Like Simi’s.
But her mother didn’t seem as happy as Simi was that she’d come back.
The goddess frowned at her mother. “What is it?”
Her mother, Xiamara, held her hands out for Simi. Without hesitating, she flew from the goddess to her to get the hug the Simi needed most.
But her matera was crying, and that confused her greatly. Why would matera’s eyes flow with water? Simi had only seen that happen when her mama thought about her papas who’d died.
And only when her matera thought no one was around to see her tears.
“Xi?” akra-Apollymi asked gently. “Tell me.”
“Why’s Simi’s matera so sad?” Simi asked, wanting to make her feels all warm like her matera did whenever the Simi had tears that flowed down her cheeks.
Rocking her gently, her mother clenched her eyes closed. “I don’t know how to tell you, akra.”
The goddess approached them fretfully. “Is he not well? I’m still a prisoner here, so I know he lives even though I can’t see him in my mirror at the moment.”
Her mother rubbed Simi’s back. “He lives.”
Who was he? Was it the boy the goddess sometimes watched? Simi wanted to ask, but she knew from experience that it would anger her mother if she interrupted her while she spoke to their goddess.
“Does he not love me?” akra-Apollymi asked with tears in her swirling silver eyes.
To her deepest sadness, her mother set her down. “Go find your sister, Simi. I need to speak with akra alone.”
But why? Again, Simi knew better than to ask that out loud. Grownups often shooed her away, even when the Simi was trying to help them. And especially whenever she was trying to understand them.
Oh well …
Sucking her thumb, Simi skipped away from the garden back to the path that led toward their home. Even so, she really wanted to know what was so important that it made everyone’s hearts hurt.
Grown-ups. She’d never understand them and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. They’s all boring and bleh!
“Simi! Here! Now!”
Her eyes widened at the sound of her sissy’s angry shouts as she left the goddess’s temple. She removed her thumb from her mouth so that she could yell back. “What!”
Angry as always, Xirena rushed out of the shadows to scoop her up before she could even tell which direction her sister had come in from. Her sissy’s skin was marbled red and black, and her yellow eyes were tinged with worry. “I’ve been looking all over for you! Where have you been?”
As always, Simi was where Simi was. She never understood that question, nor the anger that came with it.
“Simi wanted Matera. But she done told the Simi that she can’t be with the Simi right now. She with akra-Apollymis so Simi had to leave and go away. Can we have food now, sissy? Simi’s hungry.”
Xirena let out a deep, aggravated sigh. The most frequent sound Simi heard from her older sister. “You’re always hungry. I don’t understand why you can never get full.”
To be fair, that was true. Simi didn’t know why either, but her belly constantly demanded food. So did her tastebuddies. They liked yummy things and in particulars really hot, yummy things.
But at least her sister didn’t yell at her like normal. Simi was tired of that, even if her sister was her protector. Xirena wasn’t her matera and she shouldn’t have a right to scream at Simi all the time. For some reason, her sissy thought it was her job to boss Simi alls the times.
But right now, Xirena held her close as her sissy flew her toward their home.
It was a small cottage set off by itself, which Simi didn’t understand as the other Charonte demons lived in a giant hall together, near the goddess. When she was littler, they had a much bigger place, but that was in Katateros—the heaven realm where the Atlantean gods all lived, and where akra-Apollymi had lived until the evil gods got together and cursed her here because she wouldn’t let them kill her baby son.
So long as akra-Apollymi’s son lived, akra-Apollymi couldn’t leave their Kalosis and so the Charonte stayed with her.
Simi didn’t blame the goddess for not wanting to leave. She wouldn’t let them kill her baby either. Or her sister, brother or mother. She would always protect what she loved. No matter what.
