Paranormalcy

Death of a God

"Can I help you?" Amara said answering the door.

A woman stood on the stoop clutching a cloak tightly around her shoulders. An owl perched on the verandah's post behind her. "I need your help." The woman croaked.

Amara blinked twice at the woman's request before allowing her to come into the home. She stiffly walked towards the sofa and fluffed a pillow for the guest. The stranger's bones made snapping noises as she slowly lowered herself onto the offered seat.

"Can I get you some refreshments?" Amara said before listing off the beverages she could reasonably supply for the guest.

"That's not necessary." The old woman said. She paused for a moment and studied Amara with her wise gray eyes. The hostess continued to stand rather than taking a seat across from the elderly woman. "Do you know who I am?" The sitting woman asked.

"I do not." Amara said.

"My name is Athena. Have you ever heard of me?"

"Why yes." Amara said. "Athena was the Goddess of wisdom and war. She is also part of the restricted tales."

Athena gave a sigh of relief. She thought that there was nobody left that believed in her. But why then, if Amara clearly knew of her, did Athena fill so weak?

"Do you ever discuss my tales with anyone?" Athena asked.

"Heavens no! The tales of the Greek Gods are forbidden." 

"Do you believe that learning about me should be forbidden?" Athena asked.

Amara blinked twice and cocked her head. "It is for the good of religious freedom." 

Athena weakly shook her head. The knowledge that her family worked for centuries trying to preserve was now lost in time. Even though people stopped believing in the Greek God's, they had at least known of them.

But then countries began to pass religious freedom laws. Certain religious people felt that they were being repressed because they had the same rights as everyone else. They won the freedom to discriminate against whoever they pleased. Almost immediately, they began to discriminate against other religions. It turned out that only certain religions were granted this new freedom. The Greek myths, stories of Athena's family, were restricted due to this 'freedom'. 

"Forbidding people from practicing the Greek religions isn't freedom." Athena argued.

"The government says it is and they define freedom for us."

Athena could hardly believe her ears. Certainly, this couldn't be the last person on earth that knew about her; about all of them. She shook her head. Athena had to convince this woman to tell her tale. "What is your name?" She asked soothingly.

"Amara. Animated Maid and Reading Android."

"You're not human?"

"No, I'm a multifunctional robot. I clean and tell stories. Even though I have been programmed with the knowledge of all the forbidden tales I will not repeat them."

Athena died clutching her heart after realizing that no human knew of her.

"God's die and when they truly die they are unmourned and unremembered." Amara said blinking twice.