Infernal Incarnation: Asmodeus to Ari

*****Introduction***** Everything happens for a reason, right? Ari ponders to themself. This is a recurring thought, actually; one that has crossed Ari’s mind more than they’d like to admit. Everyday was essentially the same, with Ari moving through the motions of the day so that they could get on about their life. Now that they have experienced what is called a spiritual awakening, the mundane is extremely mundane. Ari has found themself in a bit of a cycle of highs and lows as far as their emotions go... and all because of a tiny bit of accidental awakening.   See, it’s a long story... but before they started their cycles and were born into their chosen vessels, their essence made a deal; signed a soul contract if you will. Within this contract there was a clause that they would forfeit their knowledge before embarking on their journeys. It’s honestly not the best of deals because when one signs the contract, none of the details of the experience they are signing up for are remembered; and there are no take-backs. Entities, celestial beings, star seeds, and rogue travelers of the galaxies are all given a chance to experience life on earth within any of the 42 currently active timelines. There are multiple timelines, universes, deities, creators, etc. and there is also a supreme being that exists outside of the fabric of space and time as it is known to humans, but that’s another story for another time.   ***** Present Day — Dallas, TX ***** As Ari winds down from the last meeting of the day, they can’t help but think to themselves about their experience overall; their infinitely perplexing experience. Today is no different from yesterday, but worlds away from how their days were spent a mere decade ago. This experience has been an interesting one to say the least. As the end of the workday approached, Ari raised their arms overhead, clasping their right hand around their left wrist and stretching slowly to the left and right. This stretching felt simultaneously good and bad, as Ari had a bad shoulder. However, they continued to stretch out their arms, neck, shoulders and back, feeling bones pop as they did.   Afterward they let their head roll in slow circles as they let out a deep sigh. "This is not what I signed up for..." they thought. "Isn't it, though?" The voice in Ari's head asked. Well, the voice was not in their head, so much as that was the way it was perceived. Ari paused for a moment, then responded by thinking, "I honestly do not know...". That’s one of the things they truly don’t remember. “I couldn’t have volunteered for this... had I known what I would be living through, I doubt I would have willingly signed up for this...”  Ari sighs, and rubs their palms on their face, trying to rub away some of the exhaustion.   The last cycle of ‘lessons’ has Ari feeling more energetically depleted than ever. They have a feeling that they’re going to have to go through another hermit phase in order to recuperate. Ever since their accidental awakening, things have been indescribable.  They are still trying to get a good grasp of everything and what it means for them personally. Ari thinks back to the beginning of the first part of their spiritual awakening journey. They thought about how they were going crazy, and would have had themselves committed if they hadn’t come across what could only be described as a sign from God.   Ari chuckled at the thought of receiving a sign from God. That would be the day, that 'God' would go out of his way to give me a sign to show me I'm not acutally insane, thought Ari wryly. Although, Ari didn’t necessarily believe in God. At least, not as he was presented by Christians. They thought that there could be no way a “God who so loved the world” would be so manipulative and have so many narcissistic personality traits. Ari believed gods should be, and would be, better than that. Ari also didn’t subscribe to the popularized notion of the devil as the Christians and their demonitations portrayed him; like some evil celestial bogey man. Ari scoffs and laughs at their train of thought, then grabs their things to head out to their weekly therapy appointment.   The elevator was empty, thank chance. Ari really didn’t have the energy for social interaction right now. They glanced at their reflection in the high gloss silver finish in the elevator and let out another sigh. Their usually bright emerald green eyes are now more of a matte olive due to tiredness. Small bags were starting to form under their eyes and they noticed their face was a little more gaunt than usual. I need to do a better job of eating and sleeping on schedule, Ari thinks to themself. That’s something they battle with, they don’t have the same auto-prompting for self-care most people have. So, they set alarms for their daily routine. When to eat, shower, brush their teeth, reminders to hydrate... it was a lot but it worked for them. The one thing Ari doesn’t have an alarm or schedule for is sleeping, usually because they end up finding someone to explore the heights and depths of pleasure with. So, sleep isn’t usually their first priority.   