Finding

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There is someone here. The moon and sky vanish from view, a form and presence alighting on my being. All at once familiar and foreign, old and brand new. "I never meant for this to happen." The voice is Reena. "I am so sorry."

"I'm sorry." They were the words I wanted to say before. They carry no weight now, I don't mean them anymore.

Words echo, forming this closed space where only we exist. "You may think that I don't understand you. How could I, an all powerful goddess? A being so far removed from the toils and drudgery of mortals?" Her laugh is pain and hurt. "We are more alike than you think. I also know what it's like to always be compared to my kind, and always be found lacking." That... makes sense. Because she is The Powerless Goddess. There's a faint tug in my chest. I let her pull.

"Life can be unfathomably difficult. Even the strongest wills can be crushed within the gears of fate. But I can see it in you, your will is not yet broken." The words wash over me like waves of cool, healing water. They bare me, down to my core. "I know we haven't seen eye to eye, and I know we both said things we wish we could take back. Please, forgive me. Let's try again." Her gaze is upon me, pleading eyes bottomless pools of regret.

"I need your help. I can't explain how, and I can't explain why. I can't even reciprocate, I have nothing worthwhile to offer you in return." Worried tension arises. A thread of her, stretched to the point of breaking. "I know you have no reason to help me. But I believe in you, I really do. There is far more potential in you than you are aware of, but you need time. I wish I could give it to you, but I can't. Not without breaking you from your path."

A shudder, a roil of regret. "I tried. I pushed you to an easier road, to a place you could flourish and thrive, but you would not stay. Despite my best efforts, you always refused peace. You chose suffering. It made me so, so angry, your complete ambivalence to your own well-being. So I tried to force you, tried to make your decision for you. Even if I believe it would be better- even if I know it would be better for you, I attempted to undermine your will. What I did was wrong." Her hands grasp to me, her still water meeting mine in a desperate, repentant embrace. "My hubris nearly destroyed you, I am truly sorry."

She clutches, her clasping surface enclosing mine. "You tread upon a hard path, wrought with war and suffering and pain, but that is the path you have chosen." Her breath flows out, a tingling vibration stirring across me. Then a swell rises, engulfing me in terrified determination. "If I wish to see you to the end, I can stand aside no longer. From here on, I will be a hand at your back to push you forward. Arms to catch you when you fall. So I beg of you, keep trying. Keep striving and growing, until you find your strength. This is all I can do for you now."

Lips brush my forehead. A soft kiss, radiating a warmth that fills me with gentle, inspiring strength. With it, her surface drips to mine, her tear giving birth to a singular ripple which emanates from the point where we connect. Her words boom, no longer words. They are soundless force. A boundless, cosmic keen.

"I throw my lot with yours."