The morning sunrise slowly shifts my mind into an operable state. The advent of better food and nutrition in Tauss leads me through mornings with bliss and grace. I fill my stomach until I’m brimming with food, and I head to my lab in the basement of the building.

I reach the table where I keep my notes and project schematics. I go through the daily duties of creating plans for varying aspects of the village, and then I look through my notes of the past day.

I was working on creating a better process for steel. I read my notes and they say my grand plan is to eventually have a military equipped with pariah glass, and a building and infrastructure system made from steel. It seems good enough, but I start scratching extra notes on pariah tree cultivation. I write another note to ban the harvesting of pariah trees without a governmental certificate.

After about two hours of writing and changing various aspects of the towns agenda I get to work drawing schematics for a new factory that will be dedicated to making steel in large quantities. With that...We could possibly start looking to a future with railroads…

Three more hours pass and I complete the 8 pages of blueprints that will be used to create the factory. At this time my mother walks down the stairs in the corner of the room, and knocks lightly to gather my attention.

“A young lady says she is here to see you, “ my mother half asks, half states.

“...What?” I say while furrowing my brow and tilting my head and then the memories hit me.

“Oh noooo. I...Stall for time mom. I need to go get ready,” I say while throwing a meaningful look at my mother. I start to run past her and into my room.

I look in my mirror and take note of what I look like.

Garbage.

I collect clean clothes and go down to the kitchen where we keep our water. Luckily there’s a huge supply because of the new aqueduct connecting to the Bascus River about 30 miles away. I try to get a decent chunk of the ink and grease off of me in the seconds I am allotted. The effort makes meager returns, but I continue to wash myself. The water passes over my slightly thick frame, and I shiver. I change into the new pair of clothes I have prepared.

I am halfway through putting my shirt on when Elizabeth walks into the kitchen while pouting. She stares at my shirtless body with reckless abandon, and I quickly become estranged. My movements become awkward and heavy as her gaze lengthens. I feel myself trying to button my shirt with speed and coordination no man could call human.

I finish and I say with an incredibly hot face, “I’m like the sun, stare too long and you’ll go blind. Now where do you want to go my lady?”

I feel my voice stay steady through the embarrassment. I take note that I would never let myself get too flustered to respond. After a 5 second pause Elizabeth’s voice cuts through the atmosphere.

“I-I guess we should go to The Gathering...” She says while staring at her feet, blushing, and exaggerating her reaction to seeing me shirtless.

I see through her camouflage, and respond without letting her response cloud my mind, “I ate there last night, let’s go to HorseHead. Ever have the thought we Tauss have a fetish for the bizarre? Names remind me of a ghost story, Haha.”

Her camouflage does not fade in the slightest, and she continues to poorly respond, but I see through it. She won’t get the response she so desires, and I’ll stay calm and collected.

She takes off her hat to fabricate the illusion of heat to thicken the facade and says, “Su-Sure. I guess. ”

She distances herself from me, but I understand her game, and take the initiative.

“People will think we lack any civility if we walk like strangers! Come here Elizabeth.” I say as I hold my arm out for her to hold.

“...I..we can just walk to-together,” she says while trying to solidify the act.

I grab my chisel and destroy the barrier between us to force her to stop pretending by saying, “But I’m in the company of, ‘The’ Elizabeth Chapman! I should be the envy of every man, so to humor me please?”

I put on fake puppy eyes and insist.

She looks away, and gulps before grabbing my arm with trembling hands. I now respect her deeply for her acting ability. She is playing off the act on levels I have yet encountered, and I smile to show her I understand what she is doing.

We walk to the nicer restaurant while I continue the conversation in attempts to uncover her true intentions.

“Elizabeth, why the change? You seem so shy when compared to before...Don’t tell me three days was enough for you to change your mind about me?” I say with a curled smile.

“...You..You can be so...Bold...Or thick. I can’t tell,” she says while looking at me through her lashes.

I start to doubt my earlier instincts. She might really be...Am I torturing this girl? No. Surely she meant to plant these thoughts in my head.

