1 Desert Rose

Dahji Desert

Dekin City

The sun was rising, and its rays beginning to illuminate the city. Few people were walking through the streets, some opening stores, others heading towards the city gate.

Among them walked a young man. He didn't stand out much among the other people. He had brown skin like most of them, either naturally or due to sun exposure. His hair was black and went down to his shoulders; he must have been about one meter seventy-five, and his eyes were the color of sand, like most of the inhabitants of the desert.

The color of the eyes says a lot about the region where the person was born. For example, people born on the coast have blue eyes, while people born near volcanoes, even dormant ones, and hotter areas have red eyes.

He was heading towards the city gate, but he stopped at a restaurant on the way. The name of the restaurant was 'The Desert Rose'. Their food was not the best in the area, but they had reasonable prices, and the owner, Balkan, was a very good friend of his.

"Trim trim trim." the young man entered the restaurant and sat on one of the stools in front of the main counter.

From behind the counter, a man was approaching. He was the kind of person no one would want to have a problem with. He was at least two meters tall, bald, and well-muscled. His skin was dark brown, and, unlike the norm, he had red eyes.

Anyone who saw him outside the city would avoid him without a doubt, but despite his frightening appearance, the smile he brought on his face showed how he really was.

Arriving before the young man, he said, "Good morning, Gen, and happy birthday."

Gen smiled and said, "Thank you, Balkan."

Balkan asked, "The usual?"

"Yes."

"How old are you again?"

"Twenty."

"Two decades, hm. My father always said that the day of our birthday is the time we are closest to 'time', especially in the first and closing decades. Who knows, something good might happen to you today.", Balkan said while winking and pointing in a direction.

Looking in the direction he pointed, Gen saw a young woman waiting tables. She was a little taller than Gen, had straight brown hair that reached her shoulders, and her eyes were the same color as Gen's. She wore an indifferent expression as if she was so used to the job that she did it automatically.

Watching her for a while, Gen replied, "She is beautiful. It's a shame-", but before he could finish his sentence, a young man from one of the tables she was serving started talking to her.

"Hi, my love. Why don't you sit down and have some drinks with me? I'll pay triple my order."

Hearing this, everyone in the restaurant stopped what they were doing and looked in his direction.

He had blond hair and grey eyes and should have been slightly taller than Gen.

The people around started saying, "I've never seen him around here. Must be someone passing through town."

"Pff, ignorance is a blessing ...", one of them then said as he looked at the people around him.

"Hahaha!" The group started laughing, and some people who were leaving even ordered snacks and decided to stay.

After thinking for a while, the young woman sat down at the table, and seeing that, the young man said, "Haha! What is your name, my love?"

And the young woman said, "Blue rose cedar."

The man was amazed and said, "What a different name, but it does justice to your beauty."

Upon hearing this, some people giggled and looked at each other.

The young woman said, "That's not my name. That's what I want to drink."

And the young man said, "Ah! All right, let me ask-"

But was interrupted by her, who, without changing her serious expression, said, "Ask who? I'm the only attendant here. You'll have to go get it from the counter."

"No problem, my love. I'll be right back with your drink so we can talk more.", he said with a wink at the end.

When the young man reached the counter, he stopped by Gen's side and said to Balkan, "One blue rose cedar boss."

"Right away!", Balkan said and headed towards the kitchen to get the drink.

While the man was waiting for his drink, Gen said, "Pretty, huh?"

He then looked at Gen, turned around, and looked in the direction of the table he was sitting at, "Yeah ...", he replied with a smile on his face.

Hearing this, Gen turned to the counter, sighed, and spoke low so that only the two could hear, "Roses are so beautiful that sometimes you forget they have thorns."

Confused, the young man looked in Gen's direction and said, "Hm? What are you talking about?"

Gen then turned his face to him and said, "You better run while you can. You still have time."

The young man was confused at first, but soon a smile came over his face, "Jealousy won't stop me from achieving my goals.", he said while looking at Gen with a smile that said 'nice try'.

Seeing this, Gen turned back toward the counter while shaking his head in denial.

He then thought, 'I guess I expressed myself badly. Well, at least I tried to help him. Now let's enjoy the show.'

Shortly after that, Balkan returned with the drink, and you could tell from the bottle that it was an expensive drink.

The bottle was sea blue, which isn't a color often seen in the desert, adorned with several roses, and was small. It should have had enough for about three shots.

The young man then took the bottle and returned to his table. Sitting down, he placed the bottle on the table and started talking to the young woman again, "Okay, here is your drink, dear. Could you tell me your name now?"

Upon seeing the drink, the young woman, for the first time, showed a smile on her face, which only made her more beautiful.

"My name is Lina.", she said as she stretched her hand toward the bottle.

As she held the bottle, the young man held her hand over it and said, "What a beautiful name. My name is Raja. It's a pleasure to meet you. Do you have a boyfriend, Lina?"

Lina then looked at him while smiling and pointed to the bottle, "Could you pour me the drink first?"

"Of course!", Raja said, and then took the bottle from her hand and opened it.

At the instant it opened, the smell of the drink spread throughout the restaurant. It was a wonderful smell, like a rose perfume, and upon smelling it, everyone swallowed hard, even Gen.

The only ones who had a different reaction were Lina and Raja. Lina was looking at the now open bottle with a huge smile and obsessive eyes, and Raja looked intoxicated at first but then freaked out.

'what is this drink?!' Raja wondered, 'Even though it is a high-quality drink, it shouldn't affect me to this extent unless ... gulp.'

...

A slightly drunk man then said, "How envious! I would give all my savings for a glass of that drink."

"Don't be an idiot. You know your savings won't pay for even a sip of that drink.", said someone close to him.

"Still, then I just need-", he said, insisting, but before he could finish, he was interrupted as someone said, "Have you forgotten the time you tried?"

Hearing this, the man looked toward the table where the smell was coming from, and after a while, he felt a shiver down his spine that made his whole body shake.

He then said a little soberer, "Better let it go. The drink is not worth the risk."

...

Raja was paralyzed looking at the bottle and only came out of his trance when Lina called him, "Hello? What are you doing? Aren't you going to pour the drink for me?"

Upon hearing this, Raja looked at her and then at the bottle, and after some quick thinking, he made his decision.

"Unfortunately, I won't be able to give you this drink.", he said, pulling the bottle close to him.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the restaurant started talking amongst themselves. Some made gestures with one hand, saying Raja was crazy, and others started laughing non-stop.

"What did you say?!", Said Lina, a little annoyed.

And Raja said, "I'm sorry, my angel, but this drink is very special, and I won't be able to give you any of it, but you don't have to be sad. Order any other drink, and I'll pay for you."

He then prepared to pour some of the drink into his glass, but before he could do so, something he didn't expect happened.

Lina reached out and grabbed the bottle, not letting him pour.

Raja then asked with a carefree smile, "What do you intend with this?"

"That's my drink.", answered Lina with a serious expression.

Hearing this, Raja laughed and said, "I haven't told you this, but I'm an awakened, so you better take your hands off the bottle while I'm being nice."

And Lina said, "I don't care about that. I'm not taking my hand off, but you better take yours before I get angry."

Raja then got up and said, "Okay, if that's how it will be, I will show you the difference between an awakened and a person with no essence like you."

As he said this, Raja's surroundings began to blur.