Is It Better to Be Immortal and Cursed or to Be Human and Live For One Day?

A gentleman was walking through the park one night when he met a man-wolf. The man-wolf was not particularly hungry, as he had just finished his meal, so he decided to proceed with exchanging pleasantries.

“A perfect night for a stroll.” said the man-wolf.

“Indeed, a perfect night for a smoke too, if that is your fancy.” replied the gentleman, who was lighting a cigar at the moment.

The man-wolf wrinkled his nose as the stench from the cigar wafted towards him, “No, I cannot say it is.”

The gentleman threw away his match and shrugged, “One man's dislike is another man's pleasure I suppose.”

“Yes, I suppose.” replied the man-wolf.

The two men stood there for a while, silent, in the cold autumn night. They both listened to the rustling of leaves and the hooting of an owl until one of them spoke again.

“I wonder, have you ever thought of life?” asked the gentleman.

The man-wolf pondered this question for a few seconds, “I suppose I have.”

“I figure that you are a man who knows the values of life very well, since you have lived most of it on the prowl,” said the gentleman. “So I ask you now, is it better to be immortal and cursed or to be human and live for one day?”

The man-wolf turned to the gentleman in earnest, “I am assuming you are asking the relationship between my victims and myself?”

“More accurately, the comparison between your so-called victims and yourself.” replied the gentleman.

The man-wolf stared into the trees for a little while, watching the birds settling down for the night. Then he looked to the ground and saw many ants and crickets heading back to their homes in the grass, as his eyes were that keen. Then, he answered, “I suppose most men and women would love to live forever, as they think that it means to never die... though, that is not entirely true, we must all die sometime, even if our bodies live on for eternity our hearts and souls leave us and we no longer feel the hope we once did when we were young. We no longer feel the thrill of love or the disappointment of heartbreak. I am earnest with you now, sir, when I tell you that I would love to feel even heartbreak again, but my soul left me many years ago when I would have died as a mortal.”

The man-wolf looked away from the gentleman not wanting to see the look of disgust he was sure he was wearing, but he was not. He was busy smoking his cigar and thinking of what the man-wolf had just told him, “So, do you not feel emotion even now that you are speaking these deep words?”

The man-wolf turned, “I only feel to survive, I live like an animal now. I do not feel remorse for my prey, I do not feel the need for love or indulgence in the finer things, nor even the need for friends as I require none of these.”

“Then, my dear sir, what about the other part of the question?” The gentleman asked.

“That is my question for you.” the man-wolf replied. “What does it feel to live one day?”

“I could not answer that, for my time is far ahead of now even with my many addictions and pleasures.” The gentleman said.

And when the gentleman had turned his back for a second, the man-wolf had regained his hunger and with a snap of his jaws the cigar fell to the ground and neither of them were ever seen again.

Though the question lingers on; Is it better to be immortal and cursed or to be human and live for one day?