Goddess Reborn

Past Becomes Present

"Why are we taking two cars? If we are both going to Chanelle's party would it not make more sense to go together?" I remember asking him, Marcus, my boyfriend. The man that was supposed to be the love of my life. The man that I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with.

snap

The sound of someone snapping their fingers brings me back to the moment I am in now. Seated with two men that I do not recall, and a woman that is poised to explain where I am, and how my clear memory of being killed is not what happened.

"Isla dear, you need to stay focused on this moment. There is no reason to dwell on the past, there will be time to look into it all soon. For now we need to get you back into the fold and we have very little time to do so." She comments. I nod to her, agreeing that for now I should stay focused on what I can control. Taking a moment to study her more closely I am struck by her beauty, she is tall and slender, but not frail. Her body shows a strength that is reminiscent of a dancer, she is definitely graceful in her movements, but controlled and very aware of her surroundings. Dressed in high waisted pants and a turtleneck that clings to her form it is clear she dresses for style as well as comfort. What is most shocking is her hair, though her face makes me think she is about forty at her oldest, she has the whitest hair I have ever seen. It cascades down her back in loose curls, again styled like someone much younger than the colour would suggest.

"Do not let my face fool you child, I'm older than dirt." She quips with a smile.

"Mags, that is not fair. Stop reading her thoughts and get on with it." The serious man to my right retorts. I had not even registered what had happened when he said that, but when he said that it dawned on me that she had known what I was thinking before I said it out loud. "Don't worry about it, everything will make sense soon." He finishes, directed at me. Even though I had yet again not asked a question outloud.

"Can you read minds as well?" I ask, curious how he was able to know what I had been thinking after his comment. His face took a moment to register what I meant before his mouth curved up into a wry smirk. I found myself captivated by his mouth, the smirk, a brief flash of humor in his serious demeanor.

"No, he can't read minds, if he could we would all get those angry looks all day." I heard from behind me, still enthralled by the heavenly mouth, attached to the God of man in front of me. The comment brought an end to the smirk, which made me pout briefly, before collecting myself.

"As the pea-brain beside you stated, I cannot read minds, I just know a confused look when I see one." He retorted, before gesturing to the man that had made his beautiful lips falter. The only plus being his deep melodic voice was now there, and it was beautiful. "This one is confused most of the time, so I'm often having to dumb down everything that is said to us."

"Enough, all of you. If you could so kindly keep your traps shut, I would like to get back to somewhere with less testerone." Our host snapped, eliciting all three of us to be quiet and allow her to continue with what she had to say. "Don't worry, you two can argue about who is smarter and quicker witted when I leave, I have no energy for you young bucks anymore and I want to get this all explained before the next phase hits." Her comment was highlighted with a pointed look at me, which instant sent a shiver up my spine.

"Now, Isla, we do not have much time so let me explain what I can for now. The three of you have been connected in spirit since the beginning of your existence. You three represent a balance in the fate of the human population, ensuring that there is never an overabundance of the righteous or the dammed. You help spin the fate of the humans lives, knowing their decided paths and are able to change a beings fate as you see fit. 500 years ago you were all sentenced for ending the life of someone meant to go on and do great things. You were sentenced to live out 10 lifetimes as a human before being restored to your post."

I was shocked and overall very confused about what she was saying. Here is this woman, looking like a goddess and claiming to be older than 'dirt' and even worse saying that I am some supernatural fate of the world. I could not even begin to fathom that this is something I did with these two men beside me, they looked like something cut from the pages of the best romance novels, but here they are hearing the same news as me. It was obvious they knew all of this already, the one to my left was playing with the lint on his shirt, while the man to my right was watching my expression with intense concern. I am not entirely sure what he thought I was going to do or if he was just making sure I did not faint.

"Isla dear, you have been gone the longest of the three of you. These two knuckleheads barely lasted 300 years in human lives, but you spend many years growing old and living full lives. While you were all human none of you knew the other, and yet were never far from each other. Once these two had completed their sentences they were enlisted with as many jobs as we could find. They were under strict instructions not to step in and hurry your fate along or let themselves be known to you before your sentence was up. I wish I could say they listened but none of you have been known for being able to follow the natural order or law when it came to each other." She finished with a look, meant to scold us but I just wanted to ask more questions. I could feel the smug looks on either side of me and couldn't help but let my small smile show as well at the idea of bucking the rules with these two.

