Our hero tied a rope to a tree and formed a noose out of it. The rope snapped when he put his neck into it.
He saw a knife on the ground and made to cut his own belly open. Unfortunately, the blade was too dull.
He threw himself into a river, but he never fully sank to the bottom.
He tried to set himself on fire with a torch, but his skin was too damp.
He tried to drink himself to death, but he could not steady his hand to drink more wine.
In the morning his clothes dried. He again tried to throw himself into the fire, but the fire was not hot enough.
He insulted and attacked several men on the street, hoping to attract their ire, but they were too upset to retaliate, as their wives had recently miscarried.
He provoked animals, but they were grieving from the loss of their home.
He threw himself onto a rack of swords, but they never pierced his skin.
He ate poison, but only received incontinence.
He sold himself to the army, but there were no wars. As both cities were now deserts, the two cities, having a similarity, reconciled.
He beat himself with a hammer, but he lacked the strength to crack his skull.
His face broken, his mouth missing a few teeth, he wondered why he was left to live, and he wept in despair.
A bird alighted on his shoulder, bearing a message tied to its foot. The message was from the goddess. She wanted to meet him.
Our hero ran to the healer’s home, which was empty. He stole some of the healer’s best clothing and sprinted to the bar she would be.
She was somehow even more beautiful from the day he met her. Her skin was white as snow and her breasts were like babies swaddled in cloth.
Some men asked if she minded their sitting with her. She replied that she minded. When they disregarded her, they vanished. No trace of them remained; they simply vanished. No one wanted to sit with her.
Our hero asked if she minded whether he sat with her. She did not. He sat down.
Our hero asked how she has been.
She blinked. “It always is.
“How are you?”
Our hero was doing well.
The goddess was happy to hear this.
A waitress came by and asked what they required. The goddess did not eat, so our hero ordered pie.
“Why do you want the demon lords defeated so badly?”
She blinked. “I do not want them so.
“I guide adventurers so that they are so. That is all.
“If you are asking why my creators wanted it so, I can only speculate. I assume the demon lords destabilize the balance of the worlds. As to what the balance is for, I do not know.
“This world is also linked to your former world, so if events continue as they do now, both worlds may be destroyed.
“I recall I explained this to you when we first met.”
Our hero simply forgot.
He then asked about the healer. The goddess recalled him, as well as several other adventurers who were close to defeating the demon lords. But they, alas, could not. They were perhaps the most successful group in a millennium, but, she surmised, “I can not see this world lasting another decade.”
Our hero asked who she was.
“I am not a god as other beings in this world are called gods. They are concepts given shape. I am merely a guide between worlds.
“I must be going now. Forgive me if I cannot help you. I am not given much these days.”
Our hero was simply glad to see her again and asked if she liked anything in this world. She simply responded, “Flowers, I suppose.” She gave our hero one last smile, and then evaporated into beads of light.
© 2025 François-Marie Lee