Bruce heard Eren talk about how he learned of this place from soone else. And he couldn't help but chuckle in response.
"Haha. I don't know where you heard my na from, young man. I have rarely seen custors since the shop opened. But I'm glad you are here and that you know about . The Crane's Nest is always delighted to have custors.
Please take a seat."
Bruce said to Eren in a soft and welcoming voice. His deanor had also changed from that of a calm storm to a friendly businessman in a matter of seconds. It was as if the guy's nature was as fluid as water, taking any shape he wanted it to be.
Bruce then reacted as if he rembered sothing. He straightened his back and scratched the cheek below his right ear with his index finger before saying out loud.
"You must know this, young man. There's no staff in my restaurant. All of the work is done by . So your order might take a while for to process. Are you fine with that? I wouldn't want to waste your ti if you are in a rush."
Eren shook his head before replying.
"It's fine. You can take your ti."
Bruce nodded at Eren's statent before replying.
"Alright then. I'll be right back with your order."
Bruce said and left Eren to his devices. The latter had found out that Bruce was playing a zither tune in the background for his entertainnt. To make his wait more bearable. Music for those who want to unwind while doing nothing at all.
***
Bruce had served Eren piping hot Dan Dan noodles in an ample-size white ceramic bowl. Out of consideration, Bruce had also provided Eren with a fork instead of chopsticks and a soup spoon.
Eren was glad for the fork. He didn't like to complicate his eating by learning to eat with chopsticks. As he picked up the fork from the cutlery, he was about to eat.
He watched Bruce walk away from him, intending to occupy a table placed in the corner. On that table was a book with a bookmark. It seed that Eren had interrupted Bruce's quiet reading session.
"Sir, there's nobody here. Would you mind sitting opposite ? I just want to talk while I have my food."
Eren said with his lips pursed. Bruce raised his eyebrows and had a mini staring contest with Eren before nodding at him affirmatively. He walked to his table, picked the book from the table, and walked back to Eren before grabbing a chair opposite him.
"Tell what you want to talk about. And I'd appreciate it if you start with your na."
Bruce said while flipping a few pages of his book. The book was about so Tai Chi concepts. He had his eyes set on the book's content. But Eren could feel that Bruce was listening to him.
"My na is Vik… Err… Eren Idril, Sir Bruce."
Eren corrected himself quickly and had his first bite of Dan Dan noodles. He had to admit that they were indeed full of flavor and packed a spicy punch. Vik was used to eating spicy food because of Tory so he didn't mind feeling a bit of burn inside his mouth.
He savored a few more bites of his noodles before asking the owner of the restaurant, who appeared to be running the place as a leisure activity.
"Sir Bruce, do you feel different here from our usual self? As if you have been trapped in this world that may or may not be real."
Eren asked while he observed Bruce's reaction. This was a common mind-boggling type of question people used to ask Oshos. Most often, Oshos would freeze after processing the question and restart the conversation once again as if that question was never posed to them.
But Bruce seed different from normal Oshos. He had a mild smile on his face as he flipped another page of his book and kept on reading. He only replied after taking his ti.
"What is real in any world anyway? What's so special about the ordinary concept of reality that we must cling onto it as if our life depends on it?"
Eren was not expecting a nihilist answer from a construct like Bruce who seed very positively grounded in reality. Bruce, however, seed to understand what Eren was thinking and explained further.
"Hehe. I'm not saying that one should stay delusional, Vik "Err" Eren. I'm saying the reality we think we live in and the reality we actually live in could be poles apart. It's a relative term, more than any of us can understand.
For example, a broke person has a different value for money than a filthy rich person. Now they are both living in the sa world. They both have the sa money. And they are both born in the sa era, living in the sa socio-economic sphere. Yet, the value of the sa amount of money would be different for these two people.
Why is that?"
Eren listened to Bruce's interpretation and pondered a bit before answering him.
"But they both value money, right? It's just a matter of how much they value it. Their point of view wouldn't be able to change the value of money for the rest of the population. The value stays in the middle of two opposite poles.
Sa way, the world I live in and the world you live in are two opposite poles– real and not-so-real. Do you ever feel the need to step out of this world and enter mine? Look at my point of view of two worlds?"
Eren said while drinking half a glass of water. His pale complexion had a tinge of red after eating sothing spicy like this. But he didn't mind. Bruce had a mild smile on his face as he replied to Eren's philosophical question that was ant to reboot him as an Osho.
"Why should I look at things from your perspective?
I'm not here to live up to your expectations, Eren. And you're not in this world to live up to mine."
Bruce said as he looked at Eren with his brown eyes. He sighed and put his book on the table before adding up.
"I now understand what you are doing here, boy. I always knew there'd co a day when I'd be tested for my Osho and non-Osho-like behavior.
You want to absorb the experiences and the martial arts and weapon arts that are part of , right? Hehe.
Unlike the rest of the Oshos, I know who I am. My creator had called an Easter egg– hiding in plain sight, waiting to be claid. He has kept them just for explorers like you."
Reviews
All reviews (0)