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Immortal or mortal?

"I'm just saying, how do we know that we're not immortal?"

"So you just want to try stupid shit and see if it kills you? Is that your plan?"

"No, cause we're probably moral, but I'm just saying, we don't know that we're mortal."

"You're so dumb, Eddie."

"But am I dumb mortal or immortal, Rocky?"

As Rocky lay at the bottom of the cliff face he'd been trying to climb, this conversation he'd had with his friend played over and over in his head. Rocky had fallen so far and onto rocks, but he wasn't dead. His friends rushed over and told him what a miracle it was that he'd survived, but he was wondering...was it really a miracle? Or could Rocky possible be immortal?

When his parents met him at the hospital he kept waiting for them to reveal something about why he'd survived. Rocky had known he was adopted and had never much minded, but now he was wondering where exactly he'd come from. They said nothing of the sort, but just talked about how glad they were that he survived.

***

Rocky may not have ever again thought of the conversation between him and Eddie if it hadn't been for the time he got struck by lightning. Now he knew that this didn't always kill people, but it really seemed like it should. The doctors told him it was a miracle he wasn't more hurt, but they didn't seem too weirded out by it. Rocky told himself that he shouldn't be either, but that conversation still irked him...

***

Years later, Rocky survived a massive car crash. He was the only one who walked away. He tried to deal with the survivor's guilt by telling himself it was a miracle he lived at all, but now he began to wonder if Eddie had really been onto something. He called Eddie up to talk to him.

"Hey, Eddie."

"Man, Rocky, good to hear from you. How are you doing?"

"Okay I guess. Remember that time we talked about if we were really mortal?"

"Uh, vaguely. I think I was pretty stoned to be honest."

Rocky smiled briefly, "Yeah, but what if you were right?"

"I mean, then you'd be immortal. That'd be pretty sweet right?"

"I guess."

"You okay, man?"

"Yeah...just...I guess I just keep getting really lucky."

***

When Rocky survived the avalanche is when he really began to suspect things. From that moment on he began to become what his friends called an adrenaline junky. They warned him that he was going to get himself killed, but he never did. He surfed, swam with sharks, went bungee jumping, wrestled alligators, and sky jumped.

***

Decades later, Rocky went to see Eddie. They were got getting old and Eddie had just gotten into a car crash.

"Man, how many times have you not died?"

"That's hard to answer, Eddie, but I guess I've been lucky."

"No, you're immortal."

Rocky laughed, "Yeah, maybe."

"No, you are. Maybe I should've told you sooner, but since we're going to live to infinity it's time I told you...we're both sons of Zeus."

Rocky let this news wash over him and realized that Eddie had been there with him through so many of the adventures and had also survived. Rocky smiled at Eddie and said, "Man, the next few millennia are gonna kick ass."

(Prompt by Emily Kleeman)

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