I was standing outside a clothes shop waiting for my wife. Thankfully I had just bought a coffee and store policy banned me from entering. Staring into the depths of my mind I was startled by the sound of ruffled linen. I turned to see a homeless guy lying in the entrance of an adjacent store; his dirty face hidden amongst a pile of old jackets. “Decaffeinated beverages are bullshit,” he said, peering up at me. “Normal coffee has four times the antioxidants of green tea; it lowers the risk of colon cancer, decreases the likelihood of gallstones, and stimulates mental activity. You just wasted three fifty on an alternative with absolutely no benefit.”
The message was delivered with a supernatural aura. The man’s clear blue eyes appeared like diamonds alongside the hardened lines of his face. He was angelic. “How did you know it was decaf?” I asked.
“I’d like to say I noticed a slight dilation of the pupils due to your body’s release of adrenalin; however, that wouldn’t be visible until at least twelve minutes after ingestion. I could just see the dissatisfaction on your face.”
“How do you know so much about coffee?”
“The only good is knowledge,” he said, “and the only evil is ignorance.”
“Socrates?” I asked. “How does a man like you end up on streets?”
“The more you learn about this world the more you realise just how pointless it really is,” he said. “Let’s just say I learned too much.”
The message was delivered with a supernatural aura. The man’s clear blue eyes appeared like diamonds alongside the hardened lines of his face. He was angelic. “How did you know it was decaf?” I asked.
“I’d like to say I noticed a slight dilation of the pupils due to your body’s release of adrenalin; however, that wouldn’t be visible until at least twelve minutes after ingestion. I could just see the dissatisfaction on your face.”
“How do you know so much about coffee?”
“The only good is knowledge,” he said, “and the only evil is ignorance.”
“Socrates?” I asked. “How does a man like you end up on streets?”
“The more you learn about this world the more you realise just how pointless it really is,” he said. “Let’s just say I learned too much.”