“Why not both? A thick skin and a bold design create fine wine in time. Of course it can only be so with a star at its side to shine.” I say while laughing and raising her hand to kiss.

Her face deepens its light blush, but she also cracks and finally laughs.

“Do you have a whole collection of lines for woman you meet?” she says.

“I think every meeting is fated, as such, my words are each a unique design. Crafted through the scenario’s demands,” I say.

“Well you seem too practiced for an alleged, ‘8 year old,’” she says while narrowing her eyes and creasing her brow.

“Nine today! I think I am aging faster than the normal human...Much faster,” I say with my face slowly staring out into the abyss of uncertainty.

“Haha! You talk about your age like you have no clue, or like it’s criss crossed with reality,” she says while throwing her head back.

I rub my hands together while saying, “I just can’t wait for the meat here. I used to live in a land where there was barely any variety of meat, but here I can almost try a new one each day.”

“It looks like the Renaissance man is also a brute at times. Do try to keep manners up in front of me,” she says while finally returning to her normal self.

“Haha! I have to keep my manners down or you’d feel ashamed my lady. I’ll try to keep a state where we don’t appear to be on different levels,” I say as we finally open the doors to the restaurant.

The middle aged brunette who worked the lunch shift of the restaurant looked at me with surprise before saying, “I see the young master has a date! I’ll get you two a good seat.”

I throw her a secret thumbs up, and a smile as we are walked to a smaller back room that has more private booths. The walls and furniture are all a mixture of pariah glass and wood, and let the sunlight refract freely throughout the space. A fireplace lays at the end of the room, and fills the room with a softer light from the side.

“Oh, the gentleman knows how to treat a lady?” Elizabeth says while fanning herself sarcastically.

“In both form and fashion. I just hit all the right places at all the right times. I’m sure you’ve already noticed?” I say while imitating her fanning motion.

“You just can’t be beat in these exchanges can you? Looks like I misjudged you as a simple man when we first met,” she says while leaning forward in her seat.

“I...Am the most unique person in this world. At least that I know of. I have a million different factors bending and shaping the iron of my soul. I just hope it ends up being beautiful in the end,” I say while leaning forward as well and keeping steady eye contact.

“...Are you a poet? Beautiful words from a beautiful man are a woman’s most vulnerable weakness you know,” she says.

I take a moment to chuckle and blink before saying, “Does it seem like I know? ”

The banter flows heavily for the next minute or so before the lady we met at the front brings us mugs filled with water and asks what we want. We order and the food arrives in little to no time.

The conversation slows until I am done with all of my food, and the woman brings the second dish. I eat it all and Elizabeth looks in shock at my ability to eat the food.

“That’s inhuman. You literally ate 6 or 7 pounds of food,” she says while raising her eyebrows.

“I could eat more, but I want to stay fit you know? Clever words come from the furnace of one's mind. The furnace needs fuel to continue! I would hate to slow with time as our date draws to a close.”

“...I guess you have a solution to everything?” she says while licking her lips.

“Or maybe everything is just a solution to me? Yeah...That kind of thinking places me at the center of everything right? That seems fitting,” I say while chuckling and rolling my eyes.

Her laughter fills the room and I feel myself shortly get lost in it. We leave the restaurant and bid our farewells.

“You need to enchant another one of my meager days some time soon Elizabeth,” I say while bowing.

“Haha. I don’t think you even know how charming you are. I will make time anytime you will have me.” she says while licker her lips and then smiling brightly.

I walk back to my house and my mom stops me.

“...I had no idea you had a girl. When did this happen?” she said with over exaggerated movements to try and embarrass me.

I smile a curled smile while raising one eyebrow and saying, “It’s always happening mother, I am to woman as diamonds are to jewelers. I have the most luster, I am the most valuable, but you need to mine through miles of rock to get your hands on me.”

My mom’s head shoots backwards as she laughs heartily. She slapps me on my back and responds with, “I guess you aren’t at all like your dad then.”

I walk downstairs and spend the rest of the day working.