They say Immortality gets boring after the first couple of centuries. And yes, some things that he had enjoyed were now becoming stale. But as with everything before, when something wasn't interesting anymore, he started something new. Even if it was tedious or annoying, sooner or later, he would master a new skill and start to enjoy himself. It's what kept his life worth living, to learn new things. Selling beachfront property was more of a hobby to him now, than actual employment. If everything would have been so easy to come by as money for him, yes then life as an immortal could risk getting monotone and boring.

He cherished the interactions with the mortals around him. Even the most malicious of them looked like children to him, misguided and uneducated children that gave in to their temper tantrums way too often. Especially with his customers, he had to hide his knowing and well-meaning smile and remind himself that he was not talking to children trying their hardest to impersonate an adult. He was talking to adults. And still, he had to reign himself in, to not constantly spout unwanted fatherly advice.

When he granted himself off days from work, he enjoyed staying at his beach resort that bordered his private property where the houses he sold stood. The entire beach was his property, disguised through several companies and trusts. This was his retreat and the mortals that flocked here in large groups were his entertainment. He listened to their playful banter, their dramas, laughter, tears, and everything else. And usually, he also enjoyed their company for an evening or two. He had never gotten really attached to someone, and with the centuries going by, it had become less and less likely that he would get emotionally attached to anyone. They were children, after all, they lacked the emotional maturity that he felt he needed from someone he could bond with.

One early evening on the beach, however, things changed. He had organized a beach party that was scheduled to last the entire weekend. It was Friday evening, the sun had just set and the party was about to ramp up when he met her at the bar. She was shrouded in an atmosphere of mystery that emanated from her like a fine mist and she effortlessly drew in crowds of young horny men and women who wanted her for themselves. She mingled with the crowds and had hookups left and right but she remained with no one. Instead, she seemed to be determined to enjoy her time alone amidst hordes of strangers that treated her like a goddess. He saw her in many different groups, dancing, laughing, and enjoying herself. He could see her allure to the young ones around him, but what interested him, even more, was her aura.

When her eyes finally met his, from the other side of a sandy dance floor, the rest of the universe fell quiet. They shared a moment like this before she simply vanished. It couldn't have lasted for more than a second, but it had felt like an eternity. It had felt like magic. There had been something in the way she had looked at him. As if ... he tossed that thought aside. It couldn't be, in all his time he had never met someone like him. Someone immortal. And yet, her gaze made him question that thought. Just because he hasn't met anyone yet who was immortal like him doesn't mean that there is no one else immortal out there. There were just too many humans in this world, it was statistically impossible that he was the only one. And yet, he couldn't know and he couldn't ask her, since she left no trace.

It took him quite some time to get over this evening. In quiet lonely moments, he recalled that evening again and again. And he went over the question, again and again. He started to brainstorm ideas on how he could try to look for other immortals. But he never followed through with any of his ideas. Finally, after almost fifty years of contemplation, he accepted the fact that he would probably never know and that that evening must have been a fluke. In the end, he even cherished the heartache he had felt as something new. Although it took some self-convincing to see it that way.

He sat on the beach, a cold drink by his side, watching the waves roll in on a quiet off-season evening in the resort. Timid footsteps approached him from behind. He waited with patience that had taken him a century to cultivate until the person had settled in the sand beside him. None of them spoke and yet, there was a quiet understanding. It felt good as if it was meant to be this way.

"I shouldn't have run", she said with a somber tone in her voice.

"It just had never crossed my mind that there could be others like me. And I didn't want to get attached to someone on the off chance that they might be like me. So much time to learn and still, the first real unknown thing gets the old instincts firing like crazy."

She laughed.

"Well", he began, while a bright smile crept on his face, "What's fifty years anyway?"

They looked at each other for the first time since that first evening and shared the first of many deep laughs together.