Sinners and Saints

Sinners and Saints Chapter 58 - Counting Blue Cars

After lunch is done, Sophia stands up and Dad grabs the wireless keyboard from the credenza. 

“I’m very happy that Claire has such a broad circle of talented and loyal people surrounding her,” she starts off as Dad pulls up a PowerPoint, “I know we skimmed the surface with each of you in different ways already, but this is where we spell it all out. 

“My name is Sophia Saint.  I was born in 1901 and I have a twin sister, Katherine, who is the locked woman upstairs.  My parents are the two arch-angels seated here, Moira and Clark.  When Kathy and I were born, Moira was the current Goddess, so all of this is very normal to me and I had to reach out to several others to make sure that I didn’t skip over details that I would assume to be understood that actually aren’t. 

“There has always been a Goddess, just as there has always been a God.  They are Yin and Yang, light and dark, ebb and flow, life and death.  But, by Her very nature of creating, She can’t stick around in one place for too long.  If She did, the creations She made would be unmade and recreated again.  So she always sets up a caretaker-system for her creations.  A way of making sure that things perpetuate in her absence.  She does check-in from time to time, but cannot stay long. 

“And so she did with this solar system.  She made the angels as caretakers of not just Earth and the rest of the solar system, but as caretakers of her Consort.  God.  And then she left before she caused any harm.  So She wasn’t around to know about the war in Heaven or God casting those angels out or any of the rest of it.  By that time, her protégée had been fully-trained and had taken up the mantel.” 

Dad has been steadily clicking through slides.  Obviously they’ve practiced this. 

“But with each of her caretakers, she allows some of Her power to pass into them.  One to the next.  Some of what we can do stays with us after we give up the reins to the next Goddess, but none of the former Goddesses are as powerful as the current one – even combined.  My parents, in their wisdom, figured out that very soon the angels would run out and that there wouldn’t be anyone left to pass the mantel to.  Redeemers – offspring of angelic unions – are incredibly rare.  Angels just don’t conceive all that easily and rarely carry a child to term.  The original Goddess intended angels to procreate, but they have to match up exactly right.  Angels don’t have souls, but to put it in terms you will understand – they can only procreate with their soul-mate.” 

“And you have no idea how hard finding your exact match can be,” Clark chuckles and takes Moira’s hand fondly. 

“Yes, even then,” Sophia picks up again, “The timing must be exactly right.  Moira – my mother – suffered many miscarriages before Kathy and I were born.  Kathy was always the one to take up the mantel when Mom retired.  I paid very little attention to it all.  Far too little attention, to tell the truth.  I was a wild child.  I partied.  I did drugs.  I wandered all over the planet.  A vagabond.  For years, while my sister studied and learned, I blew it all off had a grand time. 

“I met your father at Woodstock – tripping out of my mind.  He kissed me just as Carlos Santana took the stage.  And it just felt so right.  So very right that my high disappeared instantly and I figured out right then and there that I needed to get myself together.  And I did.  

“Every Goddess – or potential Goddess – has that match-sense that I talked about.  Not just about themselves, but about anyone they come into contact with.  Your father is my match.  I took him home to confirm it, but there really wasn’t any need.  As far as I know, we are the first two redeemers to fit together perfectly. 

“You two,” she nods toward Jojo and Baron, “Are the second.” 

I have another goo moment as they share a brief kiss.