Hades Ain't Got Nothing on Us

Ch. 17 - Impossible Aspirations

At the top of a snaky dirt road, Rob's black car was emitting a matching color smoke. In need of a rest, it sputtered into the nearest parking spot. Rob was surprised to see he had the pick of the lot.

"This is odd," he wondered. "Mulholland is always packed."

"Maybe this has something to do with it."

Rob read the sign to which Sephy pointed.

"Mountain lion warning. Closed."

Sephy didn't seem disappointed.

"Did you tell anyone you were taking me here?"

"Only Leo."

"Then he must have foreseen the crowds. He, or someone else, did this for our benefit."

"It's safe for us then?"

Their voices attracted a dozen pumas to the edge of the parking lot. They stood in a line like soldiers falling in, but after identifying Sephy, they retreated into the woods.

"They won't bother us. Come on. Where should we go?"

"There's a viewpoint up the trail."

On top of a plot of trodden dirt overlooking the L.A. basin, Sephy grew a bed of springy flowers and grass for them to sit on.

"Would you like a higher vantage point?"

Without waiting for Rob's response, Sephy grew a massive birch tree on his other side, along with a full garden on the hillside.

"You are amazing, but here is good."

"Soil is my blank canvas. I see the colors in my head, and they appear as I picture them. It's therapeutic."

"Wouldn't it be crazy if you could turn this in for studio art credit?"

"I wish that could have been my independent study. Painting has always been a challenge for me, to have to manually mix the colors. It tests my patience, but the research makes it all worth it. Creating landscapes at the park to reference was my real artwork. I am not a talented enough with a brush to translate it to two dimensions."

"That can't be true."

"It's always been true. That's why I designed Monet's gardens in Giverny, because I couldn't teach him to paint."

"It's unfathomable, the things you've seen and done with your abilities, and the unlimited time in which to do them."

"I've lived a long life, but I can't say it's been a fulfilled one. I've done countless things, made my marks on history, realized dreams, but I haven't done everything."

"What else do you want to do?"

She immediately regretted the words as they came from her mouth. Instantly, the multicolored landscape shrunk back into the indigenous shrubbery.

"I shouldn't have said that," she apologized.

"Maybe I can help."

"It's silly, and pointless."

"Please."

Rob could see her mind going in circles, following the pattern of the orchids that bloomed and died in front of him.

"Being with your family got me in the mortal mindset," she hedged, "and I've been thinking about what it means to live a complete life. Leo, Anna and Deion are content with meddling with mortals, and making the world better in the small measure we can. The problem is that even the gods have to compromise on their dreams. Leo would be the first to tell you he yearns to cure all diseases, as I fantasize to end world hunger."