Emi the Deity Ch10

Emi the Deity
By Krissie Gault
PREVIOUS
Chapter 10: Paint the Roses with Water

Emi tried to create water, but he just couldn’t figure out how. He had tried humming, but he wasn’t getting a response from any water anywhere. In fact, it just felt unbearably hot to him. Emi couldn’t feel any water anywhere in the field. Every time Emi had used his powers water had been around in spades. Emi sat on the dirt path, cradling his head in his hands.

He glared touching his head. He was burning up, but he wasn’t sweating.

“If I was sweating, maybe I could use that to water these fields.” Emi thought to himself. “It wouldn’t do much though.” He looked around at the miles of wilted roses bushes.

A woman stood at the balcony again. She frowned as she stared into a clear pond. She turned at a rustling sound.

“He’s been taken to the dying rose fields,” She stated as she looked at the figure behind her. She turned back to lean over the railing. “If he can not revive those fields, I’m afraid the rose deity will turn violent.”

“She does jump first into action,” the male figure crossed his arms. “What do you suggest, my lady?”

“Send the deity of death,” She ordered. “The boy already knows Grey. He will not have too many questions of him.”

“As you wish my lady.”

Grey smirked as he leaned back in his chair. “So the new guy has been kidnapped by the rose deity?” He tapped his fingers on the arms of his chair rhythmically. “This will be fun to watch.” He leaned forward to stare at large screen showing Emi and Carmen on it.

“Do you intend to just watch?” the man who was just with the elegantly dressed woman at the balcony stood with his back against the wall.

“Am I not allowed to?” Grey fringed innocence. The man growled in response. Grey laughed as he dusted off his shirt. He stood and dusted off his pants. “Relax I’m going.” He walked to the man and leaned in with a smile. “Don’t be upset if things don’t go the way you want. After all, you’re the ones hiding.” The last word came out as long and song like. With that, Grey spun out of the door.

Emi was sweating. He growled though, all the sweat he was feeling and there wasn’t enough to put on the plants. Though we was trying.

“I need to start drinking more water,” Emi thought to himself.

“So how’s it going?” Carmen asked as she ran up to him. Her eyes were super hopeful.

Emi stared at her wearily. A part of him wondering how she wasn’t dying in this heat.

Carmen the Rose Deity was a short woman. Her red hair went down her back and stopped short at her waist. She wore sandals with a rose design on them. A simple tank top and shorts.

“Uhm…” Emi felt his tongue weigh down in his throat.

KA-BOOM!

The two jumped as they looked over a mere few yards away and found that a portion of the garden had been turned to dust.

Emi the Deity Ch9

Emi the Deity

By Krissie
PREVIOUS

Chapter 9: A Kidnapping

“She’s the deity!” The customer jumped up excitedly. Her hands clapped together.

Emi stared at her confused. “Uhh…”

She walked up to Emi with the happiest look in her eyes. She grabbed a hold of his hand. “I’ve been looking for you! I’m so glad you’re such a kind young lady.”

“Eh,” Emi tried to step back. “Listen, I think you’re confused,”

“No I’m not. You’re the new water deity!” She threw her arms around him. Her hug was so tight that Emi felt his bones begin to crack. “I’m so glad I found you! Come on, the fields are in desperate need of you.” She began pulling Emi by his hand.

“Fields?” Emi gasped, “What are you talking about?”

She simply giggled. “My fields. I need you to heal them. My deity powers aren’t enough to heal them.” She placed a 20 dollar bill on the table. She turned and grabbed a hold of Emi’s hands, “But with you, I can heal them all up. My fields will be lively and beautiful again!”

“Listen, I don’t think,” Emi began but was cut off by her dragging him to the door. Once they stood outside, she grabbed the rose hairpin from her hair. She snapped the hairpin opened and it became a portal. “What’s that!?” Emi gasped.

“It’s a portal to my fields,” she stated, “Now come on. My fields don’t have long.”

Emi was pushed into the portal.

Emi landed into a field. He cried out as thorns stuck his arms. He sat up and stared around him. For miles and miles on end, there was nothing but roses. There was a dirt path were the branches and vines of roses didn’t overlap for people to walk on. It would have been beautiful, except for the fact that all of the foliage here was brown and withered.

“Where is this place?” Emi shouted.

“These are my flowers fields,” the woman stated as she came through the portal. “I’m Carmen, a rose deity.” She waved her hands over the fields as she brought Emi to the dirt path. “I’ve tried my best to keep my roses alive, but something is keeping them from thriving. I think they’re not getting enough water. I’ve brought all the water I can, but it’s not enough. But you can create plenty of water for my roses.”

Carmen grabbed hold of Emi’s hands, a hopeful look in her eyes.

Emi bit his lip. He was sure the roses used to be beautiful. He was a water deity, Carmen had gotten that right. But Emi had never created water. He was still having trouble not freezing water. He had no clue if he could ‘create’ water for these dying fields. But he didn’t want to disappoint the deity.

“It’s a deity’s job to help those in need when it falls into their area,” Symphia stated during one of their training sessions.

Emi smiled as he placed a hand over hers. “I’ll try my best. But I can’t guarantee anything. I’m still very new to this deity thing.”

“Just so long as my roses are brought back to life,” Carmen stated, “I’ll be happy.”
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Emi the Deity Ch8

Emi the Deity

By Krissie Gault

Chapter 8: The Café

PREVIOUS

Carmen found herself standing on a small bridge in the koi pond. She leaned down to look at the fish swimming away.

“Hey, do you guys know of a water deity?” She asked the fish. Several of the koi jumped up and pointed with their heads in a direction. Another group wrote out café with their bodies. She nodded, “Thanks for your help.”

Carmen skipped down the road.

The koi fish began talking amongst themselves.

A rose deity! A rose deity!

Such a weird sight indeed.

Wonder what she wants?

Wish I could watch.

Shush...

Maybe they’ll come by here.

The café was filled to the brim with people. Carmen walked into the busy café and paused at the sign that said, “Please wait to be seated.”

“Just one,” a young girl asked. Her raven hair was curly and pinned up into two round balls at the sides of her head. Two long ponytails looped underneath her hair. Her dress was long and ruffled out at the ends. The top of the dress was just below her collarbone and was adorn with golden circles. Her sleeves reminded Carmen of seashells. She also wore a pear bracelet on her left wrist.

Carmen thought she was absolutely adorable. She responded with a warm and excited yes.

The girl carefully lifted her skirt to walk without tripping. Her white heels had a crescent moon on them. She politely pulled out a chair for Carmen. She placed the menu in front of her. “Is there anything I can get you to drink while you decide what you’d like?” Her voice was a soft tenor. Her eyes were an icey blue that would send shivers down people’s spine. But she just appeared to warm and to Carmen, her eyes reminded her of pool water.

“Just water for now, please.” Carmen stated as she opened the menu. She looked up from the menu around the café. The water deity was here somewhere. All Carmen had to do was find him. She glanced at the menu before scanning over the café. She couldn’t see anything that looked like water powers.

An hour later and she still hadn’t seen anything that looked like the water deity. She had drank at least 3 glasses of water as she tried to figure out where the deity would be. A few trips to the bathroom later and she still had nothing.

“Emi can you clean that table off?” A girl dressed in a Japanese school girl uniform pointed at a table that had recently been sitting a family of six. It was a total mess, but Emi simply nodded.

“I’ve got it!” Emi replied as he placed another glass in front of Carmen.

“Such a kind young lady,” Carmen thought as she took a sip of her fourth glass.

Emi picked up a half full glass of soda and Carmen’s eyes widened. The soda inside froze on contact. The crackling sound of the sudden freeze drew Emi’s attention to it. His eyes widen as he grimace. He began moving quickly, hopefully no noticed.

“She’s the deity!” Carmen cheered aloud as she stood up abruptly.

