Disclaimer: I have no legal right to any part of the Blood 'verse.
Genre: vignette
Rating: K
Sweet Days of Youth
« Quesque c'est, » asked the young boy from the sidewalk as he watched the woman laying out the display.
"Are you...saying that you don't know what this is, little one?" she replied, looking at the wide-eyed boy in astonishment.
Young Van shook his head.
Since his father was a scientist whose work had taken his family all around the world in search of the strange creatures called chiropterans, Van had seen some bizarre things over the years, and he had always been fascinated by them.
But nothing in all of his young life had quite caught the eight-year-old boy's complete and undivided attention the way the little objects in the window had done today.
The shop's mistress could barely believe what she was hearing.
'The poor dear,' she thought. She might have understood it if he'd been a victim of poverty; he was obviously of French descent and the wars had taken a terrible toll on the European continent, but he looked to be from a good home. His clothes were neat and clean, his hair combed, and he was very polite, especially for his age. 'Has this youngster truly never experienced one of the greatest joys of childhood?'
"Come here little one," said the woman as she held out a hand to him.
The boy shyly came closer and was rewarded for his trust when the elderly lady reached out and placed several of the small, wrapped, colorful objects in his open hands. He looked up at her in amazement, not daring to move in case he broke the spell, causing the woman to realize her mistake and take them back.
It took only a moment for her to read the confusion his eyes. "It's all right; they're yours," she reassured him. "You can share them with your friends and family or keep them all to yourself. The decision is yours to make," she whispered conspiratorially as she gave him a sly wink.
Van thanked her and, hardly daring to breathe, put the little items in his coat pocket, keeping out just one. He held it up to the sunlight by one twist-wrapped end and admired the translucent red color before carefully removing the wrapping and popping it, whole, into his mouth.
'Strawberries!'
The thought exploded in his mind as completely as the flavor had in his mouth. 'It tastes just like strawberries! So sweet!' he thought, as he rolled the small treat around with his tongue. Never in all his life had he tasted anything as wonderful as this. It was heaven in edible form.
The shopkeeper stood and watched as the little boy's eyes went wide with shock, then slowly closed as he gave himself over to the experience, the smile on his face one of absolute delight. She waited patiently for him to finish eating, and then asked quietly, "What do you think?"
« C'est magnifique, » he exclaimed, "Oh, forgive me please. I wish to say that it is wonderful! May I ask, sil vous plait, what it is?"
"Of course, little one," she replied merrily. "It's called candy."
'Candy,' thought Van wonderingly. 'What a lovely name.'
Years later, after he had followed in his father's footsteps and become a scientist, then gone on to work for Cinq Fleche Pharmaceuticals, the largest company of its kind in the world; after the debacle that was the war between humans and chiropterans had ended, after everything he had hoped for and dreamed of had come crashing down around him, Van would remember that first experience.
It was at such times that he would once again reach into his coat pocket and pull out a small, colorful, twist-wrapped ball of sweet delight and, with a quick and practiced motion, pop it into his mouth.
Some men used nicotine. Some used alcohol.
But for Van Argianeau, nothing allowed him the few precious moments of peace needed to set his world in order like the tiny treasures he had been gifted by a kind and elderly shop keeper all those years ago.
Finis