grew in seriousness.
"The humans cheered at the man's death. Ready to take the woman in to do as they pleased with her. Back then, it was truly a man's world, and they wished not only to experiment on her but to dissect and analyze her anatomy so they could try and mimic the power she carried. In a state of shock, she quietly rose from the ground and looked up to the sky. She then asked them to apologize."
He shook his head as if he was right there witnessing the whole ordeal with his own eyes.
"They mocked her and began to wound her with the very weapons that killed her love. She withstood it all, allowing the sharp blades of metal, the fierce heat of flaming torches, and the emotional wounds of their degrading words consume her, but she remained, standing tall as she waited for their apology."
He then looked into my eyes as he whispered, "She asked four times, each request for an apology igniting an element to the ground around her. It started with fire, and was followed with a thunderous light, a brisk wind, and flames that mimicked the peak of darkness. They came in the shape of four horses, similar to what they refer to as the four horsemen in the story regarding the plague. Even with the display of magnificent power, they refused to apologize and decided to kill her as well. They struck her with weapons until the final spear struck her heart."
I stared at him, my heart clenching at the sad legend, the words vibrating through me in a way that was hard to explain.
As though I'd been there to experience the very hollows of this goddess's pain and tremendous agony.
"She watched as they celebrated, her blood pouring from all her wounds into the soil of her treasured mother. The goddess could have been like her lover and forgive them, but she gathered every ounce of energy left within her being and screamed to the cloudy skies as the rain beat against her dying flesh. She declared to her Flaming Mother and to the Creator that she would have another shot within these realms, not as a goddess with immense power, but as a blazing witch with an appearance that could blend in easily in a crowd of savage beasts," he explained. "With the last bit of her blood, she prayed that she would be among others, rare beings of power who would carry every elemental gift that could be granted upon her Mother's soil. Each of these beings would be female, capable of immense love, have the ability to merciful or merciless, and carry the fruit of life when the time was right. Those individuals would be Blazing Witches and would have no association with an animal. Instead, they could harness the power of all creation if blessed by Flaming Mother Gaia."
Picking his mug up again, he finished with, "As she commanded those final words, she wished for her love to be reborn with her when the universe granted it and that their meeting would be soothing though their love would collide like two crashing tornados. Their love would be as it was in their lives as god and goddess, the calm of unique friendship that blossoms into a unity that no one can separate."
He sipped more of his tea and sighed. "After that, all four elements struck the ground, killing all those present as well as the entire surrounding land. It was what sealed the goddess's word. And that was when Blazing Hot Witches began to enter the world."
"Wow." I had to blink a few times to try not to cry. "That...was intense."
"That's the problem with Gabriel's stories. He tells them as if he lived in that damn timeline with a pen and paper, or whatever recording device they had in those times. He makes it sound like he lived through it all." Keru shook his head. "At least it's good entertainment, but jeez. You shouldn't make Alice cry before her first day of school, Gabriel."
Gabriel gave him a deadly side-eye but kept his commentary to himself as he returned to drinking his matcha tea.
"I'm just emotional this morning," I excused. "Besides, that story...it really is something. It just feels like something I can relate to, even though I wasn't there and I don’t have a lover or anything."
"Reasonable," Keru replied. "Technically, the goddess is like your ancestor who was sacrificed to give you this golden opportunity of life and power.