Emi turned to stare at her confused.
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Emi the Deity Ch7

Emi the Deity

Book 2: The Dry Rose Garden

By Krissie Gault

Read Book 1 here

Chapter 7: Volume 2

His dress flowed to the ground. It was white with ruffles. The sleeves resembled sea shells and rested on his shoulders. The top lining of the dress were golden circles that rested below his collar bone. Emideus Cheshire Saint, Emi for short, was dressed as an anime princess of the moon. It matched the cosplay theme of the café perfectly. The café’s theme? Planets.

There were several moon princesses and even characters that represented other planets. Everyone chuckled when one of the servers came dressed as Captain Planet, a late 80s/early 90s super hero.

Emi twirled around in his dress on the stage. He lip sung a Sailor Moon song that was requested by several of the patrons. They even filled the tip jar a quarter full trying to bring the musical performances quicker.

Emi was elated.

Today was a great day! He could feel it. He hadn’t had any power hiccups all days. Which instantly made Emi’s day great. Emi skipped down the steps of the stage and beamed a wide grin as he walked over to a table. Two high school aged boys and three high school aged girls sat there.

“Did you enjoy the song?” Emi did his best impression of the character.

“You were wonderful!” the girl with pigtails gushed. The girl with a braid nodded in agreement. “Don’t you guys think so?” She leaned on the table as she addressed the boys accompanying them.

Two of the boys shrugged, “I guess.” They didn’t look like twins, but Emi found it amazing that they were so in sync. One had strawberry blond hair with freckles. He wore an Assassin Creed shirt. The other had curly black hair styled into an afro. He wore a Metroid shirt.

The third boy was the oldest there. He looked Emi up and down curiously before smirking. He wore a shirt with several video game controls on it. He wore several rubber bracelets on his right arm. “It’s been a while,” he waved lazily. “I can’t believe you work here? And in character too.”

Emi gave a smile though on the inside he was nervous. The man before him was Chad. Chad was a few grades behind him. Now Chad was either a junior or senior. Emi couldn’t completely recall. But he remembered Chad. Chad was rambunctious and always full of energy. Chad had tried out for every single sport he could just to get rid of all that extra energy he had.

“I almost didn’t recognize you,” Emi admitted, staying in character. “I hope you found an activity to help disperse all your energy.”

Chad grinned ear to ear. “I did! Tap dance actually. Not what pops was hoping for, but when you shine you shine. These are freshmen from our school. Glenda and Bria were raving about this place and brought us along. I’m glad I came. Now I get to brag about what a star you were when you were in high school.”

Emi blushed. “I wasn’t really a star…”

“She went to our high school!?” The girl with the braid squealed as she clasped her hands together.

Chad simply nodded. “Yep. Princess Serenity here went to the same high school as us. I was lucky to be in share the same school with this talent for two years. I remember causing you all kinds of trouble.” He smiled at Emi apologetically but with a warm joke attached. “If I recall you were on the cheers quad and in drama club for a while weren’t you? I don’t remember if you took chorus or not.”

“Chorus and the cheer squad had too many overlapping dates. So I wasn’t in chorus.” Emi replied. “But good memory.” He added a wink.

“I’m flattered,” Chad bowed.

“I can’t believe it! I want to the same school as Princess Serenity.” The braided hair girl continued to gush with the girl with pigtails.

“Now is there anything I can get for you guys?” Emi did his best to stifle his giggle. They had no clue that under this dress he was a man.

“How about our checks? I think it’s about time to be heading home before Bria here decides to become your ultimate fan girl,” Chad jabbed a thumb at the girl with the braid.

Emi nodded. “I’ll be right back with those.”

Quick work at the register and Emi returned to their table with the checks. He was also greatly relieved that Chad didn’t out him as a man. Emi wouldn’t have minded, but it seemed to cause an uproar when patrons found out. It was like the concept of cross dressing was foreign to them. But then again, he was on the Bible Belt.

“Guess they’re just not ready for crossing dressers yet.” Emi thought as he handed out the checks to the group.

“You can pay at the cash register over there,” Emi pointed towards the register. He began to clean up once the group left. He dropped the dirty dishes off in the sink and returned with a cloth to wipe it off. Someone swept while he returned the cloth with made Emi happy because it was one less thing for him to do. He checked on the other tables.

The fields were covered in roses. There was a maze like path for people to walk through. The roses were normally beautiful and blooming constantly. But something was wrong. The roses were turning brown and the leaves were shriveling. It was like the rose fields were dying. This greatly disturbed the deity of roses, Carmen. She had been trying every means she could in her power to bring the roses back to life. But none of her powers were enough. She had been bringing all the water she could carry to her fields, but even that wasn’t enough.

What she needed was a water deity who could bring water to withering field.

There was just a small snag with that. She didn’t know where to find any water deities. In fact, it seemed that they were becoming a bit scarce. No one heard any tale of them dying, but it was just that no one had seen them. Like they all were just hiding.

“What a time to be playing hide and seek,” Carmen grumbled. She perked up as she saw a fairy flying overhead. “Why didn’t I think of it before? I could just get a water fairy or nymph!” She thought as she called the fairy over.

The fairy had her blond hair pulled back into a low pony tail. Her dress was made of dandelion petals. Her wings were a pale pink with sparkly swirl designs.

“Hey, do you know where I can find a water fairy? Nymph? Anything really? My roses are dying here without it.” She waved her hand around the field.

The fairy nodded. “So sad too that there’s not enough water for them. Why don’t you go ask a water god? They’d be able to fix this in a tick.”

“No one has seen a water god or deity in ages.” Carmen replied.

“Really? I’ve been hearing that there was a water deity in a city south of here. Maybe you can ask them?” the fairy suggested.

“What’s the name of that city?”

The fairy thought for a moment before answering. It was a simple city. But it was also a decent size. Carmen packed a bag and raced down to that state.
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Emi the Deity Ch6

Emi the Deity

By Krissie Gault
PREVIOUS

Chapter 6: The Jewelry Store

The jewelry store was a simple store. Emi was surprised. He hadn’t expected to be taken to a jewelry store for mythical creatures.

“Well we can’t take a centaur to a human jewelry store,” Symphia stated matter-of-factly when Emi had asked.

Now they were looking at pieces of elaborate jewelry. Harris looked overwhelmed.

“Harris, what here do you think Ethel would like? Or look really pretty in?” Emi asked helpfully.

“Well, Ethel loves the yellow wild flowers.” Harris answered with a shrugged. “She looks lovely with in crowns made from them.” He smiled as he thought of her.

“Well maybe something to match those flowers then?” Emi suggested.

“That would be wise,” Symphia smiled. “You should pick something here that you think she’ll love. So don’t be shy Harris.”

Harris nodded as he carefully walked around. He was trying to be careful not to walk on any of the little creatures. The store was run by gnomes and dwarfs. Fairies were flying around here and there.

It was a beautiful sight to Emi, but it made walking difficult for Harris. He had to constantly check that a little creature wasn’t under his foot.

“This looks lovely.” Harris pointed to a simple necklace. It had dangling glass flowers hanging off of it. They were all different colors connected together by a brass chain. The flowers were a pale orange and yellow. In the center was a large yellow flower with an orange flower in the center.

Symphia smiled in approval. “That will be perfect.”

Emi nodded in agreement.

After buying the necklace, they walked with Harris to Ethel’s house. Symphia and Emi waited by the mail box outside a large stable like house. It was a nice deep red house. Harris walked up slowly to the front door and knocked on the door. He held the box in his hand carefully.

The door opened as a large female centaur. She had a plump face and brown curly hair that was loosely tied in a pony tail that rolled over her shoulder. She smiled brightly at Harris.

Harris held the box out to her.

She looked at the box curiously as she took it from him and opened it. A smile spread across her face. She wrapped her arms around Harris’s shoulders.

Symphia nodded as she turned to Emi. “Our work here is done. Now let’s go back home.”

Emi nodded. Then a thought occurred to him. “I have to rebuy my groceries,” he muttered.

Symphia chuckled.

