My wings took me to her home⎯to my lovely Isis. I observed her from the window as she slept on her side. I fought the urge to enter her dreams; I wasn’t ready to speak to her. I recoiled, fearful she might discover me and headed to the estate.
At home, my mother and brothers were awaiting my arrival.
“How noble of you to finally grace us with your presence, brother,” Galen said.
Eryx motioned me to take a seat with them.
“What? You’re not done ridiculing me?” I asked.
“David, they’re concerned for you. They want to ask your motive behind your actions,” Mother said.
“What actions?”
“You know what we’re referring to. Why would you do such a thing? You’ve slit your own wrists,” Eryx said.
“Until you experience this burden for yourself, you have no reason to judge my actions. I have nothing more to add.” I turned on my heel and walked toward the flight of stairs.
“David, I don’t want to meddle in your affairs,” my mother said. “But you’re my son, and—”
“Then why send them searching for me, Mother?”
“As a precaution. This emotion seems to have incapacitated you. Did you think I wouldn’t figure out what you planned to do? I had to find my way to the Runes to see if they could tell me where you were before you caused your own demise. And if that wasn’t enough, I had to return to Caelum to calm your father. He’s not pleased that we’ve remained here.” Mother took my hand in hers. “As for matters of the heart, you must be patient. The first consequence of love is pain—whether it’s the fascinating pain of love requited or the excruciating pain of a torn and tormented heart; it’s pain, nonetheless.”
I looked at my brothers. Their expressions showed their concern for my wellbeing.
“This is for you,” my mother said.
“A napkin?”
“It’s a note from Isis.”
“You delivered the Star Crest as I asked. Thank you.” I kissed her forehead.
“I promised that I would,” she said. “Make it a point to check your cell phone. You have many missed calls.”
“I do?” I asked, as I followed her into the kitchen, and she nodded.
“Are you hungry? Shall I prepare something for you?”
“Thank you, but no. If the calls are from a certain young lady, then I have other plans for breakfast.”
ISIS MARTIN
I heard the doorbell ring.
“Mom, I’m leaving now!” I hollered from the bottom of the steps.
“Have fun,” she said as she leaned over the second floor railing still in pajamas.
I swung the door open and stared into David’s remarkable face as if it were the first time I had ever seen him. He looked too perfect to be standing at my front door.
“Good morning, again.”
“Morning.” I tried not to sound too eager.
David extended his arm revealing a pink rose with a small envelope attached to it. I loved his romantic gestures, even if they might have seemed corny to anyone else.
“Thank you. It’s beautiful; I love flowers.”
“Yes, I know. Would you please read the note?”
I opened the envelope, unfolded the note, and read aloud.
***
“Beseech me;
I require no contest
Embrace me;
I shall not wince away
Proclaim me;
I will forever stay”
***
His eyes were on me as I raised my head to look at him.
“It’s amazing, David—they all are. Thank you.” I reached to him and hugged him. His body was stiff, and he didn’t return my embrace.
“Is something wrong?”
“No,” he said. “Shall we go?”
“Y-yeah.”
In my head, I questioned his unresponsiveness as he opened the car door for me. Things were different. Why was he being this way with me now, when just a few days ago he had been treating me like… like I belonged to him?
He didn’t greet me with kisses on the cheeks. He hadn’t called me “my lovely” once during our conversation. He hadn’t signed his poem “Ceaselessly Yours”. Was this his attempt to let me go?
I snuck glances at David as he drove. He never took his eyes off the road. He never once turned to gaze at me as he had always done since the first time we met. Was he still upset? It would make no sense to give me a rose and a poem if he was still mad. Yet, he didn’t talk to me as he drove.
In a neighboring city, we arrived at a pancake house. After we were seated, I took it upon myself to break the silence.
“Where were you these past few days?”
“Resolving some issues.”
During breakfast, we exchanged half-hearted smiles twice. I began to stab my pancakes in a semi-violent fashion. This silence perturbed me. I took more time than necessary to finish my breakfast, hoping that he’d speak.
David picked at his food with his fork, but he didn’t eat any of it. He kept his eyes on his plate. He asked for the check when he noticed I was on my last bite.
We walked across the parking lot and got back into the car without saying a word. He said nothing on the trip to his house as well.
“Stop the car,” I said once the car turned on the path that led to the estate.
David put the car in park.
“Turn it off,” I said, and he did. “Did I do something I shouldn’t have?”
David shook his head and reached for the ignition. I grasped his hand before he could turn the key.
“Are you still angry with me?”
“No,” he said without looking at me.
“Why are you different with me then?”
“I’m not different. I’m exactly the same.”
“No, you’re not. You’re… distant.”
He frowned in thought, and then turned to look at me.
“I’m only trying to do as you asked. I won’t press you for… we can be friends.”
I removed my hand from his and crossed my arms over my chest.
“I’ve never wanted to be your friend.”
His face grew angry. “I don’t understand you. You’re the most unsound person I’ve ever met.”
