TARTERUS - HELL

TWELVE.

Partus/Mors

Birth/Death

As for me, I went to visit Ma because she had begged Grandpa. He let me go but Pa had to come with me. I thought Pa was about to faint when he was told by one of the head angels. He made a million excuses, but Grandpa didn't care, he waved his hands and Pa and I were suddenly standing at the base of a place like you have never seen in your wildest imagination. Grandpa was very cagey. If he wanted something badly enough "Heaven and Earth" wouldn't stop him from getting it, an old Earth saying. I thought I'd throw that in.

As we stood dazed from our journey, I could have sworn it shimmered in and out. 'Pa did that shimmer?'

'I think so Reubena. Nothing in this place is real. Your Grandpa delights in playing with our minds. Even me who am pretty strong cannot and would not try to best him.' Pa shivered as he guarded the front of his pants.

Black angels flew down and greeted us. They spoke in a lingo totally beyond my knowing. 'What are they saying Pa?'

Pa shook his head. The angels encouraged us to fly up into the mountain ranges that touched the sky. As we flew it gave me the opportunity to assess the land below us. What can I say other than I had never seen a landscape so diverse and colourful? It even surpassed the one outside our windows at home. All manner of animals both real and fantasy were either flying around or busy eating and playing on the ground. And then the most magnificent flowers opened up for the day and as they opened tiny fairies hovered above and sprinkled gold fairy dust over each one. I was so intrigued watching the comings and goings of the creatures below me I didn't see the flying horse in my flight path and nearly smashed into it. Pa grabbed me just in time. We landed next to where Ma was prostrate on a lounge chair. Her bloated stomach looked terrible because she only had a skimpy pair of knickers on. The remainder of her body was naked. Huge breasts with even bigger nipples had red striations going over them and that bloated stomach. She was sleeping. Grandpa came and kissed my cheeks and shook Pa's shaky hand. Grandpa grinned and said Pa need not worry as he was on his best behaviour. He indicated for us to move inside and as Pa walked by Grandpa, he felt a flash of something in his lower section. Grandpa had a grin on his face.

'Just kidding lad,' he laughed.

Pa continued to shield his front as we hurried over to a structure that was weird in the extreme. Now saying inside really wasn't. It was an area with a type of roof made of vines that hung down each side to make walls. Grandpa waved his hands and furniture was brought in by some white angels who had been waiting for instructions from Grandpa.

'Sorry about that, Dea keeps changing her mind as to what she wants and the shape of the building. Today she is feeling floral, very shortly when she wake's flowers will bloom over the vines and into the inner walls.'

When I had a chance to gaze properly at him, I could see he was exhausted. He gazed at Pa and said, 'how did you do it by yourself without going mad.'

'It wasn't easy,' Pa replied as he sat beside Grandpa. He was still guarding his front because he had crossed his legs.

'I have angels hunting the Universes for little tasty morsels she wants. She tastes them, spits them out and screams at my poor angels and tells them to get her proper food.'

'How long before she delivers.' Pa asked. And then he said, 'Alfred nearly went mad traipsing around the Universes getting things for your daughter when my two were born.'