So far, today has been a fun day for Amriti. Walking around, looking at all the strings that floated in the air, most were red like bloodstream; some, severed, dull, turning grey, to dust. That sight, of annihilated strings, made Amriti sad. But she always kept a bubbly, happy manner. She never let that sadness get to her too much. The goddess of strings always went on ahead with her work, regardless of its nature. But as she is the goddess of strings, she can’t help but feel sad when one is severed, especially one that she has taken especial care of. Either way, Amriti kept on going among the myriad of strings. They were all the same colour, and yet she could tell what each one was for with no possibility of error. All red, yes. But some represented friendship. Some, parental relationships. Some, hate. Some, fraternity. Some, rivalry. Some, love. The strongest ones, that had been going on for the longest time, shone brighter than the others. The weakest ones, just born, were so thin, as thin as a spider’s web. All that, she could tell with just a glance. If an outsider were to see this sea of strings, they wouldn’t be able to comprehend it. It would appear only as red strings in the wind. But Amriti was the only one who could witness this vast ocean, and god, she loved it! It was the purpose of her life.
Out of pure instinct, she had ended up walking all the way to her shrine. Her shrine was some sort of hall on the foot a mountain in the little village where she had become a patron. Right now, there was only one person there. It was a girl, around 18 years of age, looking quite androgynous, with short black hair, some freckles, and dressed in black and blue. Amriti could hear her prayers: “Oh, please, goddess, let my love reach my beloved Airia.” Luckily, today she was dressed pretty nicely, with a frilly white dress that had lots of pink heart-shaped jewels embedded into it. And of course, no shoes. She always found funny how the girl in the portrait that was on the wall opposite to the entrance didn’t resemble her at all. Still, she loved the flower decorations all around, as well as the heart-shaped decorations with the white walls and the vaulted roof. And there were always fresh flowers picked from the village. It was a really nice place and it was very useful for her: here she could meet people and help them on their love endeavours. The girl who was praying kept on for a while as Amriti watched in invisible mode. The girl’s face was serene but hid a deep sadness within it, Amriti could tell clearly. The girl didn’t have many strings coming out of her. There were only a few, and most were pretty weak, as if the relationships were failing. Only one was strong. And Amriti knew it was from that girl she mentioned: Airia. But it was a friendship string. Amriti decided not to touch her string with Airia, she didn’t want to get herself into a sad mood if something sad was what befell it. If at that moment Amriti had done that, it’d have saved her some pain. As if on cue, the girl got up from the praying stool and walked towards the entrance. Amriti preferred not to reveal herself, but she still wanted to help the girl with her love problems. So, she made herself appear now visible to mortal’s eyes, and approached the girl. Her footsteps tread lightly on the floor, making almost no sound, yet in a lively manner, almost as if dancing. Needless to say, she was excited to be of help in bringing another love story to a close. After all, that’s what made her heart pound: love. Feelings of love, affection, between individuals. She loved witnessing those feelings develop and reach a conclusion where two souls ended up intertwined. And it was thrilling, not knowing if it would work out or not, and knowing she could be the one to make it work out. It’s not like she had any power to control the future, time will flow and things will flow as they are, with her watching. But at least she could try helping in more… mundane ways, right? It was all her mind could think of when her hand finally reached the girl’s back. She tapped her slightly.
“Huh?”
“Ah, hello! I was just passing by and I saw you praying to the goddess here, may it be that you have some love trouble?” said Amriti in a sincere voice. It didn’t harness any bad intentions.
But while Amriti thought that she could just make it as if she had been in the hall all this time before the girl even entered, the girl wouldn’t swallow such an obvious lie. She wasn’t an airhead, and she checked before entering if there was anyone in the shrine. So, she felt a little more than surprised when she felt that light touch on her shoulder.
“Uh, sorry, who are you? I don’t recall someone being here before I entered.”
“Oh, I entered while you were praying! I have really light feet so you probably didn’t notice...” Of course, Amriti thought, she didn’t notice because I was invisible, hah. She giggled.
