Imperfect

By Emily Shen

So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell, blue skies from pain. Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell? And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts? Hot ashes for trees? Hot air for a cool breeze? Cold comfort for change? And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? How I wish, how I wish you were here. We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year, running over the same old ground. What have you found? The same old fears.

Wish you were here.—Pink Floyd

Prologue

Subj: End of cycles
From: Fate@theuniverse.org.gxy
To: 3fates@otherworld.org.gxy

My dears, you have been doing very well so far. Clotho and Atropos, I’m so glad that you two are
working together and keeping the balance of life so well. As for Lachesis, you are ever so good
in organising everything for me. You may have guess from the subject that I have got a new
mission for you. I am tired of the Cycles. It’s a time to put an end to it. Athena’s ruled for
too long and she has become a bit too spoilt for my taste. So, rack your brains and find a way to
END THE CYCLES NOW.
Love,

Spirit of Fate

A seemingly young woman with long, flowing gold hair, more shiny than the precious metal itself,
sat in front of a small screen. She looked like a rainbow of colours with blood red lips,
sapphire blue eyes and a forest green dress. Upon reading this message, she swore under her
breath and her sculptured face paled visibly. “What’s the matter, Lachesis?” There were two
other women seated in the room. Actually, it was not so much a room as it was a large bubble of
light and colour in another dimension surrounded by nothingness. In this place, time was
powerless. It slowed down and even stopped to the will of the inhabitants. Millions of threads,
some thicker than others, some glowing, some dimming, some straight and some tangled into knots,
hung in the space around the three women. The one who spoke had hair and eyes as dark as the
blackest night. Her skin was somewhat translucent. She wore a tight black dress and held a sharp
and shiny pair of scissors in her hand. Her posture was somewhat proud although her form was the
smallest out of the three. “What does Fate want us to do?” asked the third woman. She seemed the
total opposite of the one in black. Everything that was black on the other was white on her
except her eyes, which were a pale shade of blue or perhaps grey. Her skin, however, was a
striking shade of bronze. “Come and read it yourself, Clotho,” replied Lachesis angrily. “Oh,
come sister, you know the screen does damage to our eyes. I need to weave these threads. I need
good vision. To protect my eyes, you must read the message to me.” Clotho put on a charming smile, weaving a thread as she talked. “Hey, sister, is this the right length?” Lachesis sighed, walked
over and measured it with a golden ruler and nodded. Dancing in a series of graceful movements,
Clotho placed it in a space above her. The thread stayed there, suspended in thin air. Just then,
the woman in black looked critically at a rather thin and dull thread and cut through it in the
middle. The thread snapped immediately. The two halves crumbled and disappeared into nothingness.
“Yes, read it out for me too. I need good eyesight to cut the right threads. Can you imagine what
would happen if I started cutting them at random?” Lachesis shuddered at the thought. “Fine, I’ll
read it to you lazy people,” she said grudgingly. “Prepare yourselves though. It’s not the normal
everyday message.” Clotho and Atropos looked at each other and nodded. Lachesis made the gravest effort to read the mail in a neutral tone. The reaction from the other two is as she expected.
“What!” Atropos was furious. She was waving her arms in frenzy, her eyes wide with disbelief.
The scissors in her hand was held dangerously like a weapon. “You’re joking, right?” asked Clotho, hesitantly. “I’ve read it word for word. It’s real unless Fate’s joking. And we all know that her sense of humour is nothing like this.” Lachesis winced slightly and said in a suggestive tone,
“Atropos, you might want to calm down slightly. We really don’t want you to sear through the
wrong thread at the moment.” Atropos stopped. She looked around, a little embarrassed as if she
just realised what she was doing. There was an awkward silence, broken by Lachesis. “Right. What do we do, sisters?” “Couldn’t Fate have given more details? If she doesn’t want Athena to rule anymore, who does she want to rule the humans on Earth? Poseidon? Hades? Who?” Atropos scratched her hair absently. “Why don’t you write back to Fate and ask, sister?” “Good idea, Clotho. I’ll do it right now.” Time stood still, frozen in the waves of power in this strange dimension.
However, it felt like years before the reply came.