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Emi the Deity Ch5

Emi the Deity
PREVIOUS
Chapter 5: Centaur Chase

Emi was out of breath. He could hear the chaos from the rampaging centaur. He had taken refuge inside a large store. It was one of those stores were you could buy a whole bunch of stuff in bulk. He and several others ran inside the store. People were already dialing 9-1-1. Emi took a deep breath as he pulled out his phone. He searched the contacts.

He was so glad Symphia had given him her cell number. She told him to text her any questions he had. She was at work, but he had no clue how to deal with a centaur. He typed the text as quickly as he could and pressed entered. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. The centaur was getting closer. He made a mad dash to the back of the store.

Emi found himself in an aisle of kitchen ware. He crouched down in the aisle and grabbed a frying pan. He jolted up and bumped his head on one of the shelfs when his phone rang.

“Oow…” Emi rubbed his head. He pressed the green button on his phone. “Hello?”

“Where are you?” Symphia demanded.

“A whole food store,” he answered.

“Where’s the centaur?”

“Outside somewhere. I could hear him rampaging from the front of the store.”

“What did he want from you?”

“He said something about giving him my powers. A guy tried to stop him and then he stomped on him. I ran first chance I got.”

“Centaurs aren’t normally violent.” Symphia muttered on the end.

“Well not everyone is a stereotype,” Emi replied, “Because this one is violent. You should have seen the way he stomped that guy. It was terrifying.”

“I know. We have patients entering the hospital right now. But I’m on my way to you. So just hang tight until I get there.”

“Will do.” Emi saluted. A click later and his phone was back in his pocket. Several other people had joined him. They each had similar ideas to him as they grabbed kitchen ware as potential weapons. Some cuddled their families that were with them. Emi began practicing breathing techniques as he tried to stay calm. It was becoming difficult as he felt like his throat was closing off. He really needed some fresh air.

But with a centaur rampaging outside, he wasn’t about to go out there.

There was a loud bang and people screamed as they jumped, hugging their loved ones tightly to them. There were a few more bangs before there was the shattering of glass. Emi felt his hair stand on end as he heard the struggled breathing. Whatever it was was growing tired. Emi knew that it could only be the centaur though. He gripped the pan tighter as he listened to the steps.

Clack-Clack. Clack-Clack.

He was amazed that stepping on broken glass didn’t hurt the centaur’s hooves. Though maybe the centaur was hyped up on adrenaline and couldn’t feel pain.

The steps grew closer. Emi felt like the centaur was only a row or two away. People cried and backed away as the creature walked up and down the rows.

Emi’s blue eyes widened in terror as he saw a glimpse of the centaur walking up to the end of the row. Emi shrunk down and attempted to crawl under the row itself. Maybe then the centaur wouldn’t notice him.

The centaur’s pupils shrunk as he took notice of raven hair. He had grabbed hold of several raven heads looking for the new deity but it was the only feature he could use to find the deity. He yanked at the tuff of black hair.

A loud yelp escaped as several others cried.

“There you are,” came the low growl.

Emi’s blue eyes struggled to look back at the centaur. He attempted to grip the pan tighter but he wound up grabbing air. When the centaur grabbed him, he had dropped the pan.

Curses! I’m going to die… and defenseless too boot!

Emi closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. He really was having trouble breathing. But if he didn’t scream now, how would a knight in shining armor come to save him. He curled up his body as he built up everything inside of himself.

The scream shocked the centaur, but he only held the deity farther from him. If the deity was any good with his powers, he would have used them earlier. Everyone screamed with him, some couldn’t find the strength to move while others made a mad dash out of there.

Several bottles popped opened a few rows down. People hollered as they ran from the flooding row. The small river of soda and juice came under the rows towards Emi and the centaur.

“So that is your power?”

“You want my power and you don’t even know what it is?” Emi screeched, his voice hoarse from screaming.

The centaur nodded.

“Isn’t that just stupid? I mean, why would you want a power if you don’t know what it is? For you all know, my power could be the stupidest power ever!” Emi waved his hand. “Why do you even want my power anyway?”

“So I can be stronger,” the centaur answered simply.

“But for what purpose?” Emi crossed his arms. “Why do you need my power to be stronger?”

The centaur thought for a moment. “How else will I get stronger?”

“By working out,” Emi answered matter-of-factly. “But for what purpose do you need to be stronger? You seem plenty strong to me. My powers would only be a hindrance to you. They are for me.”

“Purpose?”

“Yeah. Why do you need to be stronger?” Emi stated. “Were you challenged to a fight by another centaur and you’re worried you might not be able to take him?”

“No. I am the strongest centaur there is,” he stated sternly. It was as if he was insulted by the very notion.

“Then why do you need my powers?” Emi asked again. “I’d at least like to know why I’m being yanked in the air by my hair. By the way, it really hurts.” He gestured to his hair that was wrapped around the centaur’s hand.

“Oh,” the centaur simply said. He lower Emi to the ground cautiously. “Do not run away again.”

“I’ll wait to hear your reason,” Emi shrugged as he sat down, crossing his legs. “After that, I make no promises.”

The centaur nodded as he thought for a brief moment. “I need your powers because Ethel told me I needed to bring her something valuable. What could be more valuable than the power of a deity?”

“Ah,” Emi nodded. “Did you ask Ethel to marry you? Is that why she wants something valuable?”

The centaur turned red and glared at Emi. “Are you a mind reader deity?”

“No. But I know enough stereotypes to tell that my life just became a manga.” Emi shrugged. “Though I doubt Ethel wants my powers. I think she was referring to something else when she said she wanted something valuable.”

“What else could Ethel want?” the centaur threw his hands in the air.

Emi smiled at the centaur. He opened his mouth, but a voice cut him off.

“Emi!” Symphia cried as she rushed to hug him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, the centaur and I are talking.” Emi stated. “He wants my powers to give to a lady named Ethel that he proposed to. Love isn’t my area, but it’s yours. Would you mind giving him a hand?”

Symphia light up like a Christmas tree. “It is my specialty!” She jumped up and grabbed the centaur’s hands. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you achieve a happy love life.” She turned over the centaur’s hands and stare intently into his palms. Her eyes glowed magenta as she traced lines on his hands. Strings formed around her. The strings disappeared shortly after and her eyes turned back to their warm brown. “I know something that she’ll find valuable.”

“Is it jewelry?” Emi smiled. “Girls really like jewelry.”

“Exactly!” Symphia nodded. “I know just the kind. Harris, would you mind coming with me?”

“How do you know my name?” The centaur took a step back from her.

“Because I’m a love deity. Names are an easy thing to find,” she winked. “Now come on.” 
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Emi the Deity Ch4

Emi the Deity

By Krissie
PREVIOUS

Chapter 4:

Today was the first day of Deity 101. Emi was nervous. Carmike had already left back home to manage his booming business. He wish he had begged his uncle to stay with him. So now Emi was seating in the patio chair bouncing his knee up and down alone.

“Emi relax,” the boss spoke soothingly as she came out with a tray of cups and a pitcher of fresh lemonade. She poured him a glass before pouring hers. “Symphia said she would be here in a within the next five minutes. That Grey fellow may or may not come.” She sat down across from him with a nice smile. “No need to be so anxious.”

Emi nodded.

They had decided to have Deity 101 at the café on Sunday. The only day the café was closed. The boss had a lovely back patio. With a nice garden that customers loved to walk around. The boss took great pride in growing a majority of the plants herself. It was a large garden area. With tall trees around the edges, creating a fence.

“How’s the lemonade?” the boss asked with a hum.

Emi glanced up at her and then back at his untouched cup. He quickly took a sip. His puckered up at the tartness of it. “It’s good,” he replied.

“It’s too sour though,” she pouted. “You know you shouldn’t tell me everything I make is good just to spare my feelings. Ladies like a man who is honest, no matter what.”

“Yes boss,” Emi bowed his head.

