Fate's Mistake

Chapter 9 - Envy

Sitting on the edge of a bench, sniffing at the fried foods and sweets that wafted through the air, Envy swung their legs and enjoyed the warm breeze. Heaven always smelled the best, especially around this time of year. Just on the outskirts of the main city, an annual carnival took place like it did every year. Just because the angels were in the middle of a crisis situation, that didn't mean they would halt every little thing that was planned.

"Oh, it all just smells so good! I want all that food so bad!" Envy declared to no one in particular as they hopped down from the bench.

They followed the sidewalk and the scents filling the air down to where the crowds of angels stood waiting to get into the carnival. With the sun beaming down brightly on all of them, Envy felt quite comfortable in their t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers. Their choice of clothing made them stick out from the adult angels, but it matched what most of the children wore. And since Envy only stood just over four feet tall, and looked just as young as the other Sins, they actually fit in quite well within the crowd.

It took no more than ten minutes before Envy finally found themselves inside the gates of the carnival. They snuck in with a little family, going completely undetected as they split away from them.

"Oh, just look at all this!" The giant grin plastered across their face lit up their entire being. "There's so much to do, where should I go first?"

"Step right up!" An announcer on a megaphone caught the little Sin's attention. "Dare to be caught in the maze of mirrors! Only the bravest and most clever can make it through unscathed!"

Moving their legs as quickly as they could, Envy trotted right on over to the announcer. They threw their head back and looked up at the man, grinning ear to ear at the promise of the challenge. "What makes it so difficult to get through there?"

"Why don't you head on in there and find out, little one?"

With a determined nod, Envy darted past the announcer to enter the maze. At first, the mirrors were fun to try and guess in which direction they should head next. Occasionally bumping their forehead against the glass after an all too eager and confident step, they would giggle and rub at the thumped area. Once they entered the area of mirrors that altered one's image, however, the fun began to quickly drain out of them.

Envy stood in front of a dead end, mirrors on either side of them. The mirror obstructing the path in front of them caused their body to elongate and stretch taller than what it truly was. The one on the left squished their image and made them look fatter than what their petite figure appeared to be. And the mirror on their right simply distorted their image altogether. Envy's smile faded as they looked between all three of them.

"This isn't right," they whispered as a sour taste filled their mouth. "I don't want to look like this. Why would anyone want to look like this? This isn't nice or funny or anything good!"

Envy covered their eyes with the palms of their hands and crouched down into as little of a ball as they could. "Get me out!" They shouted over and over. "Get me out! I want to get out!" The louder their voice projected, the mirrors surrounding them in the maze began to shake. After the next couple of shouts, the glass shattered and rang through the building. Time seemed to freeze for just a second before a new sort of silence filled the air.

All the other kids and angels that were enjoying the maze now stood staring at each other, looking around in terror at what and who caused the freak accident. It took a moment for the shock to settle and for them to all start conversing and discussing what went so wrong. The truth behind the event would not come to light, however.

Envy had disappeared.

By the time the noise from the carnival died down and the day soon turned to night, Envy found themselves wandering around the second biggest city in Heaven. Located over on the western side the world, the city of Olminx was still awake and lively. With various fireworks flying and exploding in the sky, light sources being tested, and any other light based technology in use, Envy quickly realized where they had landed. Their eyes glistened in wonder at the realization that they were in the most technologically advanced place in all of Heaven, Earth, and Hell.