Goddess of Joy

She stared at the crowd. Bustling and shoving, everyone had their own life. Here she stood, or sat, every day, waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

Waiting for who, or what, no-one knows. Many see her everyday as

they pass, but none speak.

That day, as she sat on an old bench, an officer approached her.

He was new and had seen her sit there for the past month, before leaving to who

knows where. She never got on the train.

"Miss, what are you doing ?" he asked. He wore a

classic blue uniform and had black hair and eyes.

"I am waiting." she replied in what was once a silky

voice, but now raspy. Her hair had threads of white showing but were otherwise

black too. Her eyes, a chocolate brown, looked as if they could shoot death rays.

"What are you waiting for ?" he asked.

"Does nature need a reason to grow ?" she asked back.

The officer shook her head.

"Then you have your answer." she smiled warmly at him

and turned back to stare at the train.

But the man didn't leave.

"May I join you ?" he asked instead. She nodded,

"If you wish."

They sat there for many hours; the guard got up occasionally to

do a perimeter check.

At exactly five minutes to midnight, she left. The guard's shift

had finished a little while ago and he followed her.

She cut through town and went into the forest.

With practiced ease, she travelled further and further away

until eventually, the guard lost her.

He turned back and headed home.

The next day, when he returned to the station for his shift, he

saw the woman back at her seat. Not a single hair was out of place.

That night, he followed her again, however, this time, he kept

close. She never turned back, not once.

But again, he lost her. She had disappeared and he was left

alone in a clearing.

Again, he went back home and returned to work the next day.

He worked up the courage to ask her, "Where do you go at

night ?" She stared at the trains, and he thought perhaps she had not

heard him.

"Home." she didn't look at him as she said it, but he

could see it saddened her.

That night, he did not follow her. Instead, he went straight

home and had dinner with his family.

That very night, the woman sat in her little cave deep in the

forest, wondering when her son would return. She pondered on that thought deep

into the night.

As the sun rose, she too, got up. Another day, another problem. She

sighed. When would her son come home ? They could not banish her on Earth

forever. The gods would take her back. And when they did, she would be waiting.

Until then, she would simply spend her days at the station. She

would find no joy in life, not until she was back.

The Goddess of Joy is

unhappy, she scoffed. She thought back to all those people who wished they

were happy, and she helped them. She worked in mysterious ways.

But the truth was, she didn't do anything. It was her name - her

status - that made people believe. She simply showed them the right path.

At that moment, she wished she could help herself. But why

couldn't she ? She did not need fake beliefs to help her earn her life back.

And why would she want her old life anyway, when she could

create a new identity ? Start over ?

What was it humans said . . . turn over a new leaf ?

Why couldn't she do that ? It was clear she was not wanted. She

got up, breaking her ritual that she had been following for years, and stepped

out into the sun. It feels like I can live again, she thought, as

the sun warmed her face.

She walked around and found herself at a market. She saw smiling

faces and returned their smiles. Her eyes warmed, and she felt accomplished.

Proud. . . . Happy.

Meanwhile, back at the station, the guard was angry. How dare

they! The gods had promised not to take her back, so why is she not here ?

He huffed. She had promised happiness but had never gotten any. She broke her promise. And now, he seeked revenge. Never again would he trust anyone. He would never smile until she was gone.

The Goddess of Joy, walked around, complimenting peoples work and arrived home early. She was tired.

But as she was about to enter, she heard a sharp whine. A wolf. She ran into her cave. Goddess or not, she didn’t like wolves. The whine came again, this time more . . . painful. It was hurt. She heard another howl, a bark, and she could tell the wolf was in trouble.

She ran back out, following the sounds and letting the forest show her the way. She broke out into a large clearing and there she saw it. It was beautiful. It had grey-ish blue-ish fur and small beady eyes.

The other wolves were circling it.

She took a deep breath and let out a piercing whistle. The other wolves whined and ran off. The injured wolf remained on the floor.

She didn’t approach slowly but ran to it. Her hands leaked a golden colour, and she placed them above the wolf’s ribs. Then, she moved them to its foot.

The wolf remained still, and she hoped she wasn’t too late.

 She wasn’t about to give up. She carried the wolf – it was very young, perhaps a day old – and took it into her cave. She fed it food and water and again, let her hands glow.

She forced all the magic out of her, pouring out of her fingertips, and into the wolf. It opened an eye. “I will call you, ‘Happy’.” She took Happy out for a walk up the hill in which her cave hid. She looked out at the forest, and its transition into a town, trailing her fingers in Happy's fur.

LIFE IS NOT ABOUT HAPPINESS, BUT ABOUT EARNING HAPPINESS. YOU

DON'T NEED MONEY TO BE HAPPY, YOU NEED TO TRUST YOURSELF - AND BELIEVE.

-inspired by Reedsy Prompts : )