The girl still thought it was suspicious, but well, she thought it’d be better to find out what she wanted, she didn’t seem to harness bad intentions, did she? “Aaaaaalright, what is the matter, then?” The girl looked serious, but also like she hid a deep pain within herself, and Amriti could feel that.
“Just thought I could help someone out, you know? The flowers laid here,” she pointed to all the flowers that were scattered around the praying stools and overall the whole hall, “they say, are blessed with the goddess’s powers, if you prepare a bouquet, it’ll surely get to your loved one’s heart, don’t you think? I also have something of a charm to give you, if you want to accept it...” It was a heart-shaped jewel she had made a while ago. “If you hold onto it, your real love will bloom for sure!” She said with a big smile, while extending her cupped hands with the pink heart-shaped charm in them.
“Hmph, you say that, but,” the girl turned her gaze away from her, “how can I be so sure? I don’t suppose you’re this goddess, huh? How would you know so much?”
“Uh, uhm, well,” she got a bit nervous and flustered, “ah, I met her once! So that’s why I know, yes!” She almost stuttered, lying wasn’t her forte.
“Mmm, is that so… that’s cool.” She said in a rather monotone voice. The girl thought inquiring more would be a bother for both of them, so she left it at that. “Anyways, I’ll be go--” But she was stopped by Amriti who held her hand tightly and left her the charm. Out of the blue, the girl noticed, she already had a bouquet ready in her other hand, and she handed it to her. Then, Amriti walked away singing a happy song. “Ah, uhm!” The girl blushed a bit. Amriti turned her head back, beaming, and waved at her. Then, she turned right at the hall’s entrance and disappeared into invisibility. When the girl hurried over there, she couldn’t see her anymore. All this happened in such a rush, and it seemed to the girl somehow magical. She felt motivation inside herself, for a moment, to get to Airia and just tell her she loved her. No consequences. For a moment, only, she downplayed all that could potentially happen if it went wrong.
-
After that day, Amriti and the girl, who Amriti found out was called Jun, kept meeting over time. Jun hadn’t had the guts, after all, to confess, so she still was Airia’s best-friend, but not her lover. Airia, Amriti came to know, was an elf. She came from a very rich family, while Jun wasn’t exactly poor, but lower than middle class. Her father was a peasant and her mother was deceased. Since her mother died, she entered a spiral of depression that never ceased. Her father didn’t really get along well with her. Amriti gathered this and so much from her new acquaintance, and she continually checked her strings. The strongest one, always Airia. The weakest one, her father. It was so thin she couldn’t believe it was still there. She had three or four more with some friends that she didn’t meet often. There was one, broken, dull, it was her mother’s. Amriti couldn’t feel but melancholic every time she looked at it. But then she cheered up every time when she looked at the Airia-Jun bond.
Over time, Amriti noticed she had a new string coming out of herself. It lead to Jun. It was a pretty strong bond, she was surprised by how strong it was.
One day, Jun came to the shrine, barely holding her tears. An aura of sadness, gloom, was what Amriti sensed over Jun when she saw her rushing through the entrance. When she saw Jun coming over to her, she felt sad, too. She wanted Jun to be happy, that mattered so much to her! And she had been so looking forward to seeing her with Airia once she confessed. Why had this happened? I… don’t want Jun to be sad. I can’t... bear that. I Amriti comforted her in her arms and held her tight for a while. Jun had confessed. According to her, it hadn’t gone that well. Airia, well, she had turned her down. Amriti raised an eye in surprise. How could that be? She observed clearly that their bond was as strong as ever, maybe even stronger. Then… how? An overall sense of dread invaded Amriti, what if the strings were wrong, she thought. But she re-affirmed her thoughts: but that couldn’t be possible! She knew there had to be some underlying reason for why Airia had lied.
