Investigate

“And that’s why it’s the way it is.” He sat back in his chair and sipped his coffee smugly. His nose wrinkled slightly as his tongue revealed the coffee was no longer fashionably hot. We had just met a few hours ago in the coffeehouse, when he asked to share the large table with me.

He placed the coffee back on the table and dryly said, “But I think you’ve heard all this before.”

“Possibly.” My one word answer. My own coffee was nearly empty. His body posture said he was ready to counter my rebuttals before I could finish uttering them, but I didn’t feel like playing a silly game of belief-tennis today. So I smiled after I answered, leaned back in my chair, and continued sipping the coffee.

He shifted slightly. Nervously tapped a foot. For some reason my silence unnerved him. “Then you agree with me.” His eyes brightened a bit.

“Yes and no.” I smiled at his warming face.

“What’s the ‘Yes’?” He tapped the cup lightly against the table.

“I agree you believe fervently in what you spoke of.” His smile froze.

“What’s the ‘No’?” No longer jolly, his voice had growling undertones.

“I do not agree that your beliefs are universal ‘laws’ to be accepted and abided by the world at large. Just as each person sees the world different from his fellow, so does each person believe different from his fellow.” His hand clenched the cup slightly. I found his reaction charming, in a savage sort of way.

“And what gives you the right to mock truth?” Not even three whole minutes passed in his devolution from almost charming hipster to antagonized hive drone.

“I’m not taking that ‘What is truth?’ bait. You asked me a question, I answered. You offered to ‘explain’ it to me, I’ve allowed it. I’ve investigated it for myself, and my evidence does not match yours.” I still smiled at him.

“Investigate? What do you know of investigating these things? What qualifications do you have?” He slammed the coffee cup on the table, prompting some of the eavesdroppers to actually look up at us.

“I’ll answer your question, with another. What does water taste like?” I noted the time, and started to make preparations to leave.

“Taste like? It has no taste! Any schoolbook will tell you that!”

“When is the last time you verified that assumption?”

He looked at me incredulously. “Why would I? My betters know and informed me so I don’t waste my time with this. Water is water is water!”

“Why indeed? Why did you buy a fresh bottle of water when tap would do?” I pointed to the bottles tucked into a side pocket of his bag, one unopened, one empty. “When did you lose your wonder? Or does growing up mean losing the ability to investigate for yourself?”

He sat there pouting. Gripping his cup in a mild display of anger. I smiled at him again, excused myself and said my farewells. His voice sounded like he was throwing words after me. “Why chase after the things we don’t know, when we can rest in the things we do know. Leave the investigating for the restless.”

Just as the door closed behind me, I heard an eavesdropper say to him, “Dude, you’re still sitting here. Any other wisdom to share?”

(This post written for, and inspired by, Sunday Scribblings #295: Investigate.)