A Matter Of Life And Death Which It Isn't

Hello! says Lauren Swales. I saw you down on the beach. Come and sit with me. I'm whale watching. But no luck so far!

She pats the seat, on which she is sitting.

Hi Lauren! says Sweezus. Sorry, can't! Got to get back down there. Can you grab me a board from the van?

Oh, okay, says Lauren. What about your friend though?

She beams encouragingly at Nietzsche.

Nietzsche is encouraged.

But not that much.

First he must unwrap her wrappings.

Who knows? She may be just like his mother. Or his dreadful sister, Elisabeth......on the other hand, she may be like Lou......

This is Friedrich Nietzsche, says Sweezus. The philosopher. He's into whale watching...

Untrue! People tell lies all the time! An eternal recurrence!

Calm down, calm down, Friedrich.

Is something wrong, Friedrich? asks Lauren. Sit down here and pour yourself a mug of Rooibos from my thermos. I'll be back in a jiffy. Help yourself to a chip!

She heads off to the van, drags out her son's second best surfboard and hands it to Sweezus, who then races down the ramp to the beach, enters the water, and starts paddling as if it were a matter of life and death which it isn't.

That's him, though.

She returns to the seat, and Friedrich Nietzsche.

What's the matter, can't you open it? asks Lauren.

I normally drink only water, says Nietzsche.

Very sensible, says Lauren. But Rooibos is caffeine free. And it's hot so it warms up your cockles.

She laughs trillingly, in an indecipherable manner.....

She opens the thermos with a flippant twist of the wrist, and pours him a Rooibos.

It's hot and red. He finds it acceptable.

Want to see my fluke chart? asks Lauren.

She bends forward to rummage in her voluminous bag.

This is when she spots Ageless, sitting next to her bag. He has commandeered her binoculars.

He is scanning the ocean, and muttering.

She knows Ageless, from previous encounters, and ignores him.

She pulls out her fluke chart, hoping to interest the moustachioed philosopher.