“Sorry I’m late!” Symphia called.

The boss and Emi looked up to see the Indian woman on top of the roof. She jumped and with a wave of her hands, strings of many colors appeared everywhere. Her feet landed on several clusters of the strands daintily. Her weight caused the strings to lower her safely to the ground. Once her feet were touching the ground, she snapped her fingers and the strings disappeared.

“My, that was certainly a neat trick!” the boss clapped her hands.

“That was a landing move. It’s actually really difficult to learn and requires a ton of practice.” Symphia smiled as she dusted off her nurse pants. “Pardon my appearance. Work kept me a bit later than I thought.”

“It’s okay.” Emi stated. “Will I be able to that thing with the strings when I get the hang of this deity thing?”

“No. But you will be able to do something similar.” Symphia assured. “I’m a deity of love, so my powers and abilities are very different from yours. I used strings of fate to land. You, since you are a water deity, will probably use water in order to land safely. But first we should start with basics.”

“Can I ask how you became a deity?” Emi ran his finger along the edge of his cup.

“Me? Well it was years ago,” Symphia waved her hand. “But it was a lot different from you. In the town where I was born, I liked to help all of my friends with their love life. If they were pining or aching, they would come to me for advice. I was very good at it. I was even good at playing match maker. A rumor started that if I made a match it would last through reincarnation. People from all over came to visit me to see if my talent was true. Then one day, a god visited me. He saw that I indeed had a mystical talent to see bonding ties between people. So he made me a deity of love, so that I could always help people find love. We discussed it for weeks before I became one and I was well taught during that time. I am very glad to be a deity. But you’re a different deity.” Symphia paused as she placed her hand on top of Emi’s.

“You were made without consent by a god you never saw,” Symphia stated firmly. “It’s not a proper way to make a deity. And it is very odd for a god to do so. The other gods will be displeased by this. Especially since most deities who are made through such means turn bad and become demons. But you’re a sweet soul. I want to make sure you know the rules and can grow.”

“Rules? What are the rules of deities?” Emi sat up straight, curious.

“There are many rules. I don’t even remember them all. But the most important is to do your job or assign task. However, you weren’t given one, so you’ll be fine. But you need to learn how to use your powers first. Almost everyone’s powers are connected to their emotions. So the best thing to do is just to practice.”

“So I’m going into this blind?” Emi pouted.

“Not completely. You can freeze liquids. So we know what element to focus on.” Symphia stated proudly. “So let’s focus on trying to do something with that puddle of water over there.”

Emi got up and walked to the small puddle of water sitting in one of the chairs. “What should I do?”

“Well try to see if you can freeze it,” Symphia shrugged as she stood beside him.

Emi took a deep breath.

“Just try to feel the same emotions you feel when the water freezes. That normally does the trick.”

Emi placed his hands on his hips. He could remember what he had felt when the water froze. He was just working. So maybe stress? He certainly felt anxious now. He leaned over some, propping his hand on the bench. He tapped his fingers and he tried to figure out how to freeze the water. The gears were turning, and he stared intently at the water.

Subconsciously, he began humming.

The water began to come up in little sprouts. All in a line, bobbing up and down like one of those audio graph.

Emi jumped back. “Did I?”

“Well that wasn’t what I was expecting,” Symphia hummed as she clapped. “But it seems humming can cause water to move.”

“That explains the kitchen bubbles.” Emi nodded as he placed his hands in his pockets.

“Maybe if you sing a song, something really cool will happen!” The boss stated as she cleaned her camera lens.

“What are you going to do with that camera?” Emi exclaimed.

The training had amazingly gone smoothly. Emi hadn’t been able to freeze any water. But he did find out that if he sang songs that he could move the water. The streams could only go up and down, but Symphia assured him that with practice and time, he’d be able to make the water move into other shapes.

Emi felt more comfortable with this though. If he could gain control over these new abilities, he could hopefully live a normal life. After all, Symphia was a deity and she worked at the hospital.

He examined the tomatoes before picking three. Today was Sunday and he hadn’t gone grocery shopping yet. Carmike wasn’t sure when he would feel like eating, so the only thing Carmike bought were cans of soup and ravioli. Emi, however, wasn’t in the mood for canned food today. In fact, the only thing he wanted was a sandwich and those little carrot sticks. He placed his choice of tomatoes in his basket. He got bread, sliced ham, cheese, tomatoes, and orange juice.

Emi carried the brown paper back out of the store. He had only walked a block when everyone around him started whispering about a movie. They were all in awe and some were taking pictures. Emi turned to see what they were so infatuated with. What he saw on the other side of the street was a centaur.

The centaur had the upper half a man and the lower half of a horse. Emi tried to find the seams to the costume but couldn’t. It was a very well made one. The man had dark black stringy hair that came midway back. He had a scruffy beard and sharp, daring brown eyes. His body was built like that of a body builder. The horse part of the centaur was a chocolate brown with a dark brown tail. He turned his head and locked eyes with Emi.

Emi turned away quickly. It was rude that stare. The crosswalk sign changed to a person and Emi quickly walked across. He needed to stay focused. He was going to go home, make a sandwich, do the laundry, and then get a long good night’s sleep before going to work tomorrow.

Emi yelped as he was suddenly hoisted into the air. He clung tight to the paper bag, squishing the bread.

“So, it is you,” a deep male voice spoke. It was a powerful yet soft voice.

Emi cracked open one eye and looked at the person who had picked him up. It was the centaur. The centaur pulled Emi closer to get a better look at him. Hot breath blowing Emi’s hair out of his face.

“Such a weak fragile deity,” the centaur stared with indifference, but Emi could feel a hint of displeasure.

Emi looked around nervously and people were just looking on in awe. Some were whispering about it being a film set. Emi wish someone would realize that this wasn’t a movie stunt.

Emi looked at the ground. He was good two feet off of the ground. He could survive that drop if someone rushed the centaur. “Can you put me down please?” His voice came out as a rough squeak.

The centaur placed Emi on the ground and then tightly grabbed him at the top of Emi’s head and forcibly craned it back. Emi screamed in pain and suddenly the people around began to realize this wasn’t for a movie. “Give me your powers and I’ll let you live.”

“Hey what are you doing to that girl?” A man demanded as he walked up to them.

Emi didn’t have the ability to correct the man. He was just glad someone was giving him a hand.

The centaur glared at the man. He released Emi and turned to the man. His front feet high in the air. A good foot about the man’s head. The man froze and stared at the centaur. The centaur lowered his feet on the man’s head.

People screamed as the man laid knocked on the ground, blood coming from his head. The on-lookers ran in all directions. Emi stumbled to his feet and quickly ran into the chaos. He wasn’t about to let a centaur who probably just killed a man catch him again. The groceries he had bought laid scattered on the ground.

The centaur turned and growled as he couldn’t find the deity again. He stomped his feet as he rushed after someone with long black hair.
[][][
NEXT

Emi the Deity Ch3

Emi the Deity
PREVIOUS

Chapter 3: I have powers?!

The sound of the shower filled the house. Carmike fried eggs and sausage in the kitchen. Carmike smiled as he heard Emi singing. He shook his head at the silly song his nephew was singing. He finished the meal and placed it on the table. He held the still hot frying pan under the sink facet and turned it. Cold water shot out for a brief second and the pan sizzled as the water evaporated. This was normal.

What wasn’t normal was that the water in the spout started coming out as bubbles that floated around the kitchen. Carmike stood still watching for a moment in confusion.

Emi walked into the kitchen. A bright smile was on his face. He was brushing his curly hair and was singing a Johnny Horton song. He plucked the hairs out of the brush and threw them away.

“So what’s for…?” He paused as he stared at the floating bubbles. He gestured to the bubbles with his hand, “What? How? Why?” The soft whisper was barely audible.

Carmike flung his arms about. “I turned the nob and then those came out! I was just trying to rinse the pan out so it wouldn’t be super greasy later. So I held it,” Carmike began to ramble and Emi tuned him out quickly.

