When you give a goddess a chocolate...

Part 3: Stalker Goddess

Psyche moves through the city streets, taking in each high rise with awe and anxiousness. Humans hadn't built buildings so tall when Demeter and Persephone locked her away. There were some multi-story buildings, but nothing spanned thirty stories high.

The goddess doesn't have a plan for when she reaches Lucilla. Before, she could possess a bird to provide meaning. But, now, with such tall buildings and technology, will it have the same impact?

Psyche knows she can't simply wait for the girl to return. The vines will spread quickly over her statue, hiding her away again. She can't risk being stuck in the abyss. Eos, her own husband, couldn't save her before. What would make things different this time?

Soon the tall buildings shorten to a crowd of homes on tree-lined streets. Busses and cars pass through the streets slowly. Psyche pauses outside a red-bricked two-story home lined with flowers and shrubs.

Lucilla's spirit pulses softly within the house, almost skipping as she moves up the stairs. Psyche passes through the front door and floats to the second floor.

"Don't forget to brush your back teeth," a male voice says through an open doorway.

"I know, Dad," came an almost sassy response.

Psyche hovers near the doorway to see a man in his early thirties with tan skin and dark brown brushing his teeth beside Lucilla as she stands on a small stool. The two provide each other with small side eyes as they brush their teeth over sinks. A beeping sound causes the two to stop and spit white suds into their sinks. They rinse their brushes before Lucilla's dad takes them and places them in a holder.

"Let's get you into your PJs. Do you want Grandma or me to read tonight?"

Lucilla shrugs her shoulders while jumping off the stool. "You can read to me tonight."

Dad places a hand on his chest in mock hurt. "You know how to injure my feelings, don't you?"

"Yep!" Lucilla chirps while running down the hall into another room.

Psyche enters Lucilla's yellow-walled room with toys scattering the floor and shelves. Psyche watches Lucilla side-step a doll on the floor to run to a bookshelf and pull a small book with a dog surrounded by a green fog off the shelf. Dad lets out a soft curse before kicking a small car from under his foot.

"We're cleaning your room this weekend," he mutters.

Lucilla sighs while climbing onto her bed. She places the book on the bed, and Psyche settles onto the windowsill.

"Maybe even donate some of the broken ones."

"No!" Lucilla screams, jumping to a standing position on her bed. "I like them. Mom—"

Whatever words she planned to say became lost within a moment of stuttering hyperventilation. Her dad considers her for a moment and sighs.

"I know they mean a lot to you. But—"

"No, Dad!" Lucilla stamps her foot, squishing tears out the corners of her eyes.

The dad walks over to a slim golden-rimmed frame and picks it up. Inside, a picture of his late wife smiles up at him while a two-year-old Lucilla makes one of her silly faces. They took the picture a few weeks before her mom got sick. Who knew that a simple gifting idea would be such a big hit? Apparently, his wife did. She always had the best ideas.

Psyche watches a fog begin to form within the man's mind. The heaviness extends beyond the two humans' spirits and fills the room. Psyche's eyebrow furrow together. This wouldn't do for her little priestess. She raises her hands, spreading her fingers to release a steady pulse of power, dissipating the fog in the room. The two visually relax, with Lucilla slowly sitting on the bed.