“Hey, Jun?” she said while hugging her, and she let go to look at her eyes. “I am actually... Amriti, the goddess of this church. The red strings… I can see them.” She touched her in her forehead for a second, letting her see the web of strings that flowed in the air-space of the church. “That red one over there,” she pointed at one that came out of Jun’s right hand, “that’s you and Airia’s, and, you know… it isn’t broken!” Her voice had been serene, as if singing a lullaby to a baby, until that last word where she exclaimed happily. Jun watched in awe, letting her tears run. “If Airia hated you now, or if she didn’t want to be with you, it’d be broken, so, I think you still have a chance...” Omnipresent as she was, she checked Airia’s surroudings (she had seen her before walking with Jun over town), it seemed she was having a discussion with her parents over not being possible that she ‘was in love with a human, and a girl!’. “I’m sure… Airia wants to be with you. I think… she probably has problems with her parents not accepting her, but she’ll work around it. Please meet her tomorrow, okay?” She smiled. “And cheer up!” Jun kept crying for a while. Then she giggled, “so you really were the goddess, huh? Remember when we met, I knew it, Amriti!” Jun wasn’t angry, she was joyful. And Amriti enjoyed seeing her like that. She wondered, how it was… being in love with someone. She asked herself if she was in love. Was this love, what she felt towards Jun when she saw her? This heart-throbbing, this eagerness to see her? Every time she came, Amriti lightened up a lot. She had come, with so many meetings, to expect her chats, her conversations. And now that Airia was going to accept her, why did she felt this… emptiness. Would she not come anymore? But it couldn’t be. She knew the strings. She knew herself. What she was enjoying was the thrill of seeing the strings move, the feelings ebb, the love flow. It had to--it was love itself, watching it grow, develop, fall and rise, die, and bloom, that was what she most loved.
Epilogue
The next day, Airia and Jun kissed. Amriti was there, in invisible mode. But she felt like Jun could still see her, somehow. She felt a piece of her feeling… regret? But she was happy, she squealed and she loved it, she loved that finally, after all this fighting, Jun had found her happiness. Jun and Airia’s bond was so strong it almost blinded her. It wasn’t that usual that couples were this strongly connected. She watched over them kissing and holding hands—It’s so cute!—until she couldn’t help but turn up to congratulate Jun and present herself to Airia as Jun’s friend. Jun pointed to her eyes and then to the air, exactly where Amriti had been floating. So she could see her, after all.
“Why do you… walk on your feet, exactly?” asked Airia, genuinely wondering. But before Amriti could answer, Jun stepped in, giggling: “Hah, she’s always like that!”
Jun fished something out of her pocket and squeezed it hard. Amriti saw it before she put it back on. It was the heart-shaped charm she had given her, exactly, exactly a year ago. There was never any need to touch that string, what fun would I have spoiled myself!
Out of pure instinct, she had ended up walking all the way to her shrine. Her shrine was some sort of hall on the foot a mountain in the little village where she had become a patron. Right now, there was only one person there. It was a girl, around 18 years of age, looking quite androgynous, with short black hair, some freckles, and dressed in black and blue. Amriti could hear her prayers: “Oh, please, goddess, let my love reach my beloved Airia.” Luckily, today she was dressed pretty nicely, with a frilly white dress that had lots of pink heart-shaped jewels embedded into it. And of course, no shoes. She always found funny how the girl in the portrait that was on the wall opposite to the entrance didn’t resemble her at all. Still, she loved the flower decorations all around, as well as the heart-shaped decorations with the white walls and the vaulted roof. And there were always fresh flowers picked from the village. It was a really nice place and it was very useful for her: here she could meet people and help them on their love endeavours. The girl who was praying kept on for a while as Amriti watched in invisible mode. The girl’s face was serene but hid a deep sadness within it, Amriti could tell clearly. The girl didn’t have many strings coming out of her. There were only a few, and most were pretty weak, as if the relationships were failing. Only one was strong. And Amriti knew it was from that girl she mentioned: Airia. But it was a friendship string. Amriti decided not to touch her string with Airia, she didn’t want to get herself into a sad mood if something sad was what befell it. If at that moment Amriti had done that, it’d have saved her some pain. As if on cue, the girl got up from the praying stool and walked towards the entrance. Amriti preferred not to reveal herself, but she still wanted to help the girl with her love problems. So, she made herself appear now visible to mortal’s eyes, and approached the girl. Her footsteps tread lightly on the floor, making almost no sound, yet in a lively manner, almost as if dancing. Needless to say, she was excited to be of help in bringing another love story to a close. After all, that’s what made her heart pound: love. Feelings of love, affection, between individuals. She loved witnessing those feelings develop and reach a conclusion where two souls ended up intertwined. And it was thrilling, not knowing if it would work out or not, and knowing she could be the one to make it work out. It’s not like she had any power to control the future, time will flow and things will flow as they are, with her watching. But at least she could try helping in more… mundane ways, right? It was all her mind could think of when her hand finally reached the girl’s back. She tapped her slightly.