The ebony haired male walked around the bubbles. His eyes were wide with curiosity. He reached his hand out to poke one of the bubbles and it burst. All of the bubbles burst at once. Leaving the floor and most of the items in the kitchen nicely wet. Luckily it was mainly the floor.

“It’s a good thing I’m working in between the dinner and lunch shift today.” Emi mused dryly as he went to grab the mop from the storage room. Carmike could only nod in agreement.

It took about two hours to clean up all the water. Neither Carmike nor Emi could come up with a reasonable explanation for what happened. Carmike dropped Emi off at work, stating he would call a plumber friend and ask.

Today Emi got to wear a costume. The first time since he wound up in a coma. Today he got to dress up as a fairytale princess. All his female co-workers had agreed that it suited him. Emi didn’t mind, so he proudly wore the outfit. He was very thankful to be wearing flats though.

“Can you do magic?” A little girl asked. She had round brown eyes. Her cute little curls were tight to her head. Her yellow and black dress reminded Emi of a bumblebee.

“Oh, not much,” Emi focused hard on keeping his voice an airy high note. “I’m still in training.”

“Can I see?” She bounced in excitement. Her family giggled in amusement.

Emi smiled as he pulled out the small toy want from his sleeve. “I can’t guarantee anything will happen.” Emi hummed a bit as he waved the wand around the table. His eyes drifting up to see Jeff in the rafters above. A small bucket of confetti in his hands. Emi’s smile grew across his whole face as he turned his blue eyes back to the little girl. “Abracadabra!” Emi flicked the wand.

Confetti fell down from the ceiling onto the young girl. Giggles erupted from her. Her family members clapped happily. All five of them.

“And well you look at your cup honey,” the father explained as he stared at the cup. “That’s some magic trick.”

Everyone turned to see the cup. It should have been a simple hard plastic cup. It was green in color. But now, the cup no longer looked like the simple cup it had been. It was now adorn with frosty images of ballerinas and snowflakes. All of it was made in ice it seemed. It also appeared to be on both side of the cup. Around the straw was more frost with a dolphin shaped tip to sip the Sprite through. Everyone marveled at it. Except Emi. He glanced up to Jeff, who shrugged, not knowing how it had happened. He looked around at all the nearby servers. All of them seemed amazed by the cup as well. No one gave any sign of being the cause of it. Emi felt a sickening feeling in his stomach.

“Thank you very much princess!” The little girl cheered as she hugged Emi.

Emi smiled back as he hugged her. “You’re welcome dearie. I guess I have more magic then I thought.” He gave a sweet laugh as he helped the girl back into her seat. “Is there anything else I can get you?” His attention now on the adults.

“So more unsweet tea please.” The grandfather stated holding up his up.

“I’ll be right out with that,” Emi walked back into the kitchen.

The kitchen was full of people dashing back and forth. Emi felt his body begin to shake as he began to walk to the cups.

“Are you okay?” Jeff appeared from his side. “You look pale.”

“I’ll be fine.” Emi lied. “They need an unsweet tea.”

“I got that right here,” Jeff held out the red cup. “That thing with the cup though was amazing. Was that your doing?”

“I,” Emi began, but nothing else came out as the sound of crackling ice caught their attention. The two turned to the red cup. The unsweet tea was frozen.

Jeff whistled at the sight.

Emi shrieked a shriek so high that it broke a glass pitcher of lemonade being carried into the kitchen. Jeff feared Emi would faint, so he grabbed a hold of the young man’s shoulder. Other employees rushed over to help calm Emi down as two other employees watched on curiously as they cleaned up the lemonade.

Jasmine prepared another cup of unsweet tea out to the table.

“Here you go. My apologizes, but the princess has slipped and injured her foot. So I will be your server for the remainder of your meal,” She gave a bow. Jasmine was dressed as a maid, the standard cosplay outfit for the café. They nodded in understanding.

Jeff merely stared at Emi. Jeff was 24. He wasn’t a big guy. He was strong from years of gymnastics, but there was no way he could carry Emi to the back room. Not with him hyperventilating the way he was. “I’m going to need some help here.”

Emi was hoisted into the air. Grey eyes stared uncaringly at Jeff. “Where do you want to take him?” His wore black pants and a black vest. His shirt was a bright white. His dark grey hair was neatly cut and framed his sharp face.

Jeff numbly pointed to the door that led to the back door. Grey nodded as he walked to the door. He shifted Emi in his grasp so his hand was under his knees. He opened the door slightly before kicking it open the rest of the way. He walked down the small hall and into a larger room. There was a small two seat sofa there. Big red and fluffy. Grey carefully placed him there.

“Who are you?”

Grey turned to see a woman standing behind him. She was a very curvy woman with red lips. Her hair stacked on top of her head. Grey gave her a flirtatious grin.

“Can I help you miss?” He responded.

“Grey! Don’t. You. Dare!” Symphia busted into the room. Her hair disheveled and she was breathing heavy. But her brown eyes were out to kill him.

Grey sighed as he stood up. “I haven’t done anything.” He held up his hands innocently. He stepped away. “He’s freaking out.”

“He’s in shock.” The woman ran to the Emi’s side. “Emi dearie, what’s wrong?”

“Boss?” Emi looked up at his employer. His icey blue eyes were so pale they were almost white. “I froze a cup of water.” She opened her mouth to comment. “Just by touching it. I think I did it earlier with that girl’s cup. And I think I froze the mop water. I don’t… I…” Tears formed in his eyes. He curled up tighter. “Something’s wrong with me!”

“Nothing’s wrong with you Emi.” The boss rubbed his back.

“Pfft! Wrong? I think developing weird powers categorizes as wrong.” Grey laughed. “But when you’re done,”

Symphia punched him in the stomach. “You’re only making this more stressful for him!”

“Who are you people?” The boss demanded as she hugged Emi to her. Emi looked up at them. His vision blurry from his tears. He blinked a few times.

“Symphia?” Emi uncurled some. “What are you doing here?” His eyes widened. “You’re a nurse! Do you know… what’s wrong… with me?” His voice became a soft squeak by the end of his sentence.

“Nothing!” Symphia blurted loudly. “Nothing,” she softened her voice. “You’re just changing. Like a butterfly!”

Grey rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. “Do you know what a deity is?”

Emi turned to look at Grey. He had never seen someone with grey eyes before. “They’re like gods, aren’t they?”

“Kind of.” Grey nodded. “We’re deities.” He waved his finger and himself and Symphia. “We’ve been deities for a while. And you are a new one. Granted deity status by some god somewhere, who apparently didn’t explain heads to tails to you beforehand.”

“Can’t you be a little nicer Grey?” Symphia growled. She patted Emi’s foot as she sat on the couch. “Don’t worry, I’m here to help.” Symphia smiled.

“I’m just here to observe.” Grey smirked. “We have a bet on you,” he gestured to himself and Symphia once more.

“Bet?” Emi perked up curiously.

Symphia gave him a warning glare.

“Yeah. If you die by the end of the month, I win. If you survive, she wins.” Grey stated. “Most new deities don’t last long. Especially without the god who made them one there to protect them.”

“Why would I die?” Emi asked. “Can these powers kill me?” He began to panic again.

“Oh no. no.” Symphia patted him on the knee. “Your powers can’t cause you any harm at all.”

“Demons, lesser gods, ghosts, a human,” Grey listed on his fingers. “There are lots of beings that would kill you just to harvest your powers. That’s just the way of life.”

Symphia nodded. “But the quicker you learn how to use your powers the better off you’ll be,” she added. “I can help you with that. If you let me.”

“Can you freeze water too?” Emi asked as he uncurled.

“No,” she shook her head. “I’m a deity of love. You seem to be a deity of water. But tapping into one’s powers are usually very similar.”

“What about you?” Emi turned to Grey.

“Deity of death.” He stood filled with pride for his job.

