Conversation

Mild, warm sunlight, refreshing breeze, a cup of hot black tea and the best cookies in the eastern hemisphere — what atmosphere could possibly be better for a conversation? The three at the table didn’t think so and yet kept playing their endless word game

— What about you, Emilio? Would you consider buying a piano?

— Me? Nah, never. I don’t buy things

— That’s right, he even has it written on his business card

— I didn’t see his card

— Sorry, i’ve just run out of them. Sara got my last one

— Do you have it with you?

— Not at the moment. I’ve left it in my room. But i remember the text:

«Emilio Ad Nihilium, a shady moneymaker from the Far West. I won’t buy any thing from you»

— And then there’s also a number on the back. But even i myself don’t remember it

— That doesn’t sound like a business card

— It is enough for the kind of business i do

There was a hesitation as no one at the table wanted to go deeper in that direction. A lone gull flew over them, silently, and only as it escaped their vision behind the Town Hall Tower, did the conversation continue

— So you won’t buy it in any case and that lets you evade the question. That leaves us with an even score: Claudius wouldn’t buy; i would; and you, technically not buying, are abstaining for all practical purposes

— You can say i’m abstaining, yes. But you weren’t trying to resolve your dispute by voting, now were you?

— This is not a dispute that can be resolved, voting or otherwise. Sara and i both know that very well. You can think of my question as of a question about weather: even if someone conducts a thorough survey on what weather do people prefer, it won’t change temperature any more than a poll about death penalty

— Your phrasing is quite admirably careful, i can give you that. Let me ask you about weather, then: do you prefer a heavy cold rain or a dry hot desert?

— You probably already know what i will answer: it depends on the details, specific conditions; there’s no common scale on which you could measure rain and the burning sun. But if you’re asking of aesthetics preference, i choose rain

— Aesthetics, huh. Strangely enough, i would prefer rain also. And, Emilio, before you say something to dodge the question again, i shall point out that you don’t have an excuse for that on your business card

— Tis true. But it would be strange for me to evade the question that i asked myself anyway. Suspecting that you would choose rain, i decided to go with the desert

— There, you did it again! You’re making your statements as though your own opinion is of no concern to you

— Am i? People used to tell me that frequently. Haven’t heard that in a while, though. And i can’t argue with that, either: i am entertained by the new and my opinions can’t be new to myself

The two of them simultaneously sipped their tea while Emilio was speaking. The shadow of a nearby oak tree gently touched their table, signifying that evening was no longer far away. But none of them cared about the sun’s cyclic journey, unless it was a topic they discussed at the moment

— The new? Is there anything truly new in this world?

— I can’t say there is. I can’t say there is not. But, Claudius, i did not say “truly new”. I have no idea what that expression shall mean. However, in practice we can distinguish between the new and the old, even if such distinguishing will always depend on context

— You will admit then that for any thing there will be a position from which said thing would not be new?

— Of course. But as far as my interest is concerned, it is enough for me to consider something to be new

— Not sure if Claudius would agree, but your position surely looks egoistic to me

— “Egoistic”, huh? That one word is also pretty disputable, if you agree

— Yet, quoting yourself, i can say that it’s enough for me to consider you egoistic

— I grant you that. What of it, though?

— Not much, i suppose. But i would not share my last cup of coffee with egoist

— Ha-ha

There was another round of silence.