Oh Gods?

Chapter 1?

    Only a moment in time, and a grain of sand slipping through the grasp of an hourglass. She thinks, hmmm I really want some miso soup as she looks out her window.. Water slowly dripped to the floor, rhythmic taps in the air and in her mind, ringing in her ears like drums. The trees outside held only water — a pattern of liquid, unbothered with the burden of leaves. She looked back into her room, it was warm and cozy compared to the cold rain outside. Gazing outside, she spotted a faint glow in the distance, like a candle softly burning on a dark day. The glow twisted and turned in place, as though alive, just as she was. Suddenly, the glow stopped twisting and turning and seemed to look at her. The glow grew closer to her window, approaching almost cautiously, until she could see its faint outline through the foggy glass.
    "Well, I didn't expect this on my Thursday night," she muttered, pressing her hand against the glass.
As the glow got closer, she could make out a face. She blinked in surprise as she processed the being before her. The being — man? — grinned with soft lips, his amber eyes almost golden in his own glow. The figure was tall and had fluffy golden hair that fell over his eyes like melted gold candle wax. He put a thin hand to the glass, staring ahead as if he had never seen another human before. A small bracelet hung around his wrist, a tiny hourglass with the figure half-empty dragged the chain down. The girl slowly put her hand up to the window against the being's hand. She could feel the warmth between them through the frigid glass.
"Hel.....lo?" His voice sounded unmuffled, as smooth as if he was whispering into her ear instead of on the other side of the glass. She blinked, processing his voice — it was soft and echo-y, but also warm like a cup of coffee in your hands. She opened her mouth to speak, but could find no words to say to the strange man on the other side of the thin window. The man pointed downwards to the lock at the bottom of her window as if beckoning her to open it. She looked at the lock, unsure on whether or not to open it.. She looked up at him and her apprehension melted to nothing.
"Who are you?" She spoke softly, staring into his warm eyes.
"My name is Elowen," He answered.
"What are you doing in the rain?" She queried.
"I came to see you, of course!" He grinned, his grin making dimples pierce his cheeks.
"Why? " She asked. She thought for a minute, trying to find his face in her memories, and coming up empty.
"You're the next soul, aren't you?" His voice was chipper — too chipper for such words.
"Soul?" She asked. 'What do you mean?"
" You know what I mean. Are you ready yet? I don't want to rush you but I can't stay here long."
"Ready? What do you mean ready?"
"I mean it's time to go, you need to come with me now." She hesitated with her next words — she wanted to turn away from the window and be done with this strange interaction, but instead she continued her questioning.
"Where am I going?"
"You are going to the afterlife."
" I'm not dead. Am I?"
Elowen shook his head, pointing at the window lock yet again. "Let me in, and I'll explain." She looked at the lock, then back at Elowen and reluctantly opened the window. As the window slid upwards, the chill night air flooded her small room, making the atmosphere match the sinking feeling in her gut. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him step through the open window with just a little too much grace. Once inside the room, he sat down next to her. The room felt a little warmer with them both inside, though it could not distract her from the dreaded conversation that would be sure to follow.
"Huh. I didn't expect that to actually work," Elowen mumbled, amusement weaving into his voice.
Though she was afraid, the girl looked straight into Elowen's eyes and said "Well, you said you would explain, so get on with it."
" It might be a lot all at once, let's start with what you already know about your current situation," he leaned back, seeming relaxed while casually searching her face for a reaction. "You aren't completely 'dead' yet, just.....stuck, for lack of a better term."
"Stuck?" She asked.
"Correct! Unfortunately you have been trapped in limbo due to unforeseen circumstances."
"And this is just something that happens?" She deadpanned.
    "Sometimes." He responded.
"So why are you here? Are you here to help me?" She asked hopefully.
"In a way, I suppose," he sat up, grinning at the girl. "I'm here to help you move on!"
"But how can I move on if I'm stuck?" She asked.
" I have no clue, that's for me to push you in the general direction and you to figure out for yourself," he said coolly, his golden eyes showing little emotion. The girl hesitated at his sudden lack of enthusiasm, one of her hands raising up towards him. As she reached her hand towards him, his eyes watched her movement and reached his hand up to hers. As he noticed the shift in her mood, he noticed it in him as well, he quickly returned to his playful mood and grabbed her hand. "It's alright, though! We can stay as long as you need."
She looked at him and asked: "Can we just stay like this for right now as I try and figure out this information?"
" As long as you need," he slowly moved closer to her so that their shoulders were touching. "I'll wait all of eternity for you to be ready, if I need to." Feeling better about her situation, she rested her head on his shoulder. Despite her terrible situation, in this moment she felt at peace, never wanting to leave this spot.
"Would you really wait that long?"