“You’re calling me crazy?”
“Certifiable.” He clenched the steering wheel.
“David, look at me.”
He turned and glared at me; his forehead and cheeks had turned a vivid red color. I took his face in my hands and fastened his lips with a hard kiss. There was no response. I had lost him.
Suddenly, his mouth reacted to the touch of my tongue and he drank me in with passion. I felt his arm wrap around my waist, pulling me to him. His hand ran up my spine and to the back of my head. His spicy scent was stronger now. I pulled away from him and gasped for air, fearing I might collapse. I had forgotten how his kisses inebriated me.
David pressed his nose to my cheek.
“If you’re playing with me…”
I cupped his cheek with my hand.
“I would never do that to you.”
I gasped as he tightened his embrace around me.
“I’m afraid you’ll never let me hold you like this again.”
“You don’t have to let me go… ever.”
“I don’t know what to believe. My mind and my heart are telling me two different things.”
I lifted his head and looked intently at him.
“Let your heart be the victor.”
“You don’t understand how fiercely my heart craves yours. If you knew…”
“Tell me.”
“It’s selfish.” He lowered his head.
“Tell me.”
“I won’t. It’s… it’s stupid.”
“Tell me.”
“I want you wholly and exclusively for me,” he confessed. “And only for me.”
I tightened my embrace around him.
&nb
sp; “Then we’re both selfish,” I said.
David’s tension eased. His fingers ran from my face, to my jaw, to my collar. He took my lips in eager and unrelenting kisses that brought life to every particle in my body. And though my lips became swollen and numb, I didn’t dare pull away from his sweet caresses. In that moment, I didn’t care what was right or wrong. The only thing I cared about was that he was with me.
***
David drove us to the lakeside. We strolled around the lake’s edge, admiring the swans and newly bloomed wildflowers. Worried that we’d be seen from the house, he pulled me into the tree shadows to hold me and kiss me. His arms felt like a refuge for my soul.
“I have questions for you,” I forewarned him.
“I wondered when you would ask more.” We settled under the shadows on the lawn. He rested his shoulders against a tree base, drawing my back against his chest and holding me. “Ask away.”
“Why did you leave this charm for me?”
“I was hoping you’d leave the difficult ones for the end.”
“A difficult girl asks difficult questions.”
“Right… Well… there’s a long story behind the Star Crest. Would you like to hear it?”
“If it gets me answers, then, yes.”
He kissed the side of my head and began his story:
“In the center of darkness there existed an immense and extraordinary light. Light grew tired of the darkness because it was like living in nothingness, so Light created the suns, stars, and planets—the universe.
“Light had a soul, but it had no vessel to carry it in. So, it created a vessel to suit its needs. The vessel was comprised of elements that were necessary for its existence. It had limbs to travel and touch with; a mouth to savor the taste of life and to speak its thoughts; eyes to take in the glory of the universe; ears to listen with and cancel out the silence; and a heart to keep the vessel alive. Light decided it needed a name, so it chose the name ‘Deus’—the Creator. The vessel that Deus created for himself required care—like food, drink, and shelter. He set out to construct a place where He could dine and slumber; He created Terra, what you know as Earth.
“One day, Deus walked upon Terra admiring the beauty of His creation, but there was no one to share in His experience. He took of His body two triangles of skin and placed them on a cloud to produce a companion. The triangles took the shape of a star. He remained in the clouds until His companion was complete.
“A female was born of the star. She was the most beautiful creature He had ever made. He thought of her as his own, being that she was made of His flesh. The woman was displeased with Deus’ assumption that she would want to be His because He was her creator. She argued with Deus telling Him she had the right to mold her own life and left Deus to roam Terra alone.
“Deus became aware of an emotion that he had never before encountered—sadness. He began to grow ill. The light that radiated inside the vessel he called ‘body’ began to dim.
“The woman observed that the silver clouds where Deus lived were no longer bright. She traveled to the clouds to question Deus, but He was too weak to answer; He was dying.
“The woman, remembering that she was made of His flesh, searched her body for the star made of His skin. She found the star in her heart; it had turned to gold and radiated a fragment of the light that once belonged to Deus. She took the star from her heart and embedded it into Deus’s chest. The light flourished within Deus, returning life to Him.
“When Deus saw He was no longer ill, He removed the star from His chest. Upon turning His gaze to the woman, He saw that her skin had become wrinkled and her hair had grown white. He pierced her chest with the star and placed it in her heart again. Slowly, she began to revert to her original state. Deus realized that the star was her essence and that she could not live without it. After seeing her sacrifice for Him, Deus fell in love with her.
“The woman learned that Deus had fallen ill because of the sadness He had felt in her absence. This moved her so much that she too fell in love with Deus.
“Feeling the overwhelming love in her heart, she began to cry tears of gold. The tears transformed into children marked with a gold star in the center of their chest—exactly like the one the woman contained in her heart.
