Chapter 3: I have powers?!

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Chapter 3: I have powers?!

The sound of the shower filled the house. Carmike fried eggs and sausage in the kitchen. Carmike smiled as he heard Emi singing. He shook his head at the silly song his nephew was singing. He finished the meal and placed it on the table. He held the still hot frying pan under the sink facet and turned it. Cold water shot out for a brief second and the pan sizzled as the water evaporated. This was normal.

What wasn’t normal was that the water in the spout started coming out as bubbles that floated around the kitchen. Carmike stood still watching for a moment in confusion.

Emi walked into the kitchen. A bright smile was on his face. He was brushing his curly hair and was singing a Johnny Horton song. He plucked the hairs out of the brush and threw them away.

“So what’s for…?” He paused as he stared at the floating bubbles. He gestured to the bubbles with his hand, “What? How? Why?” The soft whisper was barely audible.

Carmike flung his arms about. “I turned the nob and then those came out! I was just trying to rinse the pan out so it wouldn’t be super greasy later. So I held it,” Carmike began to ramble and Emi tuned him out quickly.

The ebony haired male walked around the bubbles. His eyes were wide with curiosity. He reached his hand out to poke one of the bubbles and it burst. All of the bubbles burst at once. Leaving the floor and most of the items in the kitchen nicely wet. Luckily it was mainly the floor.

“It’s a good thing I’m working in between the dinner and lunch shift today.” Emi mused dryly as he went to grab the mop from the storage room. Carmike could only nod in agreement.

It took about two hours to clean up all the water. Neither Carmike nor Emi could come up with a reasonable explanation for what happened. Carmike dropped Emi off at work, stating he would call a plumber friend and ask.

Today Emi got to wear a costume. The first time since he wound up in a coma. Today he got to dress up as a fairytale princess. All his female co-workers had agreed that it suited him. Emi didn’t mind, so he proudly wore the outfit. He was very thankful to be wearing flats though.

“Can you do magic?” A little girl asked. She had round brown eyes. Her cute little curls were tight to her head. Her yellow and black dress reminded Emi of a bumblebee.

“Oh, not much,” Emi focused hard on keeping his voice an airy high note. “I’m still in training.”

“Can I see?” She bounced in excitement. Her family giggled in amusement.

Emi smiled as he pulled out the small toy want from his sleeve. “I can’t guarantee anything will happen.” Emi hummed a bit as he waved the wand around the table. His eyes drifting up to see Jeff in the rafters above. A small bucket of confetti in his hands. Emi’s smile grew across his whole face as he turned his blue eyes back to the little girl. “Abracadabra!” Emi flicked the wand.

Confetti fell down from the ceiling onto the young girl. Giggles erupted from her. Her family members clapped happily. All five of them.

“And well you look at your cup honey,” the father explained as he stared at the cup. “That’s some magic trick.”

Everyone turned to see the cup. It should have been a simple hard plastic cup. It was green in color. But now, the cup no longer looked like the simple cup it had been. It was now adorned with frosty images of ballerinas and snowflakes. All of it was made in ice it seemed. It also appeared to be on both side of the cup. Around the straw was more frost with a dolphin shaped tip to sip the Sprite through. Everyone marveled at it. Except Emi. He glanced up to Jeff, who shrugged, not knowing how it had happened. He looked around at all the nearby servers. All of them seemed amazed by the cup as well. No one gave any sign of being the cause of it. Emi felt a sickening feeling in his stomach.

“Thank you very much princess!” The little girl cheered as she hugged Emi.

Emi smiled back as he hugged her. “You’re welcome dearie. I guess I have more magic then I thought.” He gave a sweet laugh as he helped the girl back into her seat. “Is there anything else I can get you?” His attention now on the adults.

“So more unsweet tea please.” The grandfather stated holding up his up.

“I’ll be right out with that,” Emi walked back into the kitchen.

