3 Thousand Years Good Night

chapter 17: Three Thousand Years Old

"Theon, have you ever heard of a man named Jesus?" Arlene inquired, giving a welcoming smile at the prince, who looks fixated on Arlene.

"Never heard of this man?" Theon shrugged. "Is he a famous figure, here?"

"Seriously?" Axel raised both of his brows in surprise. "Jesus Christ? the Son of God? the savior of this world?"

Theon adjusted his head to face Axel, his eyes were full of wonder and hope. "The son of God, the savior?" Prince Theon smiled at the miracle he just heard. Perhaps, he could confide with this benevolent person to assist him with his problem. The most powerful being, Theon thought.

"Where is He located?" Theon asked, hope increasing in his heart. "Perhaps, asking His advice would prove advantageous given the unfavorable circumstance that was inflicted upon me."

Axel and Arlene looked at each other at same time. They felt the hope clinging to Theon's aura, how could they divulge the cruelty that happened two thousand years ago.

"Theon," Arlene answered solemnly, almost sadly. "He's dead."

Theon was crushed. The hope that increasingly developed within him came crashing down like a bird shot in midair. He inhaled deeply, processing the desperation and sudden self-disorienation.

"Then, what is the purpose of that which you have told me?" Theon faced Arlene again, giving her a cold stare. Eyes glistening.

"I wanted to know when you were born, Theon." Answered Arlene.

"And, what of it?" Asked Theon with curiosity.

Arlene's eyes looked directly at Theon's, earnesty filling the whole place, Even Axel is fixated on the conversation. Finally, Arlene answered hessitantly.

"Jesus Christ lived and died after B.C.E, which stands for, "before Christ era"."

"And?" Theon asked impatiently.

"B.C.E ended," Arlene gulped. She inhaled deeply, processing the logic of it herself. "It ended, two thousand years ago."

Axel glared at Theon with amazement. Theon furrowed his brows, unable to make anything out of it.

Arlene continued, "which is why you are not familiar with the years or dates, Theon." Theon frowned. "Gregorian calendars were not created yet!" Arlene almost screamed out the information, admiring her own brilliance.
Axel smiled at Arlene's self pride, which was obvious to him, judging by her tone.

"I asked if you're familiar with Jesus so i could have an inkling on what era you were born in. Clearly, you were born on B.C.E and not A.D." Arlene glowed with pride, showing her intelligence and wisdom.

"So, Theon is atleast, more than two thousand years old?" Axel's eyes widened, astounded. He took a peak at the immortal sitting next to them on the sofa. His curiosity piqued.

"Yes." Arlene nodded.

"That is rad!!" Axel violently shook his head, smiling with enthusiasm. Eager to learn more.

"I beg your pardon, but what does these all conveys?" Theon asked with deadly interest.

"It means, you are a very very ancient being, Theon." Arlene said, rationalizing a way to make Theon comprehend himself. "Even older than Jesus, himself."

"I concluded that myself, given the advancements of.. of.. ma-chines, as you acknowledge it." Answered Theon, apathetically.

"We know that ourselves," Axel said, pertaining to Arlene and himself. "But, we didn't know you're THAT old, grandpa!" Axel laughed at his own insult.

Theon looked at Axel with disgust and aggitation. It was clear that he was making fun of his extremely old age.

"Axel!" Hushed Arlene.

"Anyways, back to the issue at hand." Arlene remarked.

"Yeah, whatever." Axel stopped laughing, but a tiny curve of his lips were still evident, proving his further delights regarding his joke.

Theon stared intently at Arlene, waiting for her next inquiries, he, himself, would want to know exactly how far out he is in the 'new' world.

"What sorts of punishments do you enforce?" Asked Arlene.

Theon's expression darkened. "Treason is considered a high crime, along with murder. Hedious crimes were looked down upon and the miscreant man would be subjected to equally hedious executions, such as boiling." Theon nodded disdainfully. "Drastic methods must be employed to avoid further chaos."

Axel's pale complexion glowed even paler at the macabre of Theon's words, the brutality of execution by boiling made him shiver, ironically. Arlene, however, retained her controlled composure, perfectly aware of the violence of execution in ancient times.

"Yes." Arlene nodded.

"We also practice the code of hammurabi, although outdated already." Continued Theon. "An eye for an eye---"

"A tooth for a tooth." Arlene finished.

"Don't tell me, you're also from the past, Arlene!" Axel teased. "Grandma"

"Nope, I'm just brilliant." Arlene replied. "An atrribute that you should atleast try to have once in your life, Axel."

Axel rolled his eyes, ignoring Arlene's impossible suggestion.

"Theon, what do your people often do?"

"My subjects were preoccupied on manufacturing and collecting metals to develop weapons such as daggers and axes." Theon is reminiscing. "Some would also ride carefully carved timber-made boats to catch fishes and eels."

Arlene nodded, thoughts stringing in her head, calculating and rationalizing the details.

"What were the shelters like?" Arlene asked, inquiring.

"They were round in shape and the walls carry the thatch, some were built with a circle of internal roof support." Answered Theon.

Arlene nodded again and asked another question, Axel sat idly by.

"What do the swords and axes look like?"

"The swords' blades were leaf shaped, which we believed would make slashing more convenient whilst the axes were socketed." Answered Theon.

Silence embraced the room as Arlene process every detail of what Theon just said. Her eyes are close and her lips are slightly dry, her poise sturdy and hard. Axel, with the years they've spent together, he knows this is Arlene's most concentrated position ever. What could be working on her mind, Axel thought. He, himself, is still clueless on Theon's exact age but he is implicit that Arlene's neurons are working on an answer right at this very moment so he and Theon waited patiently.

"GOT IT!" Arlene jumped cheerily.

Axel and Theon frozed in their spots.

"First of, you never heard of Jesus, one of the most influential and famous figures in history, meaning, you're probably around the BCE era, which we already established awhile ago then, You said that your people often manufactured metals to make daggers and axes, boats made of timber existed already, leaf shaped blades, socketed axes, roundshaped houses, death by boiling, and hammurabi's code of law." Arlene enumerated, with eerie enthusiasm, finally able to conclude something. "Base on my calculations, you were from the metal age! Perhaps around 1200 Bc - 800 Bc."

Axel and Theon nodded blankly at Arlene's words.

"And?" Asked Axel, unable to conclude anything.

"Theon is atleast three thousand years old!" Arlene smiled, both with pride and exasperation.

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