Defixio

Hera Vs The Manilla Folder

Hera woke to the sounds of Sakiya rummaging through the apartment. She walked out of Sakiya's guest room and into the main living area. She saw Sakiya running around the room getting ready and eating a granola bar at the same time. 

"Hello?" Hera spoke, making Sakiya stop and look at her.

"Oh crap! Sorry if I woke you. I woke up late, and I have to get down to the bar in 20 minutes," Sakiya rushed-- half the words were jumbled with chewing. 

"You did, but I see no harm. Don't mind me," Hera replied, walking around a scampering Sakiya. 

"So what are your plans today?" Sakiya asked as she grabbed her purse and looked like she needed to leave.

"I was thinking of finding a job," Hera answered.

"That's great! Well- I have to go, but if you need any advice, stop by the bar," Sakiya smiled and suddenly whipped around and handed Hera something, "before I go, here is a cheat sheet I quickly wrote up last night; its just how to works things in the apartment and how to use my laptop if you need to. I really have to go now." She smiled at Hera and then rushed out the door. Hera lightly waved as the door closed behind the bartender.

After Sakiya left, Hera wandered around for a little while, trying to figure out how to settle the pain in her stomach. After much consideration, she decided that she needed to eat something, and five minutes later, she was devouring a protein bar which Sakiya had left out on the counter as if she knew Hera would be hungry. 

Then Hera devised a plan, with the help of Sakiya's list. The first thing on the list Sakiya wrote was to go into her closet to find at the top of the shelf in a box were some t-shirts and jeans given to her, all of which were too big. Apparently, they were in a "Goodwill pile," but if Hera could fit in them, she could have them. Hera went into the woman's closet, or at least what seemed to be her closet, and found some clothes which seemed to fit her.

The next thing on the list was personal hygiene. Sakiya said to take a shower, which was to go into the bathroom and turn the handle on the little box which was sealed off with glass and then to wait till the water was warm-ish.

Hera did all this, and then stepped into the shower and rinsed her body. She washed her hair and did everything she knew to do, she got out of the shower, turned off the water, and dried herself off. She looked to the list again and followed the rest of the steps for that section.

After putting on the clothes Sakiya had given her, Hera pulled her long bronze hair into a ponytail and dabbed some of the makeup under Sakiya's sink on her eyelids and lips, and it was only then that she believed she was presentable to the public. 

She walked out of the apartment with a mission: to locate her scholarly background so that she would be able to get a job. 

The first step was the bank. She walked down the street and past the bar, where she saw (and ignored) Sakiya through the window, continued to walk throughout the busy crowd, and entered the bank where only twenty-four hours ago, a taxi had dropped her off. Hera walked up to the front desk, said the same thing she did the last time and was ushered into the back. 

This time, when Hera was looking in the box, she paid attention to the papers. A paper then caught her eye, and Hera pulled it out of the manilla folder it was in. She examined it: the University of Crete. . .  a Masters Degree in counseling and therapy. . .

She had a degree in counseling and therapy?  This to be some kind of joke that one of the gods were pulling.

Hades? No, he'd do that to Zeus, not her.

Posideon? Maybe. . .

Apollo? Definitely. (Ha, wrong! It was actually Persephone. Who knew she had a dark side?)

Hera placed it back in the manilla folder and closed the box. She left the bank and walked towards the bar where Sakiya was currently working. Hera figured that she could tell her where to start. 

After all, she had to know something. Sakiya seemed to know everything, and honestly, it was quite attractive.

Hera entered the bar and took a seat at the bar where Sakiya was currently turned and had not seen her enter the room. "So what can I get you to drink?" She turned cleaning a glass, "Oh! Hey Beautiful, how is the search going?" Sakiya smiled and looked at Hera's now slightly red face. 

"Hello, Little Blossom," Hera responded, "apparently I have a Master's degree in counseling and therapy from Crete University."

Sakiya laughed, "Who thought that you would make a good therapist?"

"Most likely Apollo, but who knows," Hera responded, setting a five dollar bill down. "I'll take what I had last time."

"Gotcha," Sakiya took the money and gave Hera back some change, "anything else in the folder?"

"I brought it with me, so when you go on break you can try to explain the nonsense that it contains," Hera replied, pulling the edge of the file to show Sakiya. 

"Nice, I go on lunch break in a few, so if you wait for a bit, I can take a look at it. One of my friends owes me, so I may be able to get you a job." Sakiya looked at a clock on the opposite wall of the bar. 

"I'll wait, don't worry," Hera smiled at Sakiya as she downed the drink in front of her.  

Sakiya finished up her shift and ushered Hera into the back of the restaurant and into the break room. 

"Okay, let's see these folders," Sakiya said, sitting down at the break table. They were alone, and it seemed that since there weren't many people at the bar, there was only one bartender out there that could easily handle the few scattered people. Hera pushed the folder towards Sakiya and watched her open it. "Well, there is a lot of information here," Sakiya began rifling through the multiple, off-white papers in hopes of discovering something riveting. 

"Half of it seems like complete jibberish to me," Hera added absentmindedly.

"Well, it seems the other 'gods' basically gave you a whole life. An entire background. Obviously, I can't go over everything right here, right now, but I can sum it up for you. So you were born in Athens, you are 26 years old, got your masters in counseling, the funny thing though is that there is no marriage license in here."

"Marriage license?"

"Yeah, it's what legally says you are married, and you don't have one. Which means you are not legally married."

Hera met Sakiya's gaze, "You are telling me that I never have to see that back-stabbing, abusive, ass-hole, cheating husband named Zeus ever again? That I have no connection to him what so ever?"

"That is exactly what I am saying, Hera," Sakiya grinned and put her hand over Hera's clenched fist.

"I," Hera stopped and when she looked back at Sakiya, her eyes were watering and teardrops were falling, one by one down her face, "have never been so happy in my life." (Just be glad Hera did not freak out over her eye shower.)

And it was true, she had never been this happy before.

And Persephone, who was also given the job of creating Hera's and Zeus's backgrounds, was watching from across the break room. Her eyes were taking a shower too. The woman who had helped her so many times in secret was finally getting the life she deserved.

And the dick who caused her so much pain was getting what he deserved too. 

Karma was an amazing bitch who also went by the name of Persephone.