"Yes," It was a short, simple word, yet held so much meaning. "Because what is a loving god if not patient?"
"A god?" She asked, looking at him, not completely surprised by the thought, he was a golden glowing person after all.
" Elowen, God of Purgatory."
"Oh, really now?" She questioned, her own amusement slipping into her tone.
He grinned. "Yes."
"Well, God of Purgatory, you must know the way out then?" She tried to focus on the task at hand rather than think too much about how she got here.
"I know the way out for myself," he responded plainly, squeezing her hand. "I don't think you could survive that way, though."
"Oh?" She asked "And what way is that?"
" Well, I don't want to assume anything, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that you are not an ancient immortal God."
"You would be correct."
"Only immortal gods can get out the way I came."
" I'm sure this has happened before, how do you usually get humans out of purgatory?"
"They have to move on themselves, or at the very least be truly ready to," he recited, as if he's explained it a thousand times over. She looked around the room, frustrated that she couldn't figure out how to move on. She didn't have any 'unfinished business', at least none that came to mind.
"How exactly do I figure that one out if I can't think of anything I need to do?"
"Perhaps we could look around your room and find something sentimental to you."
She rose to her feet and began searching her room, Elowen trailing behind her. After stopping at her desk, she came across a silver band underneath a small stack of papers. She picked up the ring and a surge of emotion ran over her. Memories she tried so hard to bury came rushing back all at once. Whispers of nights spent shouting at someone else, of days spent skipping through parks and laughing and crying over dinner. She collapsed to the floor sobbing, hugging the ring. Elowen began to speak, then paused, simply placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
    She brought the ring away from her, opening her cupped hands to stare at it. She looked up to Elowen,"I think I found something that might help." She held the ring in front of her to show Elowen the item in question.
    "Do you think that just may be it?" He asked, hovering over the girl.
    "Yes," She said, handing the ring to Elowen.
    " Perfect, all you need to do is resolve the issue that represents and you are on your way out of here," he grinned at her, a thing of loneliness and ecstasy.
    "How can I resolve the issue if the person that gave me this ring isn't even here." She asked, obviously frustrated.
    " Again, I can't spell it out for you, only hints and nudges, you will have to figure it out on your own." He looked at the floor, disappointment spreading across his face. The girl frowned at the god, silently questioning why his lack of ability in helping was limited. She began pacing around the room, unsure on what to do next, eventually she found herself back at the window. She gazed outside, hoping to inspire an idea or just to clear her mind for a moment.
    "Why can't you help me?"
    "Though I am a god, there are still rules I have to follow, and not being able to help is one of them," His hands moved as he talked. " This is a journey humans must go through alone."
"Even if they will never leave?" She mumbled.
"What?" He asked, not hearing what she mumbled.
    " What if I never make it out of here?" She exclaimed in frustration.
    "At least you won't be alone if you can't," he strode over to her, standing with her as they stared out the window. She took his hand, happy that he was there. He gave her a reassuring smile, trying to calm her. "I'll be here every second of this stage."
She squeezed his hand in thanks, when she suddenly noticed a paper on the window seat. It was a small shred of old, yellowed paper, bright red ink sprawled across it. She hesitantly grabbed it, lifting it up so they both could see the words on it. The paper was addressed to her, " Wisteria Acolyte." She studied the unfamiliar handwriting on the page, not recognizing the unique curves and dips of the letters.
Dearest Wisteria Acolyte,
    I wish you only good things in this life, and hope that someone may come along and hold you to such a standard.
The letter did not say who wrote it. Wisteria did, however, have her suspicions of the author's identity. She turned towards Elowen, a question on the tip of her tongue. Elowen looked back at her and took the note himself and looked it over. His eyes darted across the paper, carefully reading each word.
"Do you recognize the handwriting, Elowen?" Wisteria asked the god.
"Yes, it's the handwriting of one of the higher gods" His face held a unique expression, conveying both amusement and concern.
"Well, who exactly are the 'higher gods?'"
"Hmm, well it's kinda hard to explain."
" I don't have anywhere to be, explain away." She sat down and motioned for him to sit next to her.
"Well," he started, sitting next to her. "A higher god is a deity who holds a mass amount of power. They typically oversee the major aspects of this existence — like the ocean, and the air you breathe. Life and death are most prominent among them."
"So where do you stand in the line of most powerful gods?"
" Much like the domain in which I control, I fall in the grey area between.," he extended his hand towards her, his skin almost glowing. "I am more powerful than those who oversee the blades of grass that spread across the Earth, but if I were to simply fade, life and death would continue on as they already do."
She took his hand, and looked at him, "I hope you never fade away"
" Fate is a terrifying thing, immovable and inevitable, yet constantly changing."
