozen different photos out of the folder, each of them were of him shaking hands with presidents, prime ministers, religious leaders, and heads of other countries and spread them out on the table.
“I see you have a habit of meeting world leaders and people in places of power,” I said.
“Yes, and?” he said with a sly grin.
I paused for a second, choosing my words. “That’s an interesting hobby,” I said with my own smile.
Eternity laughed that infectious laugh again and I laughed along with him.
“Yes David, good job,” he said. “I do find it interesting to meet the people you choose to put in charge, Not for any nefarious reasons just to see what they’re like.”
“If you live forever, why not interfere?” I asked and winced when he raised seven fingers and they lowered to six, but I still had six questions left.
“Politics bore me, and I don’t want to rule; that would ruin the game. Plus it wouldn’t be fair to you guys who age and die.”
“There is a maximum eight-year rule for the position of president,” I replied.
“It would come out quickly that I don’t age if I put myself in the spotlight.”
“I’m sure a lot of people would be thrilled to have an immortal president.”
“And even more would lock me up and experiment on me.”
“I supposed that brings me to this. Why reveal yourself now?”
Six fingers down to five.
“I’m bored again, David. I’ve watched civilization rise and fall hundreds of times, you’ve peaked and reached the pinnacle of scientific and technological advancement only to destroy yourselves in apocalyptic shows of force.
But life is persistent and the fish always scrawls out of the pond and here we are again. An echo of an echo, slightly different, but ultimately the same. One thing I haven’t done in all these ages though, is reveal myself. So let’s see how it goes.”
“I’m honored to be the one to kick off your entertainment,” I said.
“As you should be,” he said, holding up five fingers.
I dabbed at the sweat starting to build on my forehead and not wanting to lose his interest I asked.
“Do you know how or why you live forever?”
“I’ve contemplated the why a lot and the only answer I’ve come to is to watch, to see everything this planet has to offer. As or the how, this was just the way I was born.”
Four fingers.
“Are you God then?” I asked.
“Oh no, I’m no god; capital G or lower. I didn’t create anything, I didn’t even put myself here I just woke up here.” He held up three fingers and wiggled them around.
“What sort of powers do you have then?”
He lowered one of the wiggling fingers, two left.
“I wouldn’t call them powers really. I don’t need food or water but I can consume them, I can sleep for a very long time or not sleep for a very long time. Small wounds heal very fast, bigger ones take longer but not as long as you. I was only sick once, in 1347 in Europe, a rat bit me, but I recovered quickly.”
“Can you die?”
One dancing finger left.
“That’s rather dark question don’t you think?”
“Just a curiosity, I’ll leave it out if you want, for another finger.”
“Nah, I’ll answer it; because I don’t know. I’m still alive, aren’t I? I’ve been hurt plenty, but none so serious it could kill me. I haven’t pushed it either, pain isn’t very fun.”
“Fair enough, alright last question then. What are your plans moving forward.”
“Well David, like I said, I’m bored, pain isn’t fun but at least it’s something new; I’m going to find the answer to your last question.”
He lowered his last finger and finished his mug of coffee before standing up. I stood with him and extended a hand.
“Well, it’s been interesting Eternity, and a pleasure to interview you.”
He shook it with a grin and said, “I look forward to reading it,” and swaggered out the door.
When the door clicked shut I spoke into my earpiece.
“He’s on his way out, now’s the time.”
There were the sounds of a scuffle on the other side of the door as the masked men subdued and tied up the immortal man and took him to their van out back. A man in a black suit, short grey hair, sharp features mostly hidden behind large black sunglasses, and a gun at his hip. He approached me handed me a large white envelope and said gruffly.
“Thank you for your cooperation Mr. Morgan, I suspect that will help you forget this ever happened?” He walked out, taking my interview notes with him and leaving the door open to reveal a spotless waiting room, no sign of the abduction that just took place. I sat back down in the uncomfortable leather chair, lit another cigarette, and started counting the money in the envelope.