“Huh?”
“Ah, hello! I was just passing by and I saw you praying to the goddess here, may it be that you have some love trouble?” said Amriti in a sincere voice. It didn’t harness any bad intentions.
But while Amriti thought that she could just make it as if she had been in the hall all this time before the girl even entered, the girl wouldn’t swallow such an obvious lie. She wasn’t an airhead, and she checked before entering if there was anyone in the shrine. So, she felt a little more than surprised when she felt that light touch on her shoulder.
“Uh, sorry, who are you? I don’t recall someone being here before I entered.”
“Oh, I entered while you were praying! I have really light feet so you probably didn’t notice...” Of course, Amriti thought, she didn’t notice because I was invisible, hah. She giggled.
The girl still thought it was suspicious, but well, she thought it’d be better to find out what she wanted, she didn’t seem to harness bad intentions, did she? “Aaaaaalright, what is the matter, then?” The girl looked serious, but also like she hid a deep pain within herself, and Amriti could feel that.
“Just thought I could help someone out, you know? The flowers laid here,” she pointed to all the flowers that were scattered around the praying stools and overall the whole hall, “they say, are blessed with the goddess’s powers, if you prepare a bouquet, it’ll surely get to your loved one’s heart, don’t you think? I also have something of a charm to give you, if you want to accept it...” It was a heart-shaped jewel she had made a while ago. “If you hold onto it, your real love will bloom for sure!” She said with a big smile, while extending her cupped hands with the pink heart-shaped charm in them.
“Hmph, you say that, but,” the girl turned her gaze away from her, “how can I be so sure? I don’t suppose you’re this goddess, huh? How would you know so much?”
“Uh, uhm, well,” she got a bit nervous and flustered, “ah, I met her once! So that’s why I know, yes!” She almost stuttered, lying wasn’t her forte.
“Mmm, is that so… that’s cool.” She said in a rather monotone voice. The girl thought inquiring more would be a bother for both of them, so she left it at that. “Anyways, I’ll be go--” But she was stopped by Amriti who held her hand tightly and left her the charm. Out of the blue, the girl noticed, she already had a bouquet ready in her other hand, and she handed it to her. Then, Amriti walked away singing a happy song. “Ah, uhm!” The girl blushed a bit. Amriti turned her head back, beaming, and waved at her. Then, she turned right at the hall’s entrance and disappeared into invisibility. When the girl hurried over there, she couldn’t see her anymore. All this happened in such a rush, and it seemed to the girl somehow magical. She felt motivation inside herself, for a moment, to get to Airia and just tell her she loved her. No consequences. For a moment, only, she downplayed all that could potentially happen if it went wrong.
-
After that day, Amriti and the girl, who Amriti found out was called Jun, kept meeting over time. Jun hadn’t had the guts, after all, to confess, so she still was Airia’s best-friend, but not her lover. Airia, Amriti came to know, was an elf. She came from a very rich family, while Jun wasn’t exactly poor, but lower than middle class. Her father was a peasant and her mother was deceased. Since her mother died, she entered a spiral of depression that never ceased. Her father didn’t really get along well with her. Amriti gathered this and so much from her new acquaintance, and she continually checked her strings. The strongest one, always Airia. The weakest one, her father. It was so thin she couldn’t believe it was still there. She had three or four more with some friends that she didn’t meet often. There was one, broken, dull, it was her mother’s. Amriti couldn’t feel but melancholic every time she looked at it. But then she cheered up every time when she looked at the Airia-Jun bond.