"Is it fate that a handsome being such as yourself has sat next to me for so long?"
"Ye- '' Suddenly the clock rang — it was 4:00 in the morning — and Elowen looked down at his hourglass, which was almost empty.
" What does that mean?" Wisteria asked, panicked about the soon-to-be empty, ominous hourglass.
"Your time is almost up, dear, and after that.......I don't know," he admitted, his arm dropping to his side.
She stood up, panicking, "What do I do, WHAT DO I DO?!" The urgency the girl radiated quickly spread to Elowen, as he rose and attempted to calm her.
"It'll be alright, Wisteria," he offered open arms to the girl. "I'm sure that Death is in a........good.....mood?" She hugged Elowen, burying her head into the god, trying to calm herself down.
" What is Death like?"
"It's— I—" he stopped himself before starting again. "I don't know, they're complicated." Finally, Wisteria composed herself and started pacing the room, thinking about what to do next. Suddenly she stopped and turned towards Elowen, an idea forming as she moved.
"Couldn't you ask Death to give me a bit more time? You both must talk to each other a lot."
    "I could try, do you have paper and a pen I could borrow?" He asked.
    " Of course, here." She handed him the materials while being caught off guard by such a normal question in this abnormal conversation. She watched as he scratched a swirling scrawl on the paper and simply held it up, his glow engulfing the paper as it disappeared in the light.
Wisteria watched in awe as the paper disappeared, Elowen then looked at her, speaking, "It will take just a moment for her to respond."
The seconds felt like days as they stood in silence, awaiting a response. Centuries passed until a puff of smoke wafted off of Wisteria's desk. She ran over to the desk and picked up the slightly burnt paper. Before she saw the contents of the note, Elowen snatched it off the desk and read it aloud.
"'An answer to what you ask I have not, although I may have a reason for what you have sought. On your wrist, there is a clasp, flip it's charm upside-down, I ask.'" Elowen looked down at his wrist and suspiciously flipped the hour glass. As it flipped into place, a small click could be heard. The pair in the room stared down at the miniature charm as its sand held suspended in the top of the hourglass.
Wisteria looked up at Elowen and asked: "What happens now, what did the hourglass do?"
" I'm not sure," he shook his head. "Death's words, not mine. Her dialogue's not the straightest."
"Neither am I, but here we are."
" I think you would like Death, you share a similar sense of humor."
"Who knew that I'd have such a similar humor to the embodiment of the end of my life?"
"Yeah, they're pretty cool, but I wouldn't get on their bad side."
" Well I may be meeting Death sooner than I'd like, but at least they sound awesome."
"Once you get past the whole 'throne of fire' bit, they only get easier to talk to from there."
"THRONE OF FIRE!! THAT'S AMAZING!"
" You know, most people get scared by the throne of fire, you have to be the first person I've ever seen excited about it."
"Well, I'm glad you find me so interesting," a low voice muttered.
"Death? What are you doing here? I had it under control. We just needed a little help."
" A little? It was physically painful for me watching you two chase your tails. Plus, I am very
interested in meeting this mortal you have with you."
    Elowen sighed, "Just a mortal, Death. No need to be so intrigued."
    "Just a mortal you say, then why is it that you care so much about her?"
    " I'm not sure. This one feels...familiar."
    "Don't you start your whole familiarity speech. It's not worth it to fully manifest just to get you to knock it off."
    "But it's true, I know I met this soul before, I just don't when."
    " Save it, I don't have time to deal with you at the moment Elowen," Her dark eyes settled on the small girl between them. "Who might you be?" Wisteria stared up at the woman towering above her.
"Mommy? Sorry—" Death raised her eyebrow at the comment.
"Well, this wasn't what I was expecting to hear from such a beautiful mortal," Death replied. Flustered Wisteria noises.
"Hyacinth, leave her alone, you're freaking her out," Elowen said disapprovingly.
"Fine, You're no fun," Death pouted.
"And you're millions of years old and still don't know what a boundary is. It's like family therapy all over again!" Elowen protested.
"Fuck off Elowen, you're also millions of years old and you still just pick random mortals and take them home like puppies you found on the street." Wisteria stood between them, looking up at the two powerful gods bickering like children.
"I did that one time but no, that's never acceptable enough for you, now is it?" he snapped.
" ONE TIME!?! May I remind you of their names? Ivy, Bonnie, Briar, Jasper, Wren, and now this one. Elowen, you can't keep doing this, I know you care but you can't save them all."
" It's not my fault you don't let yourself feel emotions anymore. You can't attack me because you don't like my empathy."
"You shouldn't be this attached to frail organisms, Elowen! We're gods, we're made to be eternal. I can't keep abusing my power just because you're attached to a soul for no other reason than your own entertainment during exile! I shouldn't even be talking to you, let alone doing this!"