Ari smiles as they remember the details of last night with Serafina. Flashes of her intense gaze, her eyes never leaving Ari’s as she knelt down in front of him, placing her hands palms up on her knees. Her plump, perfect lips slightly parted and her breath heavy. Thinking of her gave Ari chills... Ari may well ask her to become a more frequent part of their life, and if she accepted Ari would have to schedule alarms for rest and sleep. Otherwise, it’s doubtful they’d ever get any.   A ding from the elevator reaching the lobby floor pulls Ari from their thoughts and they step out of the elevator into the lobby. The marble flooring sparkled brilliantly as it reflected the evening sun, Ari noticed as they watch and count their steps. With every tap of their heel, they count. At 30 paces Ari looks up to smile and wave to the security team. “Goodnight, Sir” says one of the newest security team members. Before Ari can say anything, one of the more seasoned security team corrects the new one telling her Ari’s pronouns are They/Them. The new security guard blushes and stumbles over an apology, as her cheeks turn a bright red and her honey brown eyes show remorse. She really is quite cute Ari thinks to themself.   “Thank you, Gus” Ari nods their head and smiles at the more seasoned of the two, then Ari turns their gaze to the woman and smiles. “Thank you for your apology, my name is Ari. What’s yours?” She smiles back, blushes, then says, “Laura” a bit sheepishly. Ari felt the corners of their mouth turning up into a sly smirk, knowing exactly the effect they had on Laura. They were going to say something else when their Apple watch started beeping as an appointment reminder flashed onto the small device’s screen. Ari looks back at the two and smiles. “I’d love to stay and get to know you a little better, Laura, but I am running late. Thanks again, Gus. You both stay safe and have a good night!” With that, Ari turns and walks briskly toward the car waiting for them in front of the building. As the automatic doors open, a crisp autumn breeze flows in and Ari takes a deep breath. This is absolutely the best season of the year.   Laura watches as Ari leaves, wishing they would stay even a few moments longer. Ari had been holding their trench coat folded over their left arm, so she wasn’t able to see whether or not they were wearing a wedding ring. Laura hated to admit it but in those mere seconds of being in Ari’s presence and hearing their voice, she could already tell they could be trouble. Her heart picked up pace, her thoughts started to wander as she looked them over. Ari was 6’2” easily, with curly thick black hair, and mesmerizing green eyes, even when they were noticeably tired. Ari’s body looked like it could rival that of a Greek god and she automatically wondered what all their body could do. She bit her lip as her mind flooded with images of both of them naked together, sweaty and breathless. Just then Laura was snapped back to reality when she heard Gus chuckling, obviously Gus caught her mid-daydream. She blushed and nervously chuckled herself, then brushed back her hair and smoothed down her blazer as she cleared her throat and regained her composure.   Gus was about 53, with dark brown and greying hair, a bushy mustache that somehow suited him, round cheeks, a button nose and dark blue eyes. Gus was a nice man, laid back, generally happy, portly and good-humored. Laura was really glad to have a partner/co-worker like Gus. He was genuinely nice and a good conversationalist, he also treated her as an actual person worthy of respect; which is something she regrettably recognized was a bit foreign to her.   From the car Ari can see Laura blush and laugh from slight embarrassment while Gus had let out a full belly laugh. Ari just shook their head, smiling at the two of them as the car pulled away, filling a gap in the downtown traffic. Hopefully I don’t arrive too late to therapy, Ari thought. “Text her, let her know you’re running late” said the voice in Ari’s mind. Good thinking, Ari responds, smiling to themself at the irony as they start typing a message to Liz, their therapist.   “All good back there, boss?” Jerome, Ari’s driver asked. “All good, Jerome. How about you? What did you get up to in your free time today?” Jerome only laughed and winked into the rear view mirror as an indication of how his day went. Jerome was a stocky fellow with ginger hair, a mountain man kind of beard and freckles on his cheeks and broad nose. Ari just laughed as well, already knowing what Jerome’s wink was all about. Jerome had met a new man, his mate as Jerome calls him. They were still in the honey moon phase, which of course included hours of flirting, texting, sexting and sneaking off to semi-private places while on dates in public. It was good to see Jerome and his new mate so happy. If anyone deserves to be happy, it is Jerome, thought Ari. While Ari didn’t know what it felt like to have a mate, or anything about what it is like to have a serious, steady partner, it was impossible to not be happy for Jerome. His happiness was contagious. His energy was effervescent, light and radiated a golden yellow aura color all around him.   