“Deus and the woman realized these children were conceived solely of their love for each other and nothing more. The woman was overjoyed with her new children; she promised Deus she would stay with Him for all eternity.”
***
“Wow… that was a beautiful story,” I said, rotating my body so that I could look at him.
“It is, isn’t it? But I think it’s more of a biography than a story.”
“So, God has a wife?”
“Not the God you believe in, but Deus does. He’s one God with many faces, and, yet, only one.”
“And this star…” I looked at the star charm that was tied to my wrist and asked, “It's significant of both your origin and your creed?”
“Yes, but at the moment, I believe it to be more symbolic of my love for you.”
“Like a promise ring?”
“No. Much, much better,” he said, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh right. I forgot I was dealing with perfection.”
“There’s no such thing as perfection, silly.”
“What was the woman’s name, Deus’s wife?”
“Her name is Starr.”
“Pretty name.”
“That’s why this is called the Star Crest.”
He took the string with the star off my wrist and placed it around my neck. I turned, and I lifted my hair so that he could fasten it.
I thought about the story he had told me regarding relationships between humans and deities. I wondered, if that rule was still in effect, why we were together now.
“David?”
“Yes, love.”
A wide smile crossed my face in reaction to his answer. For a moment, I forgot what I was going to ask.
“You were saying?”
“Will you be in trouble for breaking the ‘no human/deity relationship rule’?”
“Don’t worry yourself with that. I have the matter under control. Just know that nothing will keep me from you.”
Nyx appeared on the porch as we walked up to the house.
“Hello, Isis. Are you hungry? I’ve prepared lunch.”
I was so happy to hear her utter those words. David and I had been out by the lake all morning. It was past noon now, and my stomach was demanding food.
“Thank you, Nyx. I’m starved,” I said.
In the dining room, Nyx had once again gone out of her way to prepare an extraordinary feast. The twins were already seated at the dining table.
“What’s the verdict?” Galen asked David.
“The verdict?” I asked.
“He senses my enthusiasm,” David said. “Can’t I have a moment of privacy at least for this?”
“The verdict is good then,” Galen said and raised his glass. “To love everlasting.”
“Are you drunk?” Eryx whispered to Galen, and Galen smiled.
“Leave them alone, Galen.” Nyx poured iced tea into my glass. “You should be so lucky. With your raw humor and narcissism, I’d wager anything that you’ll be a bachelor your entire life.”
“And yet you always compare me to Father. Is he narcissistic, too?” Galen asked.
Nyx tapped Galen’s head with her knuckles. “Be respectful.”
Eryx, David, and I laughed at Nyx’s attempt to reprimand her son.
During the course of the meal, David held my hand under the table. He, every so often, reached out to settle a strand of hair behind my ear and away from my face. Judging by the look on Galen’s face, he still seemed uneasy with David’s attentiveness toward me.
“Maybe, we should find human girlfriends,” Galen said to Eryx.
“You will do no such thing. I expect you both to keep rules in place,” Nyx said severely.
/> “Well, some rules can be bent, Mother,” Eryx said, eying David.
“No, Eryx. That’s a much different matter than you think.”
After lunch, David and I took a walk on one of the nature trails that was part of the park’s hiking route. He collected wildflowers along the way, fixing them all onto my hair.
“I hope Galen’s remarks didn’t offend you. His mouth runs on like an open faucet,” David said.
“It’s okay. It doesn’t bother me. But what did Eryx mean when he said you were bending the rules? Didn’t he mean ‘breaking’?” I asked.
“It means that as long as there’s… how shall I put this? As long as there’s no physical union between us, we’re allowed to be together.”
I looked at him wide-eyed.
“Do you understand what I mean?”
“Are you talking about… um…?” I looked to the ground too embarrassed to say it.
“Yes.” He placed his hand under my chin and lifted it. I felt warmth blooming in my ears and cheeks. “Did I embarrass you?”
“It’s just that I never talk about that subject with anyone.”
“Oh,” he said as if he had just realized something.
We continued to walk in silence along the vegetated path. I wondered what would happen with us if our relationship took a more mature course. What if we decided to get married? I was only seventeen; I had no intention of getting married anytime soon. But I had always thought that someday I would have a family of my own. I’m sure Claire would be overjoyed at the mere thought of grandchildren. What about David’s unchanging appearance? I didn’t know when or if he would age further. It could be a century before he looked twenty, for all I knew.
“What are you thinking?” David asked.
“About us.”
“What about us?”
“Well…” I began, “let’s suppose—and this is hypothetical—that sometime in the future, like years from now, our relationship advanced to something more serious. How would that work?”
“Are you saying you want to marry me?”
“I said it’s hypothetical; I know it’s premature to bring up the subject. I just… I don’t know how that would work.”
“Ah,” David said, understanding my concern. “If that were to happen, you’d have everything that marriage entails… everything.”
“How? Unless… Are you keeping something from me that I should know?”
David took my hand and brushed his lips against it.