Kiss of Osiris

Chapter Fourteen

As Al soared through the opaque skies of early morning Evee began to wake up. The fluffy clouds were illuminated with a royal purple and the sky looked look a black endless ocean. Al flew gracefully onward like a leaf shaken from a tree in late autumn. In her daze, Evee began to think and started talking to herself. 

"What is it that I want out of life? Who am I? Where am I going with my life? These questions always disturbed me so I would fill my life to the brim with tasks and excitement. I was forced to be a thief, but if given the chance what would I want to do with my life? Al was forced to be a vampyrus, but he made the most of it by wanting to be an archaeologist. He also set off on his own personal journey of redemption, trying to do enough good to outweigh all the evil he has committed."

" I guess my conflict is finding out who I am, and trying to find my place in the world. I'm not sure what my life's purpose is supposed to be, but I'll just take it one day at a time for now. I think I didn't ask for much out of life. Yet even that has been denied to me. I just wanted parents who loved me, maybe some siblings, a big family. To be able to go to school like the other girls and do girly things (whatever those were). That wasn't too much to ask for was it?"

"Maybe study something like art. I've always admired artists and the beautiful things they create. Michelangelo, Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Da Vinci... all of them. But the only thing these hands were taught was to steal. And to kill. Is that all I'm good for? Thievin' and murder. I like to think I helped Al out pretty good a few times in the pyramid. We even found the Staff!"

"Of course, it was stolen by that mutant freakazoid from hell, but that's beside the point. This whole time I've never had a real home, a safe place to call my own. The Guild was full of backstabbing and deceit. I had no friends there. It's sad that besides the orphanage the best place I've stayed at was with Al. And he was a terrifying creature of darkness who could snuff out my life like a light in an instant."

"But still, he has saved me multiple times. At first, I thought it was just out of self-interest. He needed an "assistant" to help protect him during the day when he was weak. But he could have let me die (or killed me) a number of times. It's not like people like me are hard to find. He could wave one of his gemstones around and get dozens of would-be assistants. I wonder why he stuck with me? God knows I'm not the most pleasant person to be around normally. Living a life as I have I had to develop a thick skin to survive. But I think deep inside...I think deep inside I am still that scared little girl from the orphanage that just wants a home, and just wants to be loved. Such a simple thing..."

"I used to stare with loathing at the happy little families in the marketplace. Their smiling faces, laughter, their family they took for granted. I remember I met a little boy my age named Asim. We would make mud cakes in the alley, try to catch cats and lizards. He was my only friend. One day he gave me his favorite frog named Ubaid and told me he liked me."

"My cheeks flushed like roses in the dead of winter. But one day Asim stopped coming by to play. I was devastated. That was the one ray of hope I had in my darkness. I couldn't understand why he just left. Didn't he like me? What was wrong with me? One day when I was begging in the marketplace I saw him! My heart lept in my seven-year-old chest and I called out his name. He looked up at once and his eyes lit up. I saw an enormous smile spread across his face and he started walking towards me."

"But suddenly his tutor held him back (I later learned his name was Eshe). He was a stern, loveless old man. He said to Asim 'No! We do not associate with trash such as this. Look at her! Her raggy clothing, the dirt on her face. She'll spread sickness to you!' Asim only looked confused. 'But she is my f'wend. I don't understand...'" Eshe continued, "No! She is a bad girl! Poor! Diseased! Wicked! You are the son of a great Egyptian noble and heir to his household. Come! We are leaving now!' He pulled Asim kicking and screaming away."

"I think that was the day I gave up. As I watched Asim being dragged away, my only friend, the only one who loved me. I never saw Asim again. One day I heard a huge commotion in the market square. I was on one of my "runs" as a purse-slasher. Nimbly I would scout wealthy individuals, and when they weren't paying attention I would cut their coin purse and take everything I could without being caught. But curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I was around eighteen at this time. Finding something to stand on (I am kind of short) I saw what was going on."

"A wedding! And by the looks of it, they were going all out. A wealthy noble's wedding. There were nobles everywhere with their expensive clothes, pomp, and circumstance. I wanted to vomit. I considered chucking a rock at the bride. I was getting hard, strong, sinewy muscles at this time and I thought that I had a pretty good chance of succeeding. I found her at last, with her long, flowing Western-style dress. I was hoping I could knock out a tooth, or otherwise mar her pretty little face when suddenly... the groom turned."

"My stomach dropped like a stone and sharp knife stabbed me in the heart. My throat went as dry as the Sinai Desert and my body felt hot and disconnected from me. It was him. My long lost love. Asim! Paralyzed, I couldn't stop staring him. I was both elated to see him but also devasted to see him with another woman, getting married."

"He looked so handsome and regal in his suit. I bet it was very expensive. He smiled at someone and my heart melted. It was enough. I had seen my first love again, and he was well. He was getting married... Holding back tears I tore away from the scene. I ran and ran until I didn't even know where I was. Finally alone in a garden somewhere I let out all the tears and pain. The tears fell like leaves from the palm tree in a great heat wave. I slumped into the dirt and considered taking my life. What did I expect? That Asim would come and whisk me away to his palace to live happily ever after? I don't know. But fairy tales aren't real and neither are my dreams. I think whatever was left of my heart become cold that day. That was when I started shooting through the ranks at the Guild because I had become utterly merciless. No one could stop me."