"If you don't mind me asking, why did I choose to live with these people?"

???

I LOST TRACK OF TIME, but I believe it has been over a week since Bethany spoke of my—Zelus's—family. And after all those days of contemplating what I should say once I stand face to face with an actual God, I finally picked my wings up and journeyed to the Gold Vine forest where Bethany claimed the Goddess Nike would come if anyone should pray to her.

Classes were unexpectedly dismissed, and I had the entire afternoon to myself. I packed some bread and water in a sachet as if I were heading out for a picnic. The cafeteria served bread with cheese today, and for once since the day I came to this world, I'm actually looking forward to eating them. As I left the castle grounds, I reminisced about the time I helped Max prepare for his date. He finally convinced Antiope, the hottest girl in his eyes who possesses Barbie's appearance but Wonder Woman's physique. It makes sense since she's the school gym instructor.

I was only twelve, and I didn't know much about love. Though Max explained in detail that was clearly unnecessary, I couldn't comprehend most of it. Just that he has a thing for females with muscles. Now, I discovered that it was his fetish.

Aside from dad—who only gave him a condom if things did get serious—he wanted my opinion on what he should wear to dinner. Specifically, clothes that will help his muscles stand out. Alex was with us, and he did most of the talking because he's good at bringing the best out of people, whereas I'm there to simply say I exist like some furniture. After hours of wrecking his closet, he settled down with a pair of skinny denim jeans and a white skintight V-neck t-shirt paired with navy-blue Converse. Not only were his muscles exposed but also his nipples. That's one of the things I admire about him. His confidence. Something I could never get so easily. Even now, dressed in a tunic, I still feel uncomfortable with my chest exposed, and I'm a boy.

I did, however, plan his entire picnic menu, which went smoothly. Mom and I went to Walmart and bought everything I knew that fitness people would appreciate. From proteins to low-fat desserts. But of course, mom included other treats such as chocolate pudding, Cheetos, and slices of Red Velvet cake.

Though things didn't work out between them, he still loved every minute of their date because it was different than any date he's been on. Most of his dates were simply held at the mall, where they'd watch a movie and take a long stroll under the luminous silver freckled sky. The things I wish someone would've done for me. But for him, he's an outgoing person who loves to move around and get his adrenaline pumping.

Maybe someday he'll find the right girl who matches his standards.

If he still exists, that is.

According to Bethany, it's an hour's journey to the forest by foot but only a minute by wings. I can practically hear my wings laughing because they know I couldn't get them in the air. In the meantime, I started using them as a jacket or extra coverage. The cotton-green feathers are larger than I am; therefore, I circle them around my body like a shawl. And surprisingly, it does the trick. Not only do I blend in with the crowd without my wings, but they've also helped the insecurities of my exposed chest. Even with my tunic on, my wings now surround my body like a cloak, just without a hood, and instead of fabric, they're feathers.

...

As I stepped into a land that belonged to a fairytale, amazed by the satisfying sounds of leaves and twigs crunching beneath my feet, I gazed around the forest. Finally, I understood why it's called the Gold Vine forest. Every sprawling tree passed had bright yellow vines draping over the moss-filled branches. They become gold when the sun hits them.

Mother nature had crafted a golden forest that mimics the Fall season, which was indeed a rare sight to behold.

I breathe in the fumes that reek of age and the compositing, organic scent that spawns from the earth-like mist. Massive roots that spread on the ground like the veins on my arms. They hold the oak trees with their knotted arms that rise ever so high, as far as my eyes could see. The majesty of every tree resembles the guardians, silently watching every step I take. Shuffling noises emerges from the deep, and I come across wild rabbits retreating to their burrows or birds darting from one tree to another.

It wasn't long before the gentle melody of a brook caught my ears. I follow the music as if they were Naiads luring me towards them. I'd like to pretend that I was the first to stumble upon the brook, oh so fragile, teal blue color like the gentle stroke of a paintbrush. Rushing and sneaking past every obstacle, sometimes they'd leap toward the borders. Twigs from the tree that stood over the majestic mountains in the far distance where only the eyes could see but hands couldn't reach twirl on its muttering, glassy surface. Speckled tails skimming by the pebbles were trout. It feels like I've got a front-row seat as I watch them arced into the air with their bodies glistening like diamonds, trapping their prey within the gates of their teeth before darting back to the lower depths with a plunking sound.

The serenity of this place nearly made me forget my mission.

I sit with my wings leaning against a tree where more golden vines hang over the branches. They curtain my surroundings, and the overgrown vein-like roots shelter my sides, making it seem like I'm sitting on a throne.

It's a beautiful hideout, and it's strangely growing on me.

I reach into the sachet and pull out the scroll where I wrote the words or prayers to the Goddess Nike. My eyes studied each word, and it made me feel pathetic. I've never prayed to any idols before. Not God, the Universe, Buddha, nothing. I don't know how to summon a God or ask for blessings. Though, I'm not an atheist as well. I just didn't know which one to pray to because there were so many of them. Unlike mom, she'd always pray to Jesus. Every night she sits on the front steps with the bible app on her phone and reads a few chapters of Psalms.

Watching her from my window, I wonder if there truly is a God, and even if there is, why would He bring me into this world knowing that I will not be His perfect creation. Existing meant making choices. And clearly, I chose a path that he wouldn't be proud of. It's not like I wanted to rebel on purpose. I wasn't left with options. These options were there for me when no one else was. Alex was there for me.

I close my eyes and clutch the scroll firmly as I chant, "To the Goddess Nike, hear my prayers, your little brother, Zelus, for I'm in desperate need of your guidance."

...

