There is no Light without Darkness, no Good without Evil. Our lives are defined by contrast."
I sigh in an exaggerated fashion and re-cross my legs. "Not this again, Xel," I groan. My guest grins at me, his amethyst eyes glittering with dark humour.
"Tell me, what happens in the absence of shadow?" he asks. I grumble, muttering obscenities as he sips his tea patiently. I sigh in defeat.
"In the absence of shadow, all contrast is lost and light cannot exist," I finally reply in a bored monotone. "There. Happy?"
He smiles brightly. "Always." He sets his cup on the saucer and leans forward, otherworldly eyes alight with mischievous glee. "You see," he purrs. "Unless you have something to compare it to, you have no concept of a thing. Hence why you can't have good without evil, light without darkness, pleasure without pain."
"Fffst. Sadist," I mutter. He grins again, not denying it, and I roll my eyes. "Okay Xel, I get it already. Why do you keep trying to hammer it into my head? I agree with you, you know."
He nods and picks up his teacup again. "It's important you remember. So many people don't want to believe this basic natural law."
"What do you expect?" I ask dryly. "People don't like acknowledging that we all have a dark side."
"Use the Force, young Skywalker," he adds, and I roll my eyes again.
"You know what I mean."
"Look, I'm not trying to re-order the world or prove people wrong, I just want to point out what is obvious if you stop and think about it." He puts his teacup back down, studying me carefully. "Really, there is no good or evil in the big scheme of things. Everything eventually evolves back to One. It all just plays a part in the drama of life. When people think of evil as separate from the divine, they are basically saying that whatever higher power they believe in is not omnipotent. What kind of higher power is that, eh?" He has that mocking tone in his voice again. I shake my head.
"Sometimes I think you try to offend people," I say. He doesn't reply, just keeps that ever-present smile plastered on his face. "And why do I bother to listen to you anyway? Of course you're going to offer a favourable opinion of the shadowed side of existence!"
"Naturally. I'm not recommending you live a life of evil -although it can be great fun- but I am telling you that if you think you can ever get rid of it, you're insane."
"Okay, fine. Great. Bloody wonderful. Want some more tea?"
"Please." I pour out some more, the scent twining through the air like delicate ivy, and sit back in my chair. Across from me, my guest sips quietly, secrets and stories from the twilight world hidden in those windows of the soul. I wonder, not for the first time, if I am mad to even begin to trust this man before me. He's not even really a man, I know that, but something that masquerades as one in order to prey upon others. He looks at me over the rim of his teacup, grinning at me again.
"You think too much," he tells me. "Be a little more impulsive. Go out. Party. Get laid." He sips more tea, then puts the cup down once more. "Just remember what I've told you." Winking cheerfully, he stands and walks away into the shadows, disappearing until he chooses to reappear at another time, when I least expect it.
"Christ, but men are unreliable," I mutter to the empty room. "There and gone, never telling you when they're gonna show up again." I start to gather up the tea stuff, still talking to myself in order to ignore the gooseflesh that has broken out on my arms.
There is no Light without Darkness.
Remember what I've told you.