Subj: Re: Re: End of cycles
From: Fate@theuniverse.org.gxy
To: 3fates@otherworld.org.gxy

Dear Clotho, Atropos and Lachesis,

>If Athena is no longer right for the humans, who
>should we arrange to fill her place?

I thought you might enquire about that.

>The ones we can think of so far are Zeus, Hera,
>Poseidon, Hades, Eris, Ares, Apollo, Artemis,
>Hermes, Aphrodite, Hestia and Hephaestus. We may
>have missed some, but there are too many to be
>listed. Please instruct us which of them you have
>intentions to use.

In fact, none of the ones you have come up with so far. They are already quite powerful. Some
already had a go at looking after the humans. They are fine in their current occupations. However,
for many different reasons, none of them will do the job in my mind at the moment. This world is
imperfect and it shall always remain so. However, it may be changed. For better or worse, I shall
only be able to see after all this is over. As I told you before, I am feeling rather bored. I
planned everything that happened and is happening in this world. Only the Gods can add their own
little whims. However, I have watched them for too long. They are all getting so predictable.
There are just no surprises anymore. Therefore I am going to add a little fun to it all. “

You know, when Fate decides to ‘add a little fun’, I get a little nervous. I really don’t like
her sense of humour.”
“Just let me finish reading before you interrupt, Atropos.” “Sorry.”

I intend to bring attention to one much neglected in the past. She shall manifest at the same
time as Athena. Find her and watch her. She has only taken Earthly form once before, near the
beginning of the Earth when the world was more or less ruled by Poseidon. Therefore she is not
experienced in Earthly matters. So, a little suggestion, you might want to make her body born
before Athena’s. I expect you three to help her. Best wishes, Spirit of Fate
(I’m watching you… ;-))

“Did she say the same time as Athena?” Clotho looked up from her weaving. “Were you listening
when I read it out?” The dainty Goddess ignored that comment from her sister Lachesis and frowned.
“Then I need to weave another special thread so whoever it is has a body ready for her spirit.”
“That might come in useful. And hang her life-thread up before you hang up Athena’s. Fate
suggested that.” “Can’t you just use Athena’s body for the mystery spirit and weave a new life
for Athena later?” Atropos shook off her thoughtful silence. “It’s a matter of taste. I wove that
thread with Athena in mind. The body will have certain characteristics made especially for her. It
won’t suit this mystery spirit, as you call it. Anyway, we’ve got all the time we need. There’s
no rush.” Clotho paused for a moment, “however, there is a problem. I don’t know who the spirit
is, except that it’s female. And knowing Fate as we all do, I don’t think she’s going to tell us
who the spirit is. How am I going to make a suiting body and life thread for her?” “Make it like
the ocean. That’s the only other time she’s been on Earth, remember?”


