The Gods by Arya Singh (open ebook txt) 📕

eye can see and sunrise was slowly beginning to kiss the grey morning. Paul scoured the room and spotted her far away from the shore he stood on.

"Hey," Paul called into the lightening blue abyss. Her head swung around to shore and her dazzling white smile appeared. She quickly swam to where he was standing and like cleaned diamond she emerged from the water. Her body glistened in the sun that rose more and more as she left the cool smooth waters. Fiona came face to face with Paul and the beads of water came off her lashes as she gazed at his smiling face.

"How'd you know I'd come searching for you this morning?" he inquired as he basked in the innate feeling of lust he had for her. She turned away, quickly splashing him with water from her hair.

"AS difficult and as odd as you are to me, a guest always goes in search of their hostess." She took the towel she set down on the sand and began to dry her skin as she spoke.

"That, and after the conversation last night, you, like myself, would've only become more inquisitive on the subject. Am I right?" She glanced over her shoulder for a reply on his face. It was there, a bright smile and downcast eyes as if to imply that his motive was found out. He sat on the dirt surface and presumed to speak.

"You haven't fallen for anyone after him?" Paul looked up as Fiona took a seat next to him, staring off into her sunrise.

"Not another before and, as I decree, not another after." He looked up at her face, as serious as he'd ever seen her. "And you?" She spoke. "The numerous heartbreaks press your face." She smirked at him.

"Numerous...hardly. A few unresolved issues that led to my heartbreak alone. She could forever move on." He looked down as if he were ashamed of his past. "I wasn't approved of for many a girl mortal or goddess. Either I wasn't good enough or she hated me." He looked up to the sky. "No, not she. Fate. Fate hates me," he laughed. Fiona observed him, wallowing in self pity and the sadness he exuded slowly began to rub off on her, making her smile fade. She refused to subject herself to his depression and she quickly got up from the beach.

"My job awaits," and she left the room, leaving him alone. He got up from the beach and started to pace, wondering what he had done to make her run the way she did. He replayed the conversation and noted all the things that could've gone wrong and stopped in one place, allowing his head to hang. He drove her away with his sadness. Fate had once again reared its hatred for him. He solemnly walked to the door of the room, turning back to stare at its calm waters. Then he left the room, going to his own. He changed his clothes, if only because they hadn't gotten wet while Fiona bathed and resided into he Sun Room, waiting for either Paul to trod behind her or the servant to bring her a meal for breakfast. She sat upon her swing and let her sun come to its full glory. She fiddled with the petals of the flowers that surrounded her swing wishing that Paul would just drop the subject of her past love. Fiona was scarred; she was well aware of her predicament. But she refused to do anything about it because she was utterly ashamed of it.

This was the first time she had spoken about it since it initially happened thousands of years ago. She already spent her sleepless nights on it, even her days, as it drew away from her responisbilities as a goddess to the mortals. She had assumed it to be over when she finally slept peacefully again, unknown to her the reason why. Fiona spent years in anger and sadness, even remorse. Now, she just wanted to forget. She resolved herself that in some way, she would deflect him any way she could. She got up from her swing and rested herself on the banister that saved her from a drop into the other realm. She looked down and closed her eyes to hear a sound more familiar than her own breath, the prayers to her. She knew every voice, every chant, every plea. and she knew what time to expect each one. She looed into her early morning sun and closed her eyes, searhing for the one that was continuous.

"YOu are my only friend," she heard and a small smile sp[read across her face. "I know you are always here because I can always see you here, in theese embers I work with. You are always by my side. You spark my inspiration, and you have made my business successful. I know you are always with me becuase you always show you're pressence in the weirdest ways. I don't know why some people don't understand you like I do. I get how complex you are, how estranged you've become, dispite the reasoning. I get it. Even a goddess as brilliant as yourself needs a break." He went on like this all day everyday. Fiona knew that many of the villagers that knew him, although they admred him for his work, thought he was crazy for speaking to her as he had since his father taught him to prey. She smied as she opened her eyes to the glowing sky she graced. "He understands," Fiona whispered to herself. "He gets what I am feeling. Maybe he should be here...." Her eyes lit up at the idea and she straightened her back. "That's it! A mortal! A pet to take my mind off it all." She turned around in excitment as Paul came in along with the maiden serving them breakfast. Paul took a seat in the same armchair he had the night before nd the maiden unveiled a feast of food for the two on the table in the middle of their space.

Fiona ate eggs and strawberries, reaching for small bites periodically while Paul ate more. Feeling famished from the morning's events, all he wanted to do was engorge himself in food.

"Paul," She spoke to him. Paul raised his head and bacon spilled out from his mouth as his eyes widened like a scared deer. "I feel like I want a pet."Paul swallowed the morsels of food he shoved into his mouth.

"A pet like what?"

"A mortal,"She replied with the idea of something glimmering in her eyes. Paul choked a bit on the sausage he was devouring as she spoke, finished it and then began to argue.

"We didn't have them created so that you could domesticate them! They are free life forms." He stared at her, waiting for an answer in which he could find a flaw.

"Every other god lives among the mortals and trains them. What would be so different about bringing them here?"

"You would be tainting everything god like," he rebuddled. "Mortals have their world, Gods have theirs. Bringing one here would expose it and make it accostomed to a god's world. Probably even make it believe it's a god. Do you have any idea how ba dthings could get by this one move? WE go to the human world; they don't come here."


His argument was a lost cause on her. "Think about it," she leaned forward in her swing as if trying to explain to a stubborn child. "SOmeone to talk to, to play with, I'd never be alone, my job would get done and everyone would be okay."

"But how will you get it, Fiona? Are you just going to abduct one out of the blue?"" Imprint

Publication Date: 04-22-2010

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