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Taking a deep breath, Sesa knocked on the door. It was still surreal to be colleagues with Sand Pawn, the master of Sargon’s black market. Sesa could not forgot the fear he felt when he recalled how Sand Pawn took some of his colleagues hostages. How could such a ruthless and dangerous person work here?
But then and again, Sesa recalled that Rhodes Island accepted himself, who also acted so suspiciously and outrageously when he went onboard.
‘Come in. Doctor informed me about your arrival. Just in time for me to finish the preparations.’ Passenger answered.
As Sesa opened the door, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee drifted into his nose. Passenger was pouring coffee into a fancy Sargonian cup.
‘Care for some coffee? It’s going to be a long day. It’s made from hand grown coffee beans I planted myself. I picked up this pastime from those long days at Sargon. You know how dreary it can be there.’
‘Relatable. I usually drink tea, but I don’t mind some coffee.’
Sesa graciously received the coffee. It would be unbecoming of him to reject this generous gesture.
‘Try it. The Doctor loved it.’
‘Uh, sure. It’s black?’
‘Of course. The purest and superior form unlike whatever young people drink these days.’
Sesa could feel Passenger’s gaze intensifying. Despite being in his thirties, Sesa’s taste in drinks was like one of those young people Passenger spoke about.
Not wanting to show weakness in front of Passenger, Sesa tried to swallow some of the black coffee. He grimaced immediately.
‘Bleargh. Too bitter. I’m still young. I usually drink my black tea with two sugar cubes.’
Passenger smirked, slightly amused at the younger man. He was also curious at how Sesa put up a different act when they returned to Rhodes Island. Out of the hostage situation he orchestrated, he saw that Sesa was surprisingly cheerful and childish around the others.
‘That’s so much sugar for your age. Come on, you’re just a few years younger than me. We’ve been through those dreadful sands and so much pain over losing a loved one each. Yet you can’t handle black coffee, and then you remain naïve and wavering over your revenge.’
Not this topic again… Sesa really should not have revealed his motive back at Sargon. However, Sand Pawn had provoked him too much. If Heavyrain did not stop him, he wondered what else he would have revealed. And these things were usually kept secret.
‘I’d like to find the truth, but I don’t want to take any more lives than necessary! Not like it’s going to bring my brother back.’
‘Anyway, back to the sugar, coffee’s best with sugar. You’re bitter. But you don’t have to be. You’re free from Sargon. Rhodes Island is now your home, as much as it’s mine. Yet you call yourself a passenger and you don’t attempt to adjust here. The others keep asking me about you because you barely talk to others who are not myself, Kal’tsit, or Doctor. Even though I’ve tried to bring you around. You might as well return to the desert.’
Passenger’s eyes widened a bit. He thought he had the younger Vouivre wrapped around his finger, but it was not the case. What Sesa said was true. Of course he was bitter after the tragedies of the past. It seems that despite picking up a new codename, Passenger was still acting like how he did at the black market. Keeping a distance from everyone while he carefully crafted his revenge. Now that his revenge was over, he was lost. And so, he continued keeping his distance, unsure of where to go. Almost no difference from the black market, except that he got Oripathy treatment now.
When was the last time Passenger spoke to someone so... normally? A time when he was still Eliot, when Professor Thorne was still alive… he helped to prepare coffee for the Vouivre. Eliot also found the black coffee too bitter when he tried it for the first time. What a twist of fate that the Vouivre in front of Passenger was complaining to him now.
Realising what he had just said, Sesa bit his lip. Maybe he said too much… but for some reason, this Liberi had the ability to rile him up when usually he could put up his act. Either their souls were resonating or clashing. He could not figure out the reason. And the awkward silence was growing.
Sesa made a pose and pondered for a while.
‘Oh, I’m sorry if you felt hurt. This dark power, I've yet to control it. But I don’t hate you or anything. It’s just that seeing you like this is saddening. I’d like to help you. And if you’re willing, be friends. As fellow men from Sargon’s desert.’
To Sesa, Passenger’s current state was almost like when he first boarded Rhodes Island. He had purposely remained aloof from the others by using big words that nobody understood. Initially it worked as they would walk away before he finished speaking. Yet eventually they started to reach out to and he eventually grew closer to Doctor and the other colleagues. Although the revealing of his tragic past to Doctor was terrible to go through. At least Passenger could be honest from the beginning. That was something Sesa could not do.
‘I take no offense. I’m sure lots of people have hated my guts for years too. Friends, huh? I could consider… but bear in mind that you’re showing concern for a person with not much time left. I do have severe Oripathy after all.’
Passenger returned to his usual business smile. Sesa was an interesting fellow in how he was utterly unpredictable. Even while he was still Sand Pawn, Bridge’s talents in weapon adjustment and clearly Columbian methods had already caught his attention in the boring black market of Sargon. When Bridge departed the desert to leave for Rhodes Island, the black market became boring once more.
‘That’s not an issue. We’re all on our way to the far shore. Just a matter of when. And the Medical Department here is top notch. Anyway, I better drink this coffee before it’s cold. Time to add some sugar then. I always bring some around to add them to my tea. It’s sure handy now.’
Sesa gives a small smile as he adds three sugar cubes to the coffee, stirs it, and drinks it.
‘Much better. Let’s see, now that it’s no longer that bitter, I can now taste the flavourful undertones of the coffee. Better than the instant stuff at the pantry. Thank you. I forgot to say that earlier. Anyway, have one sugar cube from me as thanks. You look like you really need it in both your coffee and your life.’
Grinning, he drops a sugar cube into Passenger’s coffee before the older Liberi could agree or object to it.
As Sesa continued to drink his coffee, Passenger also started to drink his coffee, now with an extra sugar cube added. The sweetness did complement the bitterness and added to the taste. A nice addition, though Passenger did not think that it was needed at first.
Maybe Sesa could be the sugar to his bitter coffee, Passenger thought, as he sipped on the now slightly sweet coffee.