"Well I'm sorry you got attached to a mortal before and had them taken from you by life, you may not be able to have a companion, but please let me." Anger sparked in Death's eyes.
"Elowen, don't go there." She said warningly
"Well guess what, Hyacinth? WE'RE GOING THERE! See, this is exactly what she warned about! You're always being such a dick — a hypocrite!"
"You're calling me a dick!! When you dare mention them! And you know how much that affected me. YOU'RE A BIGGER DICK THAN I AM!!"
"Will you two knock it off!" A booming voice caught the Gods off guard.
Wisteria whipped her head towards the sound — which came from the...fridge? The gods stop bickering and look at the fridge with disgust on their faces. A scraggly looking man poked his head out from behind the fridge door. His bloodshot eyes peered at the trio before slamming the fridge door shut, a carton of milk in hand. Before the person could do anything, Elowen walked over to Wisteria and blocked her from the person's view.
"Alastor, what are you doing in my fridge?" Elowen scrunched his eyebrows at the middle-aged man.
"I didn't have any food left at my place and I knew you would have some." Alastor proceeded to drink the stolen milk straight out of the carton before returning it to Elowen's fridge. Elowen's face contorted with disgust as he watched the god do this. Death just looked at the scene in front of her disapprovingly.
Alastor looked at the two gods standing still across the room. " Why do you two look so tense, you hiding something?"
"No no no!" Death responded. "Just go on, take the milk! This is the fifth time this week." Life looked suspiciously at the two gods as he began to rummage through the fridge. He pulled a block of mozzarella cheese out and took a large bite out of the side.
Elowen practically bit back a sob. "My....my mozzarella! I just made that yesterday! WHY?!" Life just shrugged and continued to eat the cheese.
"Life, leave, now," Hyacinth stepped towards him menacingly.
Alastor's menacing grin only complimented his next words, "Oh, don't worry Hyacinth! It's not like your little boy toy's around to get recruited again." At those words Hyacinth lit up, her eyes turned black and fire erupted around her.
"DON'T YOU DARE MENTION THEM AFTER WHAT YOU DID!" Boomed Hyacinth. Elowen noticed the Gods becoming increasingly angry and started to slowly back away, Wisteria still safely hidden behind him.
"Yeah, uh, maybe not in my apartment, guys?" Elowen nervously pitched in.
"Stay out of this Elowen, or I'll make sure you will never get out of exile," Alastor threatened.
" Leave him alone," Death defended, "He's right, we should leave, this is our business."
"No, I don't think I will," Alastor crossed his arms and faced the golden god. "Who exactly does he think he is, huh? He's barely even a minor god!"
"Well, at least I'm mothers favorite." retorted Elowen. Death stifled a laugh as Life struggled for a comeback.
    "Bold words for someone who can't even turn his back to his own dearest brother."
    "I wouldn't say dearest, Hell I wouldn't even call you my brother."
    "Like it or not, blood is blood, Brother."
    "Ah, yes, because you can't just leave me alone, now can you? You can't go three days without interrupting me! What part of exile do you not understand?!" Hyacinth edged closer to Wisteria, just by a couple of steps. Life notices Death moving and finally sees the human.
    "Oh, What do you have there, Hyacinth?" Alastor approaches, trying to get a better look.
    "....a smoothie." Hyacinth joined Elowen's blockade of sorts in front of the mortal. "Like you should be drinking. Right now. In your own house."
    "No, Hyacinth, what do you have behind you?" Life asked. Suddenly, to the surprise of both Elowen and Death, another god steps between them and faces Life.
    "It's me! Karma, everyone's favorite! Did you miss me? I know you missed me!" they playfully punched Death's shoulder. Alastor stared at the new arrival, disappointment evident in his eyes. "Aww, Alastor didn't you miss me, ya know your FAVORITE GOD!!" Wisteria placed a hand on Hyacinth's back to reassure her that she was still there and alright.
    "Yes, uh, hi Karma," Alastor took half a step forward. "Lovely to see you. We were actually in the middle of something, so if you could just..?"
    "If I could just what, dear Alastor? Move away from the most beautiful Goddess you have ever seen, my dearest Hyacinth?" Alastor closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
    "Now's really not the time! So, if you could please leave, that would just be great."
"Awe, but how could I leave when I just got here?" Karma became increasingly amused at the visible anger they had caused. "Say, this is quite the party you've got going on! Of course you'd be the guy to throw one in someone else's apartment."
"Party? Please, it's anything but."
"Can we please move this conversation out of my house?" Elowen begged. Karma turned to smile at Elowen, their grin infectious in the way a child's mischief was.