The kitchen was full of people dashing back and forth. Emi felt his body begin to shake as he began to walk to the cups.

“Are you okay?” Jeff appeared from his side. “You look pale.”

“I’ll be fine.” Emi lied. “They need an unsweet tea.”

“I got that right here,” Jeff held out the red cup. “That thing with the cup though was amazing. Was that your doing?”

“I,” Emi began, but nothing else came out as the sound of crackling ice caught their attention. The two turned to the red cup. The unsweet tea was frozen.

Jeff whistled at the sight.

Emi shrieked a shriek so high that it broke a glass pitcher of lemonade being carried into the kitchen. Jeff feared Emi would faint, so he grabbed a hold of the young man’s shoulder. Other employees rushed over to help calm Emi down as two other employees watched on curiously as they cleaned up the lemonade.

Jasmine prepared another cup of unsweet tea out to the table.

“Here you go. My apologizes, but the princess has slipped and injured her foot. So I will be your server for the remainder of your meal,” She gave a bow. Jasmine was dressed as a maid, the standard cosplay outfit for the café. They nodded in understanding.

Jeff merely stared at Emi. Jeff was 24. He wasn’t a big guy. He was strong from years of gymnastics, but there was no way he could carry Emi to the back room. Not with him hyperventilating the way he was. “I’m going to need some help here.”

Emi was hoisted into the air. Grey eyes stared uncaringly at Jeff. “Where do you want to take him?” His wore black pants and a black vest. His shirt was a bright white. His dark grey hair was neatly cut and framed his sharp face.

Jeff numbly pointed to the door that led to the back door. Grey nodded as he walked to the door. He shifted Emi in his grasp so his hand was under his knees. He opened the door slightly before kicking it open the rest of the way. He walked down the small hall and into a larger room. There was a small two seat sofa there. Big red and fluffy. Grey carefully placed him there.

“Who are you?”

Grey turned to see a woman standing behind him. She was a very curvy woman with red lips. Her hair stacked on top of her head. Grey gave her a flirtatious grin.

“Can I help you miss?” He responded.

“Grey! Don’t. You. Dare!” Symphia busted into the room. Her hair disheveled and she was breathing heavy. But her brown eyes were out to kill him.

Grey sighed as he stood up. “I haven’t done anything.” He held up his hands innocently. He stepped away. “He’s freaking out.”

“He’s in shock.” The woman ran to the Emi’s side. “Emi dearie, what’s wrong?”

“Boss?” Emi looked up at his employer. His icy blue eyes were so pale they were almost white. “I froze a cup of water.” She opened her mouth to comment. “Just by touching it. I think I did it earlier with that girl’s cup. And I think I froze the mop water. I don’t… I…” Tears formed in his eyes. He curled up tighter. “Something’s wrong with me!”

“Nothing’s wrong with you Emi.” The boss rubbed his back.

“Pfft! Wrong? I think developing weird powers categorizes as wrong.” Grey laughed. “But when you’re done,”

Symphia punched him in the stomach. “You’re only making this more stressful for him!”

“Who are you people?” The boss demanded as she hugged Emi to her. Emi looked up at them. His vision blurry from his tears. He blinked a few times.

“Symphia?” Emi uncurled some. “What are you doing here?” His eyes widened. “You’re a nurse! Do you know… what’s wrong… with me?” His voice became a soft squeak by the end of his sentence.

“Nothing!” Symphia blurted loudly. “Nothing,” she softened her voice. “You’re just changing. Like a butterfly!”

Grey rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. “Do you know what a deity is?”

Emi turned to look at Grey. He had never seen someone with grey eyes before. “They’re like gods, aren’t they?”

“Kind of.” Grey nodded. “We’re deities.” He waved his finger and himself and Symphia. “We’ve been deities for a while. And you are a new one. Granted deity status by some god somewhere, who apparently didn’t explain heads to tails to you beforehand.”