"Though I know neither of them have stepped in to end your sentence, someone did. Once your memory of who you are returns it will be up to the three of you to find who has disrupted the will of fate again. I believe when that is learned we will know much more than just who has been playing with the lives in our charge." Mags finished, which is all I knew her name to be. I looked at the two beside me before clearing my throat to speak.

"I'm sorry, I have so many questions, and I am sure too many for right now, but your last comment has me wondering. If someone stepped in to hurry my sentence and someone has continued to make choices outside of what was fated to happen, then were we wrongfully accused of this crime? I cannot see how we could have done this, and then be pushed to come back to a life we were punished from?" I pondered. I was met with a look I was not familiar with, pride. Mags was looking down at me with a smile and a nod.

"You're right my dear, I do believe you were framed. Always more clever than anyone gave you credit for. Keep this close to the chest, do not let anyone know what is suspected. You need to gather information and allies, I feel there is more to come and it will get worse before it is done. Now, Isla, you are in for a difficult couple days. Take the time to get to know your team, your better halves, and be patient. Your past needs to return to you, rewriting what you know of the world and those in it. That will not come without some pain and some effort. Rely on the boys to have them shoulder some of that for you, the more you let them in the quicker you will recover. In five days I will return to sew your progress and give you a starting point for who could know something about what is happening out there." She finished as she turned to leave. Putting on a beautiful crimson shawl she turned to bid us farewell, telling the guys to watch over me and she walked out the door.

I ran to the door to stop her, wanting to ask more questions but when I opened the door she was gone. I was looking out onto a green field, the sound of cicadas in the air. It looked like a beautiful summer day in the south, but it also seemed like it was not really there. That I was looking at a green screen, or a movie, that it was an idea of what I thought would be there. I closed the door and looked back into the cottage, feeling confused and defeated.

"Well doll, welcome to the circus!" The more jovial of the two said, jumping up to his feet and clapping his hands with a smile. "I am going to make something to eat, what do you like? We can do tacos? pizza? Oh! Burgers!! That's it, we are having burgers!" He exclaimed moving away from us to the kitchen, or what I presumed was a kitchen. I still had not seen the whole of where I am, but I had a feeling if food is mentioned there had to be a kitchen.

"Wait, if we aren't alive, then why eat?" I asked, more to the room then to any specific person. When I heard a hmph from where we had been sitting I looked up into the eyes of the brooding man sitting there. Initially I assumed it was a sound of sarcasm, but when looking at his deep hazel eyes it was something much lighter. Knowing he was amused by what I had said made me cheeks pink I'm embarrassment. I had in that moment realized just how much more there is for me to learn.

"We aren't dead Isla, we just aren't human." His answer was short, making my eyebrows scrunch together in both confusion and question. Like he knew my frustration in his comment he continued. "There is much you need to learn, and you will. For now the easiest explanation is this; we are alive and need ways to gain energy. Our choices for how we gain energy are up to us, we have always chosen food for the sheer pleasure that is eating. While not human, we are still bound to our form, and we must sustain it. As we eat we will tell you about us, you can tell us about your life and what you remember of your death. Perhaps we will find some clues in who changed things if we know what happened to you. After that, sleep. Sleep is the only way you will learn and gain back your previous life." He finished. I still had so many questions as I looked between him and then back to the door. I knew he was right though, and I do not know why but I trusted him, both of them. I wanted to learn and see what was next and I knew I wanted to do it with them.

"Thank you." I said, barely above a whisper. This earned a confused look from my brooding friend. "For coming for me. For not rushing me, and for not judging my confusion. This all feels like so much to learn and understand, I feel like I should be terrified, and yet I am not. Instead, I feel like I am safe, and I don't know how to explain it, but I know I can trust you... Both of you." I finish with a small smile.

"I... we, could never hurt you. As Mags said, you are a piece of us, and that is something much bigger than you could know at this moment, but you will." He answered, standing from his seared position and coming to me at the door. As he pulled me into a hug I felt a sense of calm, of comfort, but also something else. There was a love and passion there that I had never felt in any hug I had felt before. The moment took my breath away briefly, before I let myself relax into the feeling and return the gesture.

We stood there in a comfortable silence, hugging and just being in that moment until we heard a call from the other room that it is time to eat. As soon as he stepped away I missed the touch, but when his eyes met mine something told me this wouldn't be the last time I would be in his embrace.