Emi had stay in bed for the next two days. It was such a shock to his system. He was a deity now. It was hard to take in. He finally had enough of just laying in bed. He couldn’t just sit there for the rest of his life. According to Symphia, he didn’t have any major duties because the god who gave him his powers hadn’t given him any. Which was still confusing.

Why would a god give him powers?

Or did he gain these powers by accident?

Maybe the god had bad aim.

Emi washed his face before heading down stairs.

Uncle Carmike greeted him there with a bowl of tomato soup and a box of gold fish. They sat quietly at the table. Emi staring into the bowl and Carmike fiddling with his fingers. Carmike was supposed to be going home today.

“Do you want me to stay?” Carmike broke the silence.

Emi wasn’t sure as he slowly looked up at his uncle. “You have your business to run.”

“I could always expand it out to here.” Carmike suggested. “And then I could run it from here.”

“Weed isn’t legal here.”

Carmike clucked his tongue. “Crud. Wish they would come around and make it legal already. But you’re right.”

Emi heard the chair squeak and then the clacking sounds of Carmike’s shoes. He looked up when Carmike paused next to him. Carmike’s arm wrapped around him.

“I love you. No matter what.” Carmike stated.

“I love you too.” Emi hugged him back.

“You call if you need anything,” Carmike ordered. “I don’t know much about deity stuff, but,” he paused, “I will do my best to be here for you. Rather it’s an ear, a shoulder, or whatever. I’ll do my best.”

Emi smiled as he nodded.

“Now eat some of that soup. You haven’t eaten in days! Look you at you. All skin and bones already.”

Emi chuckled as Carmike when off. He grabbed the box of gold fish and poured a handful into his hand before dropping them into the soup with a little ker-plops­. He stirred the fish in with his spoon before bringing a spoonful with one fish to his mouth. He knew the soup was cold by now. At least it should have been. To his surprise, though, the soup was warm as if it had just cooled down enough to eat.

“I can warm liquids too!” Emi exclaimed at this revelation.

Carmike paused in his rant. He looked at the bowl and sure enough, it had steam rising off of it. “Wow,” he whistled, “At least you can melt what you freeze.” He gave a nervous laugh. “It’ll take practice to figure out what all you can do.”

Emi nodded as Carmike ruffled his hair.
[][][]
NEXT

Emi the Deity Ch2

Emi the Deity
Ch1

Chapter 2: Back to Work

The restaurant was bustling. Carmike was humming along with the song playing over the speaker. Emi stared at the menu. His eyes glancing over the options, but not really processing them. Emi wasn’t sure what he wanted. He knew he was happy to be have something other than the hospital food. The food there was nice, but it just didn’t have that warm feeling food normally had to him.

“What can I get you gentlemen this evening?” The waitress appeared with a bright smile.

“The steak enchilada sounds good to me,” Carmike closed the menu. “I’ll have sweet tea to drink. Emi?”

Emi looked down at the menu. His eyes fell on quesadillas. “The veggie quesadilla for me please.”

“Anything to drink with that sug?”

Emi glanced up at the waitress. Only one woman called him that. A grin spread across his face. “Shelia!” He pulled the 30 something woman into a tight hug. “So this is your second job?”

“Yeah. I gotta buy my baby something nice for her birthday.” Shelia chuckled. “Now what will you have suga?”

“Water please.” Emi adjusted himself back in his seat.

Shelia wrote it down and was gone within a minute.

Carmike propped his head in his hand. “You know a woman with kids is a lot of commitment right?”

Emi felt his face heat up. “I don’t like her like that! Shelia works at the grocery store. I serve her and her kid every Friday at the café. We’re just good friends.”

“Good.” Carmike nodded. “You’re not ready for kids yet.”

“Carmike…” Emi growled.

“Here are those drinks,” Shelia placed the cups on the table.

Carmike tore off the end of the paper wrapping before sliding the paper off of the straw. He swirled the straw in his cup. “No need to be so embarrassed.”

Emi huffed as he grabbed his cup. He tilted the cup up only to find that a majority of the drink was ice. It was like it was just grabbed from the freezer. Emi glanced up at where Shelia. She wasn’t looking at him. Emi smiled as he shook his head. She must have wanted to play a prank on him. Now he knew where her son got it from.

The food came shortly and it was delicious. It was also piping hot as Emi found out. He took a bite and then spat it out as he stuck his burning tongue into his cup of ice water.

“Take your time, it’s not going anywhere,” Carmike laughed as he blew on his food.

“Gos sis.” Emi mumbled.

They finished their food and went home. Though Emi had to drag his uncle away from the hostess he was flirting with.

Emi was finally cleared to go to work the next week. He tied his converse shoes tightly to his feet as he pulled his hair up into a high ponytail. He wore a simple button up white shirt and black slacks. He wasn’t sure if he would be cosplaying at the café today or not. The only thing Emi wished was for his uncle to not come to work with him.

“I can’t let my nephew travel all the way to work by himself after being in a coma,” Carmike degreed as he forced the 19 year old into the passenger seat of his car.

The café was as busy as ever. The boss had told Emi to take it slow, so he didn’t have to cosplay for work today. Though it did feel weird being surrounded by a bunch of video game characters.

“Here’s your strawberry sundae, my lady,” Emi gave his best winning smile as he placed the food in front of the young high schooler. She blushed as she shyly grabbed her spoon. “And a chocolate latte for you, my lady.” He placed the drink in front of the girl next to other girl. The girl, Samantha, was a regular at the café.

“It’s been so long Emi.” She beamed as she picked up her latte. “Where have you been? I’ve missed you.”

“My apologizes my lady,” Emi bowed, “But I had some important matters to tend to. But I hope my comrades were able to give you good company.”

“It was, but not as good as yours.” Samantha sighed. “Will you be working again this weekend?”

“I believe so.” Emi smiled as he gave a quick bow. He quickly walked to the next table. Being a host was a hard job. All day the costumers kept asking him where he’d been. He didn’t feel like saying he was in the hospital, but he was sure most of them knew he wasn’t off handling ‘important matters’. The lie was so overused. Emi took a deep breath.

“Hey what kind of joke is this?” Shelly, a co-worker, exclaimed as she stared into the bucket. “How am I supposed to mop if the water is frozen?” She was a Chinese American woman of average height. She was dressed as a squirtle.

Tommy, who had handed her the bucket, looked back confused. “Frozen? That’s the hottest water I could get out of the tap mixed with Pine-Sol and bleach.” Tommy was dressed as King Dedede and around the same height as Shelly. Maybe an inch or two taller.

Emi and two other co-workers came to look.

“Really? Then why is it a block of ice?” Shelly nearly screamed.

Sure enough, it was a block of ice in the bucket. They all turned to look at Tommy.

“It wasn’t like that when I put it in,” Tommy was turning red from frustration and confusion as he looked into the bucket too. He seemed genuinely confused.

“Then how did it end up like this, Tommy?” Shelly propped her hands on her hips. Her foot tapping with loud clacks on the floor.

Tommy could only open and close his mouth like a fish.

“Maybe it was magic?” Everyone turned to stare at the boss. She gave a smile, her lips a ruby color. She looked like she walked out of a pop art piece. Her hair done up like a woman in a 50s ad. Her polka-dot, high collared shirt with no sleeves and high waist pint striped pants. She wore ruby shoes as if she was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. The boss was a vivacious woman. She leaned down over the bucket and nodded. “Yes. It was definitely magic. Magic that I haven’t seen in such a long time. Don’t be too mad at Tommy, dearie.” She patted Shelly’s shoulder. “He’s not the cause of this.” She picked up the bucket like it was nothing. “Now let’s go make another bucket. I doubt the magician will do the same thing twice.”

With that the whole situation was over. Swept under the rug. The boss was good at that. If she brushed it away, then most people would brush it under the rug.

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. Emi smiled brightly as he clocked out. Dinner shift would begin in an hour and the boss had given him orders to go home for the day. She didn’t want him overworking himself. She even followed him to make sure he’d clocked out. As Emi turned around, he felt arms wrap tightly around him.

