Blooming Idolatry

School of Terror

I'm stupid.

I should have crawled my happy butt back behind my altar and gone back to sleep. Instead of one human to watch and care for, I now had a class full of five-year-olds devoted to serving me.

Enna started a cult on the bus ride back to her school.

"I put skittles on the altar and then WHOOSH!" She pushed her chubby hands away from herself. "Dust got in my eyes." She rubbed them in memory of the stinging pain my awakening had caused her. A strange tug on my heartstrings had me aching to comfort her. I refused to give in.

"What happened next?" Enna shook her head at the little boy, almost like she had to scramble her brains to get her thoughts put together.

"A cat opened its eyes behind the altar, only," she paused for effect. Her voice was a whisper. "It wasn't a cat, it was a nice lady. She took me back to Ms. McAfee, and told the bullies to leave me alone." Enna pointed to the mean child sulking in the corner of one of the bus seats. "Her name is Nekane." Enna turned to smile at me.

"You mean like the goddess Nekane?" I could hear the incredulity in the child's voice. It set a fire in my chest. "Prove it. Tell her to pull Ms. McAfee's ponytail out." My little terror grinned from ear to ear as she whispered to me what the boy had said. Although I'd already made my decision, I pretended to ponder it for Enna's sake.

I stretched my powers for the first time in thousands of years. The last time my power had moved it had been to avenge a dying mother. Now it was being used to pull hair. I groaned. This is ridiculous.

The teacher's ponytail felt smooth in the grasp of my power as I gently tugged on the hair tie keeping it situated. It stuck on a knot in her hair. Tugging on it only made the hair tie more tangled until I lost my patience. My intentions were not to scalp her.  Even I knew that was traumatizing to children.

I did scalp her though.

The screams of children were music to my ears until I remembered one of them was Enna. A glimpse of her tear-filled eyes had me running to heal the teacher. Enna didn't need to know how horrible I am. I had failed her.

The next series of events had nothing to do with me. I saw my power heal the teacher. I heard the gasps of confusion from my cult. I watched my hands as my power wiped the memories of the children on the bus.

"Are you okay?" Enna asked me with glazed-over eyes.

The words sent me spiraling. My chest squeezed my heart. I was stuck in place. My feet rooted to the grooved floors of the bus. A kid had a piece of candy they gave to Enna as she leaned in to give away secrets. My rib cage strained to remain still.

Enna approached me holding a soft mint. The kind that melts in your mouth and you keep eating them until you're sure you'll never have another mint again.

My body broke.

Tears as plentiful as my followers once were flowed down my cheeks. I had failed my little terror. I hurt her.  Her screams would rattle my brain until I returned to my death-like sleep. How could I ever allow Enna to become my priestess?

     I failed her the minute I decided to help her find her way. Just as I had led all of my people to death before the Eclipse of Mankind, a time when humans briefly lost hope of civilization, I would lead Enna to her doom.

     I felt before I saw Enna place herself in my lap. My knees had given out. She curled into my body and wrapped me around her. A tiny hand rubbed my arms.

    "It'll be okay."