“Do good people always win?”
A pair of ocean-blue eyes stared up into deep violet eyes of wisdom. A girl of about eight years
old sat cross-legged in front of a crackling little fire. A slender young woman crouched beside
her, her golden hair streaming down her back. It was braided at the sides and ties back to give
the impression of a shining halo resting lightly on her head. The room was a bakery, but also
their kitchen, dinning room and bedroom. In fact, it was the only room in the house. Perhaps
because of its smallness and the cheerfully burning fire, the room seemed infinitely cosy. The
woman smiled fondly at the child. This little foundling reminded her more than just a little of
her long dead sister. This girl loved stories and fairytales just as much as her sister did. The
look of rapt concentration was strikingly similar on the faces, one in front of her and the other
locked in her memory. “What do you think my dear little one?” The girl frowned and said
uncertainly, “yes?” The woman did not reply, but just smiled reassuringly. The dark looming
shadows could not totally disguise the two figures, one small and the other slender, lying
cuddled together by the twisted pavement. “Can’t we claim back our home?” asked a small trembling voice. “No, dear little one. The bakery doesn’t really belong to us, you know. We rented the place.” This voice was weak, but full of strength at the same time, trying to quench the fear of
the younger girl. “But it’s my home.” The small child was close to tears. “I know. It is, was,
my home too,” came the reply with a sad sigh. She held the child a little tighter, trying
to comfort her. For a while they fell silent. The wind howled a little louder. The woman shifted
and shielded the girl with her own body. Winters were not usually very cold in Greece, but this
year was a strange case. The Earth was frozen hard. The biting wind seared through their skin
like thin razors. She recognised the smell of promised snow in the icy air. Why this year of all
years did they become homeless? The woman shuddered in the cold. In a milder winter, she might
have last longer. She might be able to look after the dear little one for a bit longer. “But I
thought good people always win. We’re the good people, aren’t we? So why can’t we get back our home?” The woman sighed again. Two years ago, she had smiled reassuringly at the little girl’s
innocence. Now, it was different. She had to teach the child lessons she learnt in her life. It
was now or never, and never would make the child’s life harder than necessary. She could no
longer feel her legs. The senses in her arms were slowly fading as blood froze in her veins. She
stared straight into the girl’s pallid face, locking her deep blue eyes with her own violet eyes.
“Do you know why good always wins over evil?” The response was a little shake of the head. “Is
it because good people are favoured?” “No, dear little one.” She saw the girl wince uncomfortably.
Perhaps her tone was too serious. However, this was serious matter. She continued gravely, “It
is because whoever wins is seen as ‘good’ by future generations. Whoever loses will become the
‘bad’ or ‘evil’ one. You see, the winners will always gain some sort of power. Therefore, they
can convince everyone of their ‘goodness’ by showing them only what they want people to see. The losers never have the chance to show their point of view. They become ‘bad’ because the winners say so.” “Does that mean ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are not really true?” Her confused eyes where like miniature whirlpools. “No. They are points of view. They are different beliefs. Make up your own belief. They will be true to you. Don’t ever let others fool you, though. Don’t let their beliefs
blind you. Open your eyes and see the world for yourself. Don’t see it through filters that
others place in front of you. Don’t fear the truth when you find it. Hold on to it and never let
go.” “But you will always be there to help me, won’t you?” The child sounded so alone. She choked back her tears. “I will be there for as long as I can. If not in body, my spirit will always be
there. Sleep now.” She added after a brief pause. “Make your life worth living, my dearest little
one.” Getting a nod from the child, she smiled. She lifted her face up to the stars above and
prayed silently.
“O, stars, stars that guide the destiny of men, care for her please. Let her live. Bless her
life.” She took one last look at the shining lights far in the dark velvet sky, and for the last
time in her life, she smiled.

“No!” Lachesis’s scream echoed through the strange space that was her home. “You moron, Atropos! What are you doing?” “Just my duty,” calm despite the sudden burst of interruption. “I’m not like you, who constantly skives off duty and lets Clotho do all the work.” Her right hand was
suspended in mid-air. The terrible scissors was held over two entangled threads, dimming in
lustre. One snapped as the sharp blade touched it. “No! Stop at once, you imbecile!” Lachesis
wrestled the blades from her sister who was at a disadvantage due to her smaller size. “Why,”
shouted back Atropos, now worked up and fuming with anger. “Well, are you blind?” Her sister was no less angry. “That’s the thread of that Mystery Spirit’s incarnation,” she shrieked. Suddenly
hit with realisation, Atropos’s anger vanished. “Oops,” she said, biting her lower lip, going a
rosy red colour as she did so. “Did I cut it?” “Thanks to me, you didn’t. It’s still hanging on.
” She carefully ran her fingers across the thinning and darkening thread, now hanging alone. It
started to glow with a pale blue light again, brightening with the passage of time. “Much better,
” she said, smugly. She turned to the embarrassed Atropos and told her with a serious voice,
“Don’t do that again, ever! Look whose thread you’re cutting before you wield you deadly scissors
, alright?”