silvermancare-blog

[666writingcafe]

The Outdoor Market

Content Warning: a brief conversation about religion at the end

MC

"Hello!" the butcher greets when we step up to his counter. "What can I do for you?"

"I'd like to buy five whole chickens," Beel answers. He told me that he struggled the other day to not eat everything he saw before paying for it, but that doesn't seem to be the case today. Granted, I'm holding his hand to prevent him from wandering off too far, but still. He could just as easily use his free hand to grab stuff.

"Five chickens, coming right up!" The butcher pauses. "Didn't you come through here recently?" Beel nods his head.

"I was with my brother." The butcher smiles kindly.

"Ah, yes. I remember now. You were one of the tallest people in the crowd." He glances over at me. "I see you brought someone else with you today. Is that another sibling of yours?"

"This is MC." The butcher grins.

"How wonderful! I remember you telling me about them. I think it's sweet that you guys moved closer to them after graduation." I was not aware that Beel came up with a cover story. It would have been nice to know beforehand so that I could play along and not mess up any details.

"They really mean a lot to us." Beel squeezes my hand, looking over at me with a loving gaze. The butcher glances around to look for customers before leaning closer to us.

"Allow me to offer you some advice," he states.

"Advice?" I repeat. "What kind of advice?"

"I'm going to let you two in on the secret to a long, healthy relationship."

"I'd definitely be interested in hearing about that," Beel responds, causing the butcher to softly smile.

"Well, the main thing is that you both have to respect each other. You each have to let the other live their own life without interfering too much, and you need to stay interested in each other. As long as you consistently do these things, you'll be good."

~~~

"So, what exactly did you tell the butcher the other day?" I ask Beel. We've dropped off the chicken at the house, and now we're currently sitting on one of the benches outside.

"Oh, that," Beel remarks. "I told him that you were an exchange student at the college we went to, but it was several hours away from where you lived, so we couldn't come over to see you very often once the exchange program ended."

"But then once you guys graduated, you decided to move closer to me so that we could see each other more often."

"Exactly." I like that he came up with something plausible. I wonder if anyone helped him hammer out the details of that story, or if he did everything by himself.

"What did you think of the advice?"

"I thought it was interesting. Do all human world butchers offer secrets to long and healthy relationships?" I shake my head.

"I think it's just a quirk of this particular one."

"I see." Beel pauses. "I wonder if we've been doing the three things he suggested."

"You and your brothers?"

"Well, yes, but I was thinking more about you and me." Interesting.

"Do you want my honest opinion?" He nods. "If we're solely judging by those three criteria, I think that my relationship with you is the healthiest one that I have with you guys."

"What makes you say that?"

"You're the only one out of your brothers that actively tries to not interfere with my life too much." He doesn't respond for a moment, appearing to mull over my words.

"I suppose you're right," he eventually agrees. "They either drag you into their drama or do things behind your back to alter certain aspects of your life. I know they do it because they love you and want to spend time with you, but some of the ways they choose to express it...it rubs me the wrong way.

"They want things to be perfect for you, even going as far as to try to eliminate anything that might cause you pain or hardship. But it's impossible. Life is supposed to have challenges, and not just trivial ones, either. Everything you've gone through, both good and bad, has made you the person you are today. You're strong, MC, but you're also kind. And smart. Incredibly smart." He pauses. "I think my brothers forget that sometimes. You're not just some clueless sheep that needs to be guided in the right direction; you know where you're going."

"Is that left over from your Celestial Realm days?" Beel nods.

"It was drilled into us constantly. This is going to sound harsh, but we were taught that humans were dumb creatures easily tempted by sin. Part of our job was to keep them on the path of salvation because they were too stupid to do it themselves."

"Even though we were created to have free will." He sighs.

"I've never understood that."

"Free will?"

"No. That's simple enough. What always confused me is why we had to exert control over humans. Due to free will, some of them will inevitably choose a different path than the one we planned for them, and that should have been okay. If it wasn't, then why did God--our Father--give humans free will in the first place?"

"Some say it was a test to see if humans would choose the path of God on their own."

"Maybe, but then why punish those that choose differently?" He shakes his head slightly and sighs. "I'm sorry, MC. I didn't mean to get all religious on you." I reach out and touch the top of his hand.

"Don't apologize. I appreciate the insight."