Ari’s phone and watch chimed in unison as the response from Liz was delivered. “Got it See you when you arrive. You’re lucky you’re one of my favorite patients. Otherwise, I would charge you late fees ”  Ari smiled again and let out another sigh, except now of contentment rather than exhaustion. I guess it isn’t all that bad, thought Ari. “It really isn’t”, replied the voice. “You just have to surround yourself with people, places and things that set your soul on fire and ignite your passions and happiness”. Ari just nods their head but doesn’t bother with thinking a reply. The voice in their head seems to give off a know-it-all kind of smug energy, but since Ari can’t see the voice in their head, they just smirk back at the smug impression.   The car comes to a stop and Ari takes a deep breath to steady the nerves they feel suddenly gripping them. Jerome notices and takes an audible deep breath, holds for a few seconds and exhales, then says to Ari, “No worries, boss. You got this. I’ll be back in an hour to pick you up”. Ari nods to Jerome and takes another quick inhale before stepping out of the car onto the sidewalk. The building where Liz works is about 10 stories tall and the edifice is almost all glass. After a short pause, Ari walks into the building and focuses on counting the steps to the elevator. Once in the elevator, Ari pushes the button for the seventh floor, then pushes the door close button directly after. Just as the doors start to close, Ari hears rapid clacking of heels and a breathless “Wait! Please! Hold the elevator!” A few seconds after, a pudgy arm jolts through, triggering the safety sensors and causing the doors to retract again. A short, brown haired, brown eyed woman with chubby cheeks and a body type that Ari would describe as llenito. Full-bodied didn't sound as nice or enticing in English as it did in Spanish, so Ari preferred to stick with llenito in this instance. She was panting and working on catching her breath, with rosy chubby cheeks and a great smile as she looked up at Ari. "I guess we are going to the same floor, eh?" Ari just smiles and nods, then presses the 'door close' button again before another person wiggles their way onto the elevator with them. Ari looked straight ahead, focusing on their breathing and watching the number on the dial move up as the elevator rose with them in it. The unknown woman suddenly broke the awkward silence with, "Hiya, I'm Mary.. What's your name? You look like you have an interesting or mysterious name. Are you Russian or Persian or where are you from?" Ari just looked at the height-challenged woman, blinking, as they were not used to strangers randomly speaking to them. Ari was especially not used to getting so many questions fired off at them all at once. Mary stared up, smiling at Ari waiting for a response. Ari let a small laugh out and drew in a breath, then responded, "My name is Ari, I'm not interesting or mysterious. Nor am I Russian or Persian. I'm not sure where I'm from, but I grew up in Texas most of my life." That seemed to be sufficient for Mary as she squinted her eyes and bit her cheek, mulling over the answer for a moment. "Okay... but... if you don't know where you're from, how do you know you're not Russian or Persian?"  At this point, Ari felt the exhaustion creeping back in and just sighed, then looked back at Mary, then asked, "Are you always this curious when you meet perfect strangers in an elevator?" Mary's eyes widened, then she smiled a huge pearly white smile, as if she couldn't contain her glee, then she looked at Ari directly in the eyes and said, "We are not perfect strangers, actually." Ari furrowed their brow and let a slight gasp escape their lips, confusion clearly all over their face at this point. "But.. How.. Wha-, what do you mean we are not perfect strangers?" Mary just giggled and replied, "You'll figure it out soon", and skipped out of the elevator doors as soon as they opened, then continued down the hall without looking back. Ari was stunned and couldn't bring themself to move... What in the world was that??? Who in the world was that?! Shaking their head, after a few moments Ari finally regained control of their body and propelled themself toward the door of their therapist's office. Pausing to look around again and see if they were being punked, and not seeing anyone around; Ari let out the breath they hadn't noticed they were holding then entered the therapist's office. Well, it seems like today's conversation topic is going to be different than I had originally planned, Ari thought, replaying Mary's gleeful and playful face over in their mind. How do I know her???