Alaric Carter was having a bad day.
He was your normal Brit, with a normal desk job, a normal salary, and a normal life. And normal people tend to have normal bad days.
He had woken up late. Hence had to rush to get ready. Got to work late. Listened to the boss shouting at him for five minutes. Then got extra work and the promise of a delightful week of overtime. Started working. Worked for hours. Went to get a coffee. Spilled it on his shirt instead. Worked for hours more. Fell asleep on his keyboard. Then woke up to a shouting boss. Endured five more minutes of shouting. The worked for four more hours overtime.
That's how he ended up walking, or rather dragging his tired body, down the deserted street towards his house. His shoulders were hunched, hair was a mess, coffee stains dotted his shirt, and absolute exhaustion showed on his face.
Just as he was turning a corner, an aged but energetic voice called out to him in a distinctly Asian accent, "Young friend, you look like you could use some good food, both for the stomach and for the mind."
Alaric turned to look. It was an old man, with Asian features, sitting inside a green food truck, with golden letters painted on its side.
'Noodles Of Enlightenment'
The old man raised a bowl of noodles, "Want some?"
Alaric thought for a second. The idea appealed to him. A image of himself curled up comfortably on his couch, with a bowl of noodles in hand and watching a movie on his TV popped into his head.
And the noodles in the old man's hand looked rather delicious.
"Alright, pack up a bowl for me. I will eat them at home. How much is it, by the way?", asked Alaric, reaching into his pocket for his wallet.
"Nah, this is for free. I'm closing for the day, and you look pretty tired, so I am making a last bowl for you."
Alaric paused, then put his wallet away, saying a heartfelt, "Thanks."
"No trouble, young man. No trouble."
Saying this, he passed a sealed container to Alaric. Alaric nodded, and then went his way, but with an extra little spring in his step. No matter who you are, when someone treats you with kindness, it always feels good.
The old man watched him depart with an inscrutable smile on his lips
---
Alaric was in his apartment, sitting on his couch with a cozy blanket wrapped around him In his hand was a bowl of noodles, and on the TV in front of him was a Harry Potter movie.
Alaric was, through and through, a purebred Potterhead. He had read all the books at least ten times. Every year on Christmas, he would sit on his couch, wrap himself in a mountain of blankets, and watch the entire series of Harry Potter movies through the night. He would also watch the movies randomly whenever he felt like it, just like tonight.
He watched the movie, as he took a forkful of noodles and put them in his mouth. And then…
Wow, this is supremely delicious!!!
His eyes widened, his mouth watered, and his hand holding the bowl literally shook with excitement. He loved the noodles. He could say with complete confidence that he had never taste anything even remotely as delicious as them.
They were simply divine.
He started gobbling. His hand blurred as mouthfuls after mouthfuls of noodles were eaten. His eyes were fixed on the screen and the rest of his body was fully focused on eating. His hand never once missed his mouth. No noodle was left untasted. Alaric was having the time of his life.
However, all good things must come to an end. Before he even realized it, only one forkful of noodles were left in the bowl. And he knew, somehow, that he had to, absolutely had to, savor this last bite, and that he will never taste something the delicious again.
The noodles were scooped up by the fork, and his hand guided the fork to his lips. There was an audible slurp as they entered his mouth. Then he savored the taste of heaven, before swallowing that bite.
And then…
He choked on it.
The noodles got stuck in his throat, then instead of going down his foodpipe, they entered his windpipe. He tried coughing them out, and beating his chest, but to no avail. His oxygen supply was blocked, and soon he started suffocating. He fell unconscious, and his heartbeat became fainter and fainter until…
It stopped.
Alaric Carter had died.
Cause of death: Noodles of Enlightenment.
RIP.