Extract V - Pear Wine

“Care for some?”, he asked as she sat down next to him. He had been sitting quietly by the fire and was having a drink of what she believed to be a sort of wine; all by himself. “What is it?” she asked while looking out for a clay mug. Pouring some in the one which she was now holding out to him, he answered, “Some pear wine... but you have to taste it for yourself. There is no way anyone could really tell you what it is that you'd be drinking. They can merely try to express what they know about it or their impression after drinking.”

Before taking a sip she stared into his brown eyes for a while. He just sat there in silence and looked back, as though he were letting her read him or rather challenge her to decipher as much as she could. Then she turned her attention to the drink and carefully tipped her tongue in the fluid. Then she took a sip, kept it in her mouth for an instant and shortly soaked her tongue in it before swallowing down her throat. Now that she knew exactly what the wine was to her and how it tasted she could drink normally.

“How do you do that?” she asked him and without making him ask for specifics, she explained “It's as though you'd know each time what people are looking for, you always have answers cut to fit the questioner. How do you do that?” He shrugged as they toasted with the wine. “It was written all over your face that you're giving it too much of a thought, what each and every little thing is to you.”