“Can’t you be a little nicer Grey?” Symphia growled. She patted Emi’s foot as she sat on the couch. “Don’t worry, I’m here to help.” Symphia smiled.

“I’m just here to observe.” Grey smirked. “We have a bet on you,” he gestured to himself and Symphia once more.

“Bet?” Emi perked up curiously.

Symphia gave him a warning glare.

“Yeah. If you die by the end of the month, I win. If you survive, she wins.” Grey stated. “Most new deities don’t last long. Especially without the god who made them one there to protect them.”

“Why would I die?” Emi asked. “Can these powers kill me?” He began to panic again.

“Oh no. no.” Symphia patted him on the knee. “Your powers can’t cause you any harm at all.”

“Demons, lesser gods, ghosts, a human,” Grey listed on his fingers. “There are lots of beings that would kill you just to harvest your powers. That’s just the way of life.”

Symphia nodded. “But the quicker you learn how to use your powers the better off you’ll be,” she added. “I can help you with that. If you let me.”

“Can you freeze water too?” Emi asked as he uncurled.

“No,” she shook her head. “I’m a deity of love. You seem to be a deity of water. But tapping into one’s powers are usually very similar.”

“What about you?” Emi turned to Grey.

“Deity of death.” He stood filled with pride for his job.

Emi had stay in bed for the next two days. It was such a shock to his system. He was a deity now. It was hard to take in. He finally had enough of just laying in bed. He couldn’t just sit there for the rest of his life. According to Symphia, he didn’t have any major duties because the god who gave him his powers hadn’t given him any. Which was still confusing.

Why would a god give him powers?

Or did he gain these powers by accident?

Maybe the god had bad aim.

Emi washed his face before heading down stairs.

Uncle Carmike greeted him there with a bowl of tomato soup and a box of gold fish. They sat quietly at the table. Emi staring into the bowl and Carmike fiddling with his fingers. Carmike was supposed to be going home today.

“Do you want me to stay?” Carmike broke the silence.

Emi wasn’t sure as he slowly looked up at his uncle. “You have your business to run.”

“I could always expand it out to here.” Carmike suggested. “And then I could run it from here.”

“Weed isn’t legal here.”

Carmike clucked his tongue. “Crud. Wish they would come around and make it legal already. But you’re right.”

Emi heard the chair squeak and then the clacking sounds of Carmike’s shoes. He looked up when Carmike paused next to him. Carmike’s arm wrapped around him.

“I love you. No matter what.” Carmike stated.

“I love you too.” Emi hugged him back.

“You call if you need anything,” Carmike ordered. “I don’t know much about deity stuff, but,” he paused, “I will do my best to be here for you. Rather it’s an ear, a shoulder, or whatever. I’ll do my best.”

Emi smiled as he nodded.

“Now eat some of that soup. You haven’t eaten in days! Look you at you. All skin and bones already.”

Emi chuckled as Carmike when off. He grabbed the box of gold fish and poured a handful into his hand before dropping them into the soup with a little ker-plops­. He stirred the fish in with his spoon before bringing a spoonful with one fish to his mouth. He knew the soup was cold by now. At least it should have been. To his surprise, though, the soup was warm as if it had just cooled down enough to eat.

“I can warm liquids too!” Emi exclaimed at this revelation.

Carmike paused in his rant. He looked at the bowl and sure enough, it had steam rising off of it. “Wow,” he whistled, “At least you can melt what you freeze.” He gave a nervous laugh. “It’ll take practice to figure out what all you can do.”

Emi nodded as Carmike ruffled his hair.
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New page 01

So I want to remake the comic. Here is the sketch. We'll see where this goes.

Sketch Emi

Chapter 2: Back To Work

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Chapter 2: Back to Work

The restaurant was bustling. Carmike was humming along with the song playing over the speaker. Emi stared at the menu. His eyes glancing over the options, but not really processing them. Emi wasn’t sure what he wanted. He knew he was happy to be have something other than the hospital food. The food there was nice, but it just didn’t have that warm feeling food normally had to him.

“What can I get you gentlemen this evening?” The waitress appeared with a bright smile.

“The steak enchilada sounds good to me,” Carmike closed the menu. “I’ll have sweet tea to drink. Emi?”

Emi looked down at the menu. His eyes fell on quesadillas. “The veggie quesadilla for me please.”

“Anything to drink with that sug?”

Emi glanced up at the waitress. Only one woman called him that. A grin spread across his face. “Shelia!” He pulled the 30 something woman into a tight hug. “So this is your second job?”

“Yeah. I gotta buy my baby something nice for her birthday.” Shelia chuckled. “Now what will you have suga?”

“Water please.” Emi adjusted himself back in his seat.

Shelia wrote it down and was gone within a minute.

Carmike propped his head in his hand. “You know a woman with kids is a lot of commitment right?”

Emi felt his face heat up. “I don’t like her like that! Shelia works at the grocery store. I serve her and her kid every Friday at the café. We’re just good friends.”

“Good.” Carmike nodded. “You’re not ready for kids yet.”

“Carmike…” Emi growled.

“Here are those drinks,” Shelia placed the cups on the table.

Carmike tore off the end of the paper wrapping before sliding the paper off of the straw. He swirled the straw in his cup. “No need to be so embarrassed.”

Emi huffed as he grabbed his cup. He tilted the cup up only to find that a majority of the drink was ice. It was like it was just grabbed from the freezer. Emi glanced up at where Shelia was. She wasn’t looking at him. Emi smiled as he shook his head. She must have wanted to play a prank on him. Now he knew where her son got it from.

The food came shortly and it was delicious. It was also piping hot as Emi found out. He took a bite and then spat it out as he stuck his burning tongue into his cup of ice water.

“Take your time, it’s not going anywhere,” Carmike laughed as he blew on his food.

“Gos sis.” Emi mumbled.

They finished their food and went home. Though Emi had to drag his uncle away from the hostess he was flirting with.

Emi was finally cleared to go to work the next week. He tied his converse shoes tightly to his feet as he pulled his hair up into a high ponytail. He wore a simple button up white shirt and black slacks. He wasn’t sure if he would be cosplaying at the café today or not. The only thing Emi wished was for his uncle to not come to work with him.

“I can’t let my nephew travel all the way to work by himself after being in a coma,” Carmike degreed as he forced the 19-year-old into the passenger seat of his car.

The café was as busy as ever. The boss had told Emi to take it slow, so he didn’t have to cosplay for work today. Though it did feel weird being surrounded by a bunch of video game characters.

“Here’s your strawberry sundae, my lady,” Emi gave his best winning smile as he placed the food in front of the young high schooler. She blushed as she shyly grabbed her spoon. “And a chocolate latte for you, my lady.” He placed the drink in front of the girl next to other girl. The girl, Samantha, was a regular at the café.

“It’s been so long Emi.” She beamed as she picked up her latte. “Where have you been? I’ve missed you.”

“My apologizes my lady,” Emi bowed, “But I had some important matters to tend to. But I hope my comrades were able to give you good company.”

“It was, but not as good as yours.” Samantha sighed. “Will you be working again this weekend?”

“I believe so.” Emi smiled as he gave a quick bow. He quickly walked to the next table. Being a host was a hard job. All day the costumers kept asking him where he’d been. He didn’t feel like saying he was in the hospital, but he was sure most of them knew he wasn’t off handling ‘important matters’. The lie was so overused. Emi took a deep breath.

“Hey what kind of joke is this?” Shelly, a co-worker, exclaimed as she stared into the bucket. “How am I supposed to mop if the water is frozen?” She was a Chinese American woman of average height. She was dressed as a squirtle.

Tommy, who had handed her the bucket, looked back confused. “Frozen? That’s the hottest water I could get out of the tap mixed with Pine-Sol and bleach.” Tommy was dressed as King Dedede and around the same height as Shelly. Maybe an inch or two taller.

Emi and two other co-workers came to look.

“Really? Then why is it a block of ice?” Shelly nearly screamed.

Sure enough, it was a block of ice in the bucket. They all turned to look at Tommy.

“It wasn’t like that when I put it in,” Tommy was turning red from frustration and confusion as he looked into the bucket too. He seemed genuinely confused.

“Then how did it end up like this, Tommy?” Shelly propped her hands on her hips. Her foot tapping with loud clacks on the floor.

Tommy could only open and close his mouth like a fish.

“Maybe it was magic?” Everyone turned to stare at the boss. She gave a smile, her lips a ruby color. She looked like she walked out of a pop art piece. Her hair done up like a woman in a 50s ad. Her polka-dot, high collared shirt with no sleeves and high waist pint striped pants. She wore ruby shoes as if she was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. The boss was a vivacious woman. She leaned down over the bucket and nodded. “Yes. It was definitely magic. Magic that I haven’t seen in such a long time. Don’t be too mad at Tommy, dearie.” She patted Shelly’s shoulder. “He’s not the cause of this.” She picked up the bucket like it was nothing. “Now let’s go make another bucket. I doubt the magician will do the same thing twice.”

With that the whole situation was over. Swept under the rug. The boss was good at that. If she brushed it away, then most people would brush it under the rug.

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. Emi smiled brightly as he clocked out. Dinner shift would begin in an hour and the boss had given him orders to go home for the day. She didn’t want him overworking himself. She even followed him to make sure he’d clocked out. As Emi turned around, he felt arms wrap tightly around him.

“I’m so glad you’re doing better!” the boss exclaimed.

“I’m doing a lot better.” Emi nodded.

“That’s good. I was so worried.” She held up his face to look at her. “You’re just so precious. And to think you wound up in a coma during your first modeling gig.” She pouted as she brushed his hair out of his face. “Has Joe shown you how the pictures came out?”

“No. Not yet.” Emi shook his head. “I think he emailed me copies, but I haven’t looked at them yet.”

“Well I’ve seen them and you look adorable.” She patted his head.

“Emi, there’s a guy here for you,” Tommy came into the back room. “What do you want me to tell him?”

The boss smiled as she turned to face Tommy. “That must be your uncle. You better get on before he comes back here looking for you.”

Emi nodded as he grabbed a juice from the fridge. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” Emi wasn’t sure what his hours were at the moment, but hopefully he would still be working.

“Yes. You’ll be on breakfast shift. So get plenty of rest,” the boss wagged her finger along with the order.

Symphia smiled as she watched the young raven hair man get into the car. She wasn’t sure what kind it was, but she knew it was expensive just by the looks of it. He hadn’t yet realized that he had been turned into a deity, but his powers were beginning to manifest. She entered the café during the ice bucket incident. That just had to be Emi. She couldn’t think of anyone.

“So his ability is to freeze things…” Symphia hummed.

“There’s probably more to it than that?” Grey appeared beside her.

Symphia jumped back as she looked at the deity of death. He really made a bad habit of popping up out of nowhere.

“What are you doing here?”

“Stalking the target like you.”

“I’m not stalking him!” Symphia jumped up.

“Sure you’re not,” Grey crossed his arms, “You keep telling yourself that.” Grey snapped his fingers and turned to dust again. The dust floated away and Symphia was left there glaring at the specs of dust that flew away from her.

“Grrr.” She stomped her foot before walking away. Her shift at the hospital started in about half an hour.
NEXT

Sketch VDay Symphia

Emi Sketches from LiveStream

Chapter 1 Photoshoot

Emi the Deity

Chapter 1: Photoshoot

The sun was shining bright that day. The koi in the koi fish pond swam about, bored with the dullness of the day. Nothing new or interesting was happening, so the koi were just bored. People walked by the koi pond, a few coming to look at the greyish colored fish.

Though there was someone who was super excited today. That someone was Emideus Cheshire Saint. Emi for short. Today was Emi’s first modeling gig and he was stoked for it. Grant it, the modeling gig was for a friend, but a gig was a gig. Emi beamed with pride as he held the umbrella above his head as he posed a small water fall in the koi pond. His long wavy black hair was loose and fell softly down his back. His blue eyes sparkled the color of pool water.

“You look great Emi!” Joe praised. Joe was the camera man. A 24-year-old photographer who took photos of cosplayers for several cons. He was becoming quite popular for those photographs. Joe wore a green cap to block the sun with a grey t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts.

Emi, being only 19 and fresh from high school, felt so honored to be photographed by Joe. Emi was wearing a Victorian style dress with frills. It was a dark burgundy color. He wore a nice pair of pointed boots of a similar color. Clip on dangle earrings added to the outfit. Emi spun around so the ruffles of the skirt would flare up slightly.

There were several clicks and flashes.

“Wow! I can’t believe you didn’t fall down doing that,” Joe complimented.

Emi merely chuckled. He had been cross dressing at every opportunity since he was a child. He had a good few years of experience now. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. “Are there any other poses you would like me to do?”

“Do you think you can give me a classy, elegant lady pose?” Joe mused as he set the camera stand up to get a steadier picture.

“I would be delighted.” Emi did a long sweeping curtsy. His legs crossed like a ballerina’s. Standing straight, Emi thought of every elegant woman he had ever seen. The umbrella propped on his shoulder, both hands holding onto the end right before the curve. He crossed one leg in front of the other softly. He turned his head to the opposite and pretended to look off into the distance with a dreaming expression.

“Beautiful!” Joe gasped as he adjusted his camera to get to get the best photo. Several flashes went off and Emi held still. Then Joe gasped, “What is that?” He pointed into the sky.

Emi turned to find a rock flying through the air. It just kept getting bigger and bigger. Than he realized that the rock was heading straight for him. He froze in fear and the rock hit him right in the eye.

Emi lost sight in that eye as he fell back. He saw Joe rushing towards him before turning black.

Earlier, in another space:

An elegant woman was dressed in a fancy kimono. The layers of cloth engulfed her figure. Ribbons flowed freely around her. She wore a crown made of coral. Her large eyes stared out the balcony of her home.

“I don’t know have much time.” She sighed as she closed her eyes. She traced spirals on the railing of the balcony. “The new deity must awaken sooner than I expected.” She grabbed the pendant on her kimono. Clutching it tightly, she took several deep breathes. “Please stay safe little one.” Ripping the stone out of her pendant, she threw the stone over the balcony. “Awaken and know, I’m sorry.” Tears streamed down the woman’s face as the stone fell to the mortal realm.

Emi awoke in a hospital bed. His head was aching. He was relieved that he could see through both eyes, but he wished his head didn’t hurt so much. He shifted to his side only to be shocked at seeing an IV stuck into his wrist. His body felt weak, most likely due to the headache, so he just stared at the IV for a moment.

“How am I supposed to sleep comfortably with this thing in my arm?” Emi murmured.

“Good afternoon Saint,” A female voice greeted him.

Emi looked up to see a curvy Indian woman with her black hair tied back into a ponytail. She was staring down at the bored in her hand as she walked to the beeping machine that was connected to Emi.

Emi glared at the device. That device is probably why I have a splitting headache.

“Your heart seems to be quicker than normal.” She turned to face Emi. Her eyes then widened. “You’re awake!”

Emi nodded slowly. “How long have I been here?”

The nurse smiled at him. “Let me call the doctor first.” Opened the door to the hallway and leaned out. “Hey, tell Dr. Jones that patient Saint has just woke up. And bring the poor thing some food.”

Emi heard a muffled reply of a few nurses before the door clicked shut and the nurse came back to stand by his bedside. A warm smile was on her face, “I’m Symphia. How are you feeling, Mr. Saint?”

“My head hurts. A bad headache.” Emi answered. “How long have I been here?”

She only smiled, “Can you tell me what the last thing you remember was Mr. Saint?”

“I remember something hitting me in the eye.” Emi answered. “I think it was a rock or something. Was it so bad that Joe brought me to the hospital?”

“I see,” she murmured as she scribbled a note down on the board. “Well you see Mr. Saint; you’ve been here for about 2 months. Since you were breathing on your own, we didn’t put you on a breathing machine. We’ve been feeding you through a tube. So try not to move around too much until we can remove it.”

“Two months?!” Emi sat up and then regretted it. He clutched his head in pain.

Symphia helped lay him back down again. “Don’t worry, you’re going to be fine.”

“What hit me?” Emi’s voice sounded half awake.

“We’re not entirely sure. All we know is that an explosion happened at the koi pond that day. We’re not sure about who set the bomb off or why. But don’t worry, you’re going to be fine.”

“Bomb?” Emi chocked. His heart beat skyrocketed. “Where’s Joe? Is he okay? He was with me.”

Symphia smiled as she patted his head. “Don’t worry. Everything’s okay. Joe has recovered. He’s actually come by to visit you. I think he said he would be visiting today last time he came by.”

Emi sighed with relief. His heart slowing down to a normal pace.

“Now you take a rest while I go get you an aspirin.” Symphia ran her fingers through Emi’s hair for a moment. He soon dozed off to sleep. She smiled as she walked out of the room.

The hall was busy with bustling nurses and doctors. Some walking with patients in tow. Symphia glided throw the crowd. Her brown eyes rested on a small janitor’s closet. She opened the door and side stepped inside without anyone noticing.

“Come on out, you little creep.” Symphia growled.

“Creep? Is that the best you can do?” Particles of dust shifted off of the objects into one pile on the floor in front of Symphia. The space was small and cramped and it only became more cramped as Grey appeared. His grey eyes were piercing color and made him look blind. His short, neatly cut hair was a dark grey. His clothes were a neatly pressed. A white button up shirt tucked into a pair of black slacks. His always freshly polished shoes were black. “You used to be so much better with nicknames,” he glanced at his nails, “Are you losing your edge Symphia? Or has being a love deity made you soft?”

“What’s a death deity like you hanging around a hospital for?” Symphia spat.

Grey smirked as he stood straight. “Lots of people die in a hospital. It’s the perfect place for me to work isn’t it?”

Symphia growled. “I’d hardly call stalking around a comatose boy’s room working.”

Grey laughed. “19 is hardly a boy, Symphia. Especially given the job that’s now fallen into his lap since you wouldn’t let me take him.”

“He was breathing on his own. You know very well you can’t take a living soul to the afterlife.” Symphia pressed a finger onto his chest.

Grey looked down at the finger and then shifted his eyes to Symphia’s brown ones. He could see the fire in her eyes. Symphia valued life and enjoyed protecting them. It made his job harder. “And what do you suspect we do when his powers manifest?”

Symphia took a step back. “He was chosen to be a deity by a god. I’m sure he’ll be just fine.”

“Ha! More like he’s going to get in a bunch of trouble.” Grey rolled his eyes. He propped a hand on his hip. “Just you watch, he’ll wind up in the afterlife because of those powers. It could be a demon, a lesser god, or even a human. And when that happens, I’ll take his soul. Young deities like him never last long these days.”

“You don’t know that. He’ll become a deity. I can feel it.” Symphia smiled.

Grey rolled his eyes. “Wanna bet on that?” Grey did love a good bet.

“Depends. What’s the wager?” Symphia tilted her head. Symphia enjoyed a good