Free Mortal Desire by Alexander Bryn Page A

Mortals smelled divine compared to the immortal, and she did not disappoint.
    Mrs. Rossetti walked us to the elevator. ‘Thank-you my dears, especially you Henry. If I had a grandson, I would want him to be exactly like you.’
    She held her hand over her heart and looked directly into my being. I wondered what she could see there. Could she tell that I was different to the mere mortals who dwelt in her world?
    I blinked and smiled with shyness. No-one could ever identify my immortality unless they too were immortal. And then it was as plain as day.
    I hugged her hand with mine and then turned and entered the elevator with Sarah. Despite the dog funeral it had been a pleasant evening, but one that must come to an end like every day on this planet. Time is indeed precious, counted by the human interpretation of passing moments, of breaths that you breathe, of eyelids blinked, of years walked upon the Earth, which were numbered.
    Moods are a funny thing, and emotions. They swung to opposite sides of the spectrum so quickly, sometimes so unpredictably, catching you unawares.
    But you were in control of your emotions right? Or did your emotions react to people and circumstances around you. It was such a complex mix of feelings that humans had to deal with.
    I pressed the button to ferry the elevator down to the ground floor. I rested the back of my head on the wall of the elevator and closed my eyes.
    Sarah stood opposite me in the rectangular prism of a pod. I could detect her nearness. The moment she stepped closer I would know it. Right now she was as still as death, nervous about being with me in the elevator alone. I don’t know why she was nervous. I would never hurt her in any way, or make a move on her for that matter.
    ‘Henry is not your real name is it?’ she finally said.
    ‘Why do you say that?’ I asked and opened my eyes to look at her.
    ‘Your acid wash jeans, shoes, shirt, your sandalwood aftershave. Your eye colour is not what I see now is it? It is what you present to the people in this building daily isn’t it?’
    I breathed in deeply and shook my head.
    The acid wash jeans that Albert told me to wear ...
    ‘No Sarah—all of the elevator guys wear the same honey- brown contact lenses. It is part of our uniform. They are most irritating to wear. I detest them!’
    ‘So ... you are Liam?’ she said slowly.
    I nodded at her.
    She stared straight ahead then leaned against the wall and went as pale as a ghost, sliding down until she was sitting on the floor of the elevator. I pushed the stop button of the elevator and folded my arms.
    ‘Ask away. I’m up for twenty questions,’ I said in a quiet voice.
    She remained silent, and I waited patiently.
    ‘Do all of the elevator operators have an aka name?’
    ‘No, just me.’
    ‘Why do you have the name Henry here?’
    ‘When I first started here I was given the wrong name badge, and it just stuck. It is sort of a running joke I guess.’
    ‘Why do you all have to wear honey-brown eye lenses?’
    ‘I can’t answer that one due to my contract.’
    ‘I have met you twice as Liam.’
    ‘That is not a question, it’s a statement.’
    She looked down at her fingers that were knotted together. ‘Why didn’t you tell me that you were Henry from the elevator the first time that I questioned you about it at the bar?’
    ‘You were the one that decided that I was a different person, not me.’
    ‘But you had blue eyes and you told me your name was Liam.’
    ‘I was telling you the truth.’
    ‘Do you have a photographic memory?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Do all of the elevator operators here have a photographic memory?’
    ‘Yes’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘For security reasons.’
    ‘But aren’t there security cameras everywhere?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Then why must you have photographic memories?’
    ‘Because photographic evidence can be altered.’
    ‘But memories can be persuaded into something different as well can they not?’
    ‘If you can be hypnotized