I nod. It doesn’t matter what she says. If she really is the goddess of fate and can save David, then I want to do this, no matter the cost.
“I owe a favor to someone in another realm, so we’re doing an exchange of sorts.”
“Another ‘realm’?”
“Another world, a parallel one. All souls exist in a woven tapestry on this side, a spiderweb of threads on their side. We Fates have similar jobs, so we swap stories and share information from time to time. If they need something, we help, and vice versa. At this moment, those Fates need someone that can easily be pulled fromthisrealm’s weave, because the right candidate doesn’t quite exist in their world. We’ve had success with a few others in the same situation recently, so I dug around in our tapestry, looking for someone that won’t be missed. Someone that has something to lose, and someone that has the right sort of cheerful determination for the shitty job I’m about to hand them.”
Someone that won’t be missed. Ouch. I’d argue that I’ll be missed by David, and by my coworkers that I’m continuallypicking up shifts for, but otherwise…well. We don’t have a big extended family, David and me. There are no lovers, and my friendships are all surface-level because I never have time to hang out. Anyone I was close with drifted away years ago and moved on to college and other things. Even so, it stings to think that I’m so easily ‘removable.’ “I see.”
“And frankly, your coping mechanisms make you ideal.”
That makes me pause. “Coping mechanisms?”
She takes out a new cigarette, lights it, then pulls a long drag on the new one before answering. “Your endless cheerfulness and can-do determination are trauma-induced. Don’t make me get all psychological on you. Those things are perfect for what we need, because you’re going to be more or less the one driving this scenario.”
I am? “I’m still saying yes, but what exactly is the job?”
“You’re going to have to babysit a god. And he’s not a nice god. In fact, he’s the god of disease.”
I recoil at that. The god of disease? The very thing that’s killing my brother?
“I know. Irony, right?” Lachesis’s smile is faint. “We didn’t plan it that way, but funny how things work out so well.”
“Why is there a god of disease at all?” I ask, indignant. “Why celebrate something like that?”
“It’s a catch-all term for everything, truly. Disease, decay, rot, contagions, sicknesses, epidemics, pandemics, plagues, illnesses…I could go on and on.”
“And I could ask again, why would you want to celebrate something like that? Why would you worship it?” There’s a hard edge in my tone. “Why wouldn’t you want to eradicate it instead?”
Lachesis studies me. “Big picture, honey. You have to think big picture.” When I shake my head again, she continues. “What happens when a tree decays in the forest? It makes way for new things. The rotten wood fallsto the ground and nourishes the soil. You see it as an end, but the larger powers see it as renewal. Remember the black plague in the Dark Ages? It upended society and paved the way for the Renaissance. Change isn’t always bad. It’s just change.”
Just change? Can she really see it like that? I can’t. I’ve seen the devastation that “just change” can bring close up. But I’m not here to argue it. If me shutting my mouth and serving some strange god of disease gets David free of cancer, I’m grabbing that opportunity with both hands. “And you said it needs to be me? Is there something special about me?”
Lachesis gives me a gentle smile. “The most special thing about you is that you aren’t special. Every thread we pull from the weave of souls, we consider what outward ripples it has on others. All threads cross, some more than others. If we cut short the thread of a simple farmer, it might create a ripple effect that topples kingdoms that aren’t meant to be toppled yet. If we remove you, though, it doesn’t cause any massive ripples in the fabric of life. There are no world-ending situations. You’re just…gone. Poof.” She flicks her fingers.
Poof. My entire life is less than a poof. “What about David?”
She raises a finger in the air. “That’s the interesting part. If his thread continues, he develops revolutionary cancer treatments that help thousands of people. He marries the love of his life and has children, and all of their threads also successful and beneficial to the universe as a whole.”
“So… why not just do it?”
“Like I said, I owe someone a favor. And you’ve got the right personality to be the watchdog to the god we’re looking to have, well, watched. Once we move you over, I’ll tweak David’s fate thread. He’s going to risk an experimental cancer treatment and it’s going to work wonders on him.”
I twist my hands in my lap to hide their trembling. David isgoing to have everything. I’m going to lose everything, but David will get all that I ever wanted for him to have—happiness and a family of his own. Success in his career. A great life.
Never mind that I’m giving all of mine up. It’s easier to agree to as long as I don’t think about what it means for me, thepoof. I focus on David instead. “Experimental treatments are costly. David needs to win the lottery, too.”
Lachesis chuckles. “A hard bargain. Okay, fine. He’ll get a scratch ticket on the way home one day and it’ll surprise him.”
I eye her. She’s conceding so easily to huge, world-changing decisions. “This job is going to be terrible, isn’t it?”
“You said it doesn’t matter, remember?”
“It doesn’t, but I’m just getting confirmation.”
“He’s no one’s favorite person. His name is Kalos, he’s the god of disease and decay in his realm, which I told you about. He’s also a total shitstain, but all of the gods are in their realm. That’s one reason why they’re being punished.”
“Punished…?”