Over time, Amriti noticed she had a new string coming out of herself. It lead to Jun. It was a pretty strong bond, she was surprised by how strong it was.
One day, Jun came to the shrine, barely holding her tears. An aura of sadness, gloom, was what Amriti sensed over Jun when she saw her rushing through the entrance. When she saw Jun coming over to her, she felt sad, too. She wanted Jun to be happy, that mattered so much to her! And she had been so looking forward to seeing her with Airia once she confessed. Why had this happened? I… don’t want Jun to be sad. I can’t... bear that. I Amriti comforted her in her arms and held her tight for a while. Jun had confessed. According to her, it hadn’t gone that well. Airia, well, she had turned her down. Amriti raised an eye in surprise. How could that be? She observed clearly that their bond was as strong as ever, maybe even stronger. Then… how? An overall sense of dread invaded Amriti, what if the strings were wrong, she thought. But she re-affirmed her thoughts: but that couldn’t be possible! She knew there had to be some underlying reason for why Airia had lied.
“Hey, Jun?” she said while hugging her, and she let go to look at her eyes. “I am actually... Amriti, the goddess of this church. The red strings… I can see them.” She touched her in her forehead for a second, letting her see the web of strings that flowed in the air-space of the church. “That red one over there,” she pointed at one that came out of Jun’s right hand, “that’s you and Airia’s, and, you know… it isn’t broken!” Her voice had been serene, as if singing a lullaby to a baby, until that last word where she exclaimed happily. Jun watched in awe, letting her tears run. “If Airia hated you now, or if she didn’t want to be with you, it’d be broken, so, I think you still have a chance...” Omnipresent as she was, she checked Airia’s surroudings (she had seen her before walking with Jun over town), it seemed she was having a discussion with her parents over not being possible that she ‘was in love with a human, and a girl!’. “I’m sure… Airia wants to be with you. I think… she probably has problems with her parents not accepting her, but she’ll work around it. Please meet her tomorrow, okay?” She smiled. “And cheer up!” Jun kept crying for a while. Then she giggled, “so you really were the goddess, huh? Remember when we met, I knew it, Amriti!” Jun wasn’t angry, she was joyful. And Amriti enjoyed seeing her like that. She wondered, how it was… being in love with someone. She asked herself if she was in love. Was this love, what she felt towards Jun when she saw her? This heart-throbbing, this eagerness to see her? Every time she came, Amriti lightened up a lot. She had come, with so many meetings, to expect her chats, her conversations. And now that Airia was going to accept her, why did she felt this… emptiness. Would she not come anymore? But it couldn’t be. She knew the strings. She knew herself. What she was enjoying was the thrill of seeing the strings move, the feelings ebb, the love flow. It had to--it was love itself, watching it grow, develop, fall and rise, die, and bloom, that was what she most loved.
Epilogue
The next day, Airia and Jun kissed. Amriti was there, in invisible mode. But she felt like Jun could still see her, somehow. She felt a piece of her feeling… regret? But she was happy, she squealed and she loved it, she loved that finally, after all this fighting, Jun had found her happiness. Jun and Airia’s bond was so strong it almost blinded her. It wasn’t that usual that couples were this strongly connected. She watched over them kissing and holding hands—It’s so cute!—until she couldn’t help but turn up to congratulate Jun and present herself to Airia as Jun’s friend. Jun pointed to her eyes and then to the air, exactly where Amriti had been floating. So she could see her, after all.
“Why do you… walk on your feet, exactly?” asked Airia, genuinely wondering. But before Amriti could answer, Jun stepped in, giggling: “Hah, she’s always like that!”
Jun fished something out of her pocket and squeezed it hard. Amriti saw it before she put it back on. It was the heart-shaped charm she had given her, exactly, exactly a year ago. There was never any need to touch that string, what fun would I have spoiled myself!