The wind picks up, but I open my eyes to see nothing. However, the atmosphere feels heavy, like someone's watching me. I close the scroll as I rise to my feet, fixating my sight ahead where a figure stands. An angel with wings similar to mine, only hers are clay brown, the wings of a hawk. She wore a royal, mid-thigh chiton. The back of her dress was as long as her wings dragged when she walked. A wreath constructed from white gardenia and jasmine flowers spreads across her forehead, complimenting the same shade of her hair that tumbles and turns over her shoulders.

As she approaches me, I keep my eyes on her face and realize instantly that it's Victoria.

"Victoria?!" I blurt before my palms slap my mouth shut.

"Have humans influenced you that much until you have forgotten my name?" She smirks.

"I'm sorry, I—" What was I supposed to say? I'm sorry, it's just that I thought you were my sister?! Technically she is, and yet, she isn't. This is beyond screwed up.

"And by the way, there's no need to call me by praying," she now stands before me where our eyes meet, and she shares Victoria's emerald eyes. Dad's eyes.

Butterflies' hovers in her presence, making it seem like she can call every existing butterfly in the forest.

"You need only to call, and I'll be there," she said.

"Thanks for reminding me."

...

"What's going on with you," she circles me. Her eyes traveled around my body, and it made me anxious.

"What do you mean?"

She grabs my left wing; her touch feels foreign. Her skin is cold, but it feels comforting. Her free hand hovers over it, yellow aura crawls around her fingers and onto my wings. I feel nothing but her eyebrows furrow.

"Your powers are weakening, and your feathers are falling," her powers cease. Her eyes pierce into mine, and curiosity and suspicions fill them.

She reminded me that my feathers have been dropping recently. After a week since I got here, I'd often wake up with a few—or clumps—of them on the bed, detached. They fall like loose hair. I didn't think much about it, assuming it was normal for wings to shed before the awakening of new feathers.

However, if a goddess questions it, there may be a problem.

"I haven't been flying for a while now," I suggest. "Could that be why?"

"I can see that." She strides ahead, and I notice the differences in our height as I look down at her. Though she was the eldest, my height surpassed her. "What about your powers?"

I shook my head, and the look of disappointment on her face manifested.

"Since the very beginning, I knew your decision to live with these mortals was a bad idea," she turns her back on me or her wings. "And yet, I didn't try to stop you. So, partially, it's my fault."

"If you don't mind me asking, why did I choose to live with these people?"

She remains still, but her hands glow golden-yellow, engulfing her body.

"Don't you remember?"

"I sort of forgotten."

Her powers cease as she exhales loudly before facing me once again. Her soft expression relieves me.

"The day we joined Zeus in the Titans War, you were appalled by the attention received by everyone in Olympus, that nobody respected you as if you were invisible. I watched you the entire time, noticing your anger growing stronger. You wanted everyone to see that you're more than just a daimon. So, you went on intense battles. You won some, but you failed many," she lifts her hand where an orb hovers over her palm. The butterflies enter the orb, and there I am, or the original Zelus, during the Titans' war. "Gods and goddesses were present that day, even Hades. Our job was to stand by Zeus's side and aid him when required. Your brother and I did just that. However, you rebelled alongside Apollo in attacking Atlas. You failed. Kratos and Bia interfered, and thankfully Poseidon's waves pulled you to safety."

"You mean, I could've died that day?"

"You tell me," her hand fisted, closing the orb, and the butterflies returned to her crown. Her eyebrows furrow again, and the soft expression on her face fades. "Why are you asking me all this?"

"I wanted to reflect on my mistakes, that's all," not that I'm proud of it, but I'm starting to get pretty good at lying. Though I wonder if she would realize it sooner or later. Or maybe she already does, and she's playing pretend.

"Hmm," her eyes study me as if by doing that, she will get me to spill the truth. I mean, she is, but I don't exactly have a mirror to see how convincing my expression is.

Maybe it's working because her eyebrows relax. "Very well then. Shall I continue sharing your heinous decision?"

Ouch.

"Please."

"In the end, the Gods took the victory without your help. You were recovering in the spell chamber formed by Bia. Days passed, and finally, you awakened. Your powers were intact, but your heart wasn't. You were embarrassed and ashamed for failing your mission. So much that you decided to live among the mortals in the hope that everybody will forget your existence someday," she picks my wrist and flips my palm up. "It was the first time I saw the daimon of jealousy repulsed of himself."

"I still live with them today. Does this mean I loved this land more than home?"

"Do you remember the first few days you spent with these humans? We sat under this tree, and you shared your stories of how everywhere you go, people look at you funny, or how annoyed you'd get when someone randomly falls on their knees and prays to you," she laughs. She releases my hand. "However, you eventually grew to like man's land. As you would say, it is easier to live with humans than with your kind."

"Perhaps."

"Still, it doesn't mean you should give up on your powers, Zelus," she takes a step back. Her butterflies land on my palm. And it wasn't long before they began biting me. My eyes shot down to see they are now cobras.

"What are you doing?!" I'm trying to pull them off, but their bodies are non-tangible. They circle my arms, continuously biting me.

"I want to see if you remember our little training," she stands further with her arms crossed against her chest. "Use your powers, little brother."

"But I don't know how!" the pain is getting unbearable every second, but strangely, I see no blood conjuring under their fangs.

"Do not be absurd—"

It was then I lost it.

"I really don't know! That is why I came to you," I fall to the ground, rolling as if my body was on fire. "Stop this!"

And just like that, the pain ceased, along with the sweat staining my forehead and tears blurring my visions. I gasped in the much-needed air my lungs were begging for. I stayed on the ground, not caring how uncomfortable it felt lying on my wings. And I nearly forgot Nike was around before she came into sight.

"What do you mean you don't know how to use your powers, Zelus?"