“I’m so glad you’re doing better!” the boss exclaimed.

“I’m doing a lot better.” Emi nodded.

“That’s good. I was so worried.” She held up his face to look at her. “You’re just so precious. And to think you wound up in a coma during your first modeling gig.” She pouted as she brushed his hair out of his face. “Has Joe shown you how the pictures came out?”

“No. Not yet.” Emi shook his head. “I think he emailed me copies, but I haven’t looked at them yet.”

“Well I’ve seen them and you look adorable.” She patted his head.

“Emi, there’s a guy here for you,” Tommy came into the back room. “What do you want me to tell him?”

The boss smiled as she turned to face Tommy. “That must be your uncle. You better get on before he comes back here looking for you.”

Emi nodded as he grabbed a juice from the fridge. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” Emi wasn’t sure what his hours were at the moment, but hopefully he would still be working.

“Yes. You’ll be on breakfast shift. So get plenty of rest,” the boss wagged her finger along with the order.

Symphia smiled as she watched the young raven hair man get into the car. She wasn’t sure what kind it was, but she knew it was expensive just by the looks of it. He hadn’t yet realized that he had been turned into a deity, but his powers were beginning to manifest. She entered the café during the ice bucket incident. That just had to be Emi. She couldn’t think of anyone.

“So his ability is to freeze things…” Symphia hummed.

“There’s probably more to it than that?” Grey appeared beside her.

Symphia jumped back as she looked at the deity of death. He really made a bad habit of popping up out of nowhere.

“What are you doing here?”

“Stalking the target like you.”

“I’m not stalking him!” Symphia jumped up.

“Sure you’re not,” Grey crossed his arms, “You keep telling yourself that.” Grey snapped his fingers and turned to dust again. The dust floated away and Symphia was left there glaring at the specs of dust that flew away from her.

“Grrr.” She stomped her foot before walking away. Her shift at the hospital started in about half an hour.

Chap3

Emi the Deity Ch1

Emi the Deity

By Krissie Gault

Author's Note: This is a rewrite of the original story (which you've only seen tidbits of before) and so it's not going to be connected to the Mockery plot line anymore. I am going to posts the chapters here as I write them. Currently I'm planning on making a comic book version of this which will be made after the first book is created and will be published via Smashwords. So enjoy and let me know what you think.

Chapter 1:

The sun was shining bright that day. The koi in the koi fish pond swam about, bored with the dullness of the day. Nothing new or interesting was happening, so the koi were just bored. People walked by the koi pond, a few coming to look at the greyish colored fish.

Though there was someone who was super excited today. That someone was Emideus Cheshire Saint. Emi for short. Today was Emi’s first modeling gig and he was stoked for it. Grant it, the modeling gig was for a friend, but a gig was a gig. Emi beamed with pride as he held the umbrella above his head as he posed a small water fall in the koi pond. His long wavy black hair was loose and fell softly down his back. His blue eyes sparkled the color of pool water.

“You look great Emi!” Joe praised. Joe was the camera man. A 24 year old photographer who took photos of cosplayers for several cons. He was becoming quite popular for those photographs. Joe wore a green cap to block the sun with a grey t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts.

Emi, being only 19 and fresh from high school, felt so honored to be photographed by Joe. Emi was wearing a Victorian style dress with frills. It was a dark burgundy color. He wore a nice pair of pointed boots of a similar color. Clip on dangle earrings added to the outfit. Emi spun around so the ruffles of the skirt would flare up slightly.

There were several clicks and flashes.

“Wow! I can’t believe you didn’t fall down doing that,” Joe complimented.

Emi merely chuckled. He had been cross dressing at every opportunity since he was a child. He had a good few years of experience now. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. “Are there any other poses you would like me to do?”

“Do you think you can give me a classy, elegant lady pose?” Joe mused as he set the camera stand up to get a steadier picture.

“I would be delighted.” Emi did a long sweeping curtsy. His legs crossed like a ballerina’s. Standing straight, Emi thought of every elegant woman he had ever seen. The umbrella propped on his shoulder, both hands holding onto the end right before the curve. He crossed one leg in front of the other softly. He turned his head to the opposite and pretended to look off into the distance with a dreaming expression.

“Beautiful!” Joe gasped as he adjusted his camera to get to get the best photo. Several flashes went off and Emi held still. Then Joe gasped, “What is that?” He pointed into the sky.

Emi turned to find a rock flying through the air. It just kept getting bigger and bigger. Than he realized that the rock was heading straight for him. He froze in fear and the rock hit him right in the eye.

Emi lost sight in that eye as he fell back. He saw Joe rushing towards him before turning black.

Earlier, in another space:

An elegant woman dressed in a fancy kimono. The layers of cloth engulfed her figure. Ribbons flowed freely around her. She wore a crown made of coral. Her large eyes stared out the balcony of her home.

“I don’t know have much time.” She sighed as she closed her eyes. She traced spirals on the railing of the balcony. “The new deity must awaken sooner than I expected.” She grabbed the pendant on her kimono. Clutching it tightly, she took several deep breathes. “Please stay safe little one.” Ripping the stone out of her pendant, she threw the stone over the balcony. “Awaken and know, I’m sorry.” Tears streamed down the woman’s face as the stone fell to the mortal realm.

Emi awoke in a hospital bed. His head was aching. He was relieved that he could see through both eyes, but he wish his head didn’t hurt so much. He shifted to his side only to be shocked at seeing an IV stuck into his wrist. His body felt weak, most likely due to the headache, so he just stared at the IV for a moment.

“How am I supposed to sleep comfortably with this thing in my arm?” Emi murmured.

“Good afternoon Saint,” A female voice greeted him.

Emi looked up to see a curvy Indian woman with her black hair tied back into a ponytail. She was staring down at the bored in her hand as she walked to the beeping machine that was connected to Emi.

Emi glared at the device. That device is probably why I have a splitting headache.

“Your heart seems to be quicker than normal.” She turned to face Emi. Her eyes then widened. “You’re awake!”

Emi nodded slowly. “How long have I been here?”

The nurse smiled at him. “Let me call the doctor first.” Opened the door to the hallway and leaned out. “Hey, tell Dr. Jones that patient Saint has just woke up. And bring the poor thing some food.”

Emi heard a muffled reply of a few nurses before the door clicked shut and the nurse came back to stand by his bedside. A warm smile was on her face, “I’m Symphia. How are you feeling, Mr. Saint?”

“My head hurts. A bad headache.” Emi answered. “How long have I been here?”

She only smiled, “Can you tell me what the last thing you remember was Mr. Saint?”

“I remember something hitting me in the eye.” Emi answered. “I think it was a rock or something. Was it so bad that Joe brought me to the hospital?”

“I see,” she murmured as she scribbled a note down on the board. “Well you see Mr. Saint, you’ve been here for about 2 months. Since you were breathing on your own, we didn’t put you on a breathing machine. We’ve been feeding you through a tube. So try not to move around too much until we can remove it.”

“Two months?!” Emi sat up and then regretted it. He clutched his head in pain.

Symphia helped lay him back down again. “Don’t worry, you’re going to be fine.”

“What hit me?” Emi’s voice sounded half awake.

“We’re not entirely sure. All we know is that an explosion happened at the koi pond that day. We’re not sure about who set the bomb off or why. But don’t worry, you’re going to be fine.”

“Bomb?” Emi chocked. His heart beat skyrocketed. “Where’s Joe? Is he okay? He was with me.”

Symphia smiled as she patted his head. “Don’t worry. Everything’s okay. Joe has recovered. He’s actually come by to visit you. I think he said he would be visiting today last time he came by.”

Emi sighed with relief. His heart slowing down to a normal pace.

“Now you take a rest while I go get you an aspirin.” Symphia ran her fingers through Emi’s hair for a moment. He soon dozed off to sleep. She smiled as she walked out of the room.

The hall was busy with bustling nurses and doctors. Some walking with patients in tow. Symphia glided throw the crowd. Her brown eyes rested on a small janitor’s closet. She opened the door and side stepped inside without anyone noticing.

“Come on out, you little creep.” Symphia growled.

“Creep? Is that the best you can do?” Particles of dust shifted off of the objects into one pile on the floor in front of Symphia. The space was small and cramped and it only became more cramped as Grey appeared. His grey eyes were piercing color and made him look blind. His short, neatly cut hair was a dark grey. His clothes were a neatly pressed. A white button up shirt tucked into a pair of black slacks. His always freshly polished shoes were black. “You used to be so much better with nicknames,” he glanced at his nails, “Are you losing your edge Symphia? Or has being a love deity made you soft?”

“What’s a death deity like you hanging around a hospital for?” Symphia spat.

Grey smirked as he stood straight. “Lots of people die in a hospital. It’s the perfect place for me to work isn’t it?”

Symphia growled. “I’d hardly call stalking around a comatose boy’s room working.”

Grey laughed. “19 is hardly a boy, Symphia. Especially given the job that’s now fallen into his lap since you wouldn’t let me take him.”

“He was breathing on his own. You know very well you can’t take a living soul to the afterlife.” Symphia pressed a finger onto his chest.

Grey looked down at the finger and then shifted his eyes to Symphia’s brown ones. He could see the fire in her eyes. Symphia valued life and enjoyed protecting them. It made his job harder. “And what do you suspect we do when his powers manifest?”

Symphia took a step back. “He was chosen to be a deity by a god. I’m sure he’ll be just fine.”

“Ha! More like he’s going to get in a bunch of trouble.” Grey rolled his eyes. He propped a hand on his hip. “Just you watch, he’ll wind up in the afterlife because of those powers. It could be a demon, a lesser god, or even a human. And when that happens, I’ll take his soul. Young deities like him never last long these days.”

“You don’t know that. He’ll become a deity. I can feel it.” Symphia smiled.

Grey rolled his eyes. “Wanna bet on that?” Grey did love a good bet.

“Depends. What’s the wager?” Symphia tilted her head. Symphia enjoyed a good bet too.

“If he can become a full fledge deity, I’ll be your personal chef for a whole year. If he dies before then, you become my personal chef for a whole year.” Grey smiled. They were both good cooks, so the trade seemed fair to him.

“I like this bet. It’s a fair trade too.” Symphia thought it over. “You’ve got a deal.” They shook hands. “I’m looking forward to you making me sundaes every day.”

Grey laughed. “Just hope he doesn’t die before then.”

Symphia opened the door and exited, going about the day as if nothing had happened. None of the nurses notice. Grey simply disappeared in the dust again.

Emi was glad that his headache was now gone. He sat up in his bed looking around. The doctor told him that he would be able to go home in about another day after some more observations. Emi nibbled at the food Symphia brought him.

“You’re awake!” Joe cheered as he came in behind the nurse.

Emi smiled. “Yeah. I was told there was an explosion?”

“Yeah. It was crazy!” Joe stated as he sat in the chair by the bed. “I got knocked off my ass.”

“You’re camera wasn’t damaged was it?” Emi’s eyebrow rose as he saw the camera hanging from Joe’s neck.

“Yeah, amazing huh?” Joe smiled as he held up the camera. “I just got done with some elementary school pictures. I’m getting paid a good bit for it.”

“That’s cool!” Emi gave a thumbs up.

“I brought the pictures from that day with me. Do you want to see them?”

Emi opened his mouth to speak, only to have the door slam open. He looked up to see his uncle Carmike standing there. His salt and pepper hair was a mess. He smiled the moment his eyes rested on Emi.

“You’re alive!” A tear came to his eyes as he wrapped Emi up into a bear hug.

“When did you get here?” Emi squeaked.

“He was the only family contact we could find for you,” Joe whispered, giving a look of sympathy.

“Who’s we?” Emi arched an eyebrow at the cameraman.

“Everyone at the café,” Joe scratched his cheek with his finger. “I can’t believe you’ve been working there for two years and not even the boss has met your parents. But the boss remembered meeting your uncle once and she had his number so she gave him a call.”

“Ah, I was so disappointed that she didn’t want to go out for that coffee.” Carmike sighed.

“You hit on my boss?” Emi cringed.

“What? Can you blame me? That lady is a looker. Who wouldn’t want to get with a woman like her?”

Emi groaned as he fell back into his bed. “I love you Uncle Carmike.” It was all he could think to say.

Emi stared out the window of the car. Carmike owned a nice hybrid car. He had saved money for years just so he could have one. It was a green car. Emi was never sure why Carmike decided to get a green car, but he was sure the car magnetic on the bumper advertising a marijuana business was a good clue.

“Is your business doing well?” Emi asked softly. He wasn’t sure if Carmike would hear him over the Johnny Horton.

Carmike turned the radio down to a soft whisper. “Yep! It’s booming! I was even able to get this shiny new car.” He laughed as he pulled into the driveway. Emi’s home was a simple place. A two story apartment with a small flower garden out front.

Emi smiled at the still alive little flowers.

“I watered them for you.” Carmike stated as he opened the door.

“How’d you get the key to my apartment?” Emi paused as he stared at his uncle, who stood in the doorway like a deer in the headlights.

“The nurse gave me your belongings,” he answered after a long pause. “I wasn’t given your clothes though. Apparently they had to cut them off of you.”

Emi sighed, “Oh well.”

He’s two floor apartment was quite nice. The first room you entered was the living room. To the right when you came in was the kitchen. To the left was the stair case and a small bedroom that Emi used as a storage room. A small bathroom was under the stair case. Up that stair case was Emi’s bedroom, a large bathroom and the laundry room. Emi really liked his apartment. It was a real nice one too.

He paused as he stared at the tall suit case leaning against his couch. A soft smile spread across his face as he noticed the papers on the coffee table. They were to do lists in Carmike’s handwriting.

·         Water the plants.

·         Sweep and mope

·         Change car oil

·         Visting hours are 12p to 5

Emi gingerly picked up the paper. He found it funny how Carmike would often misspell certain words if he was in a rush.

“Thanks for taking care of my place while I was in the hospital,” Emi placed the paper back on the table.

“It’s no biggie.” Carmike shrugged. “Though I was surprised that you didn’t have a pet when I got here.”

“What makes you think I would have a pet?” Emi asked as he sat down on the couch. He didn’t feel like going to bed. It was the first time he had been home in two months. The thought was surreal to him. But at least he wasn’t gone for years.

“You always wanted a pet when you were little. I think for a while you had trouble deciding if you wanted a cat or a turtle.” Carmike smiled at the old memories. He sat down beside his nephew and ruffled his hair. “You’ve grown up so quick. You used to be so tiny.”

Emi laughed as Carmike held his hand out at the height he was when he was a toddler. “I remember you used to look like a giant to me.”

“Your mum must have been the tallest giant then.” Carmike had a far off look in his eyes.

Emi smiled bitterly. His mother was a touchy subject for him. “She was really tall, but normally she would kneel down to talk to me or pick me up.”

“Yeah that sounds like Isabell.” Carmike nodded. “You’re her pride and joy, you know that?”

“Yeah.” Emi brought his knees to his chest. His eyes falling on his mother’s picture hanging on the wall. Isabella Saint. His mother. She had pale blue eyes and long wavy black hair. Her smile lite up the house with a warm glow that made everyone feel welcomed. She was the center of Emi’s world. At least until she went missing.

Emi sighed as he uncurled himself. He didn’t want to think about the past. “I’m hungry. What’s in the fridge?”

Carmike laughed. “Not much.” He groaned as he stretched. “Are you wanting to cook? I’m thinking going out to eat would be good. Yeah, a nice outing since you’re finally out of the hospital.”

Emi smiled as he watched his uncle ramble on.

Chapter 2