ALCOHOL : HEAVEN’S DRINK

A short story by Mercy Williams- Originally written in 2019

Soft winds blew her hair over her face, and round about her head; but not in a disruptive way. It was done in a manner that made her look all the more celestial- at least to him.

And so he kept staring. He stared at her like a precious stone on the scepter of a king- so close, yet so far out of the common man's reach. He stared at her with defeat. He couldn't understand why she didn't want what he wanted. After all, what he wanted was, perhaps in his thinking, good for them both. He wanted them together, but it was obvious she had her eyes and her thoughts on other things and other people. She looked at the water and the small unimportant things that floated over it with fascination. She sometimes smiled, probably without even realizing it. He squeezed her palm lightly and watched tenderly as the breezes gently brushed her hair over her face.

"You are like alcohol"

She turned to him and tried to keep the hair away from her eyes.

"What?", she hadn't been paying attention.
"I said, you are like alcohol", he repeated.
"Alcohol?", her eyes shone with curiosity and confusion, yet she couldn't hold back the smile that pushed itself forward from her belly's depths. She had always thought he was a funny but intelligent man. He nodded. Then he began strolling ahead, not letting go of her hand so that she too, walked with him. They walked along the lines where the sea kisses the shore, leaving shells and other such pretty things as it receded to its fullness. The water was cool. It always was.

"Alcohol is ..." he looked up briefly trying to find the word and then with a sigh of satisfaction he continued, "...intoxicating". He looked at her for a reaction but found nothing, then went on with his small talk.

"But it is only intoxicating for a short while."

He let go of her hand and stooped to pick a shell. Sunset was upon them and it tainted her skin a soft orange. There was a doubtless look of content in his eyes, but she didn't notice this either. She looked far, far into the water- so much that he wondered if she heard anything he was saying at all. But he continued anyway.

"One should only depend on the intoxication of alcohol for short periods, m'lady." He gently held her palm again, "do you know why?".
Her eyes were still fixed on the water
"because it is addictive." She turned to look at him.

"After its intoxicating effects wear out, you go right back to all your problems."

"How did we get to this point?" she shook her head and smiled at him, her eyes had begun piercing softly into his.
"I started by saying you are like alcohol."
"Oh yes, yes. Intoxicating only for a short period"

"Addictive in only ways that a drunk man knows. Soothing in only ways that a man with many problems knows.", he chuckled then kept walking, nudging her to come along. "You know another thing about alcohol?"

"No", she looked away again. The breezes had calmed down but the water seemed to draw closer to both of them.

"Like many addictive substances, you will long for it desperately, only until you find it again to put you at ease for that moment. You will want so much of it and when you do get it in the most absurd quantities, you lose yourself in it.", the oceans roared in agreement, pushing more saltwater across their feet. He slid his palms into his pocket and continued.

"You can't tell this is bad for you, at least at the time. So you repeat the cycle of want and waste over and over again. You crave this liquor like a ravenous animal. And when you do not find it?", low waves clasped against each other, "frustration is inevitable!", the hurt in his heart seeped noticeably into his voice. They both stopped walking.

"I'm sorry" she blurted, "I'm a bit of a volatile person", her countenance seemed to drop but she looked up at him regardless, and this time, he summoned enough courage to take the golden strips of hair away from her eyes. "The fault is never the drink you know, it is a problem of the drinker. Of the man who has no self-control". Her skin was a honeyed brown. It would still be even without the sun, so he thought of her as celestial in many ways.

" However, I do believe that you are like fresh Red wine to someone else m'lady…", he smiled warmly with a subtle surrender, "…intoxicating, powerful, but healthier for a man's bones, and a man's heart.”

“Known to some as 'Heaven's drink', red wine is rather a blessing to all its drinkers."

"Maybe." she responded with understanding and turned back to looking at the rising and falling of the tides against the horizon, "Maybe it is".

Author’s Notes:

Alcohol or Heaven’s Drink was originally written in 2019 after a conversation with one of my friends. I thought of the conversation as short but striking and thought to develop some portions of the dialogue into a story. Alcohol explores the theme of unrequited love using the attributes of the drink as the framework on which the dialogue is built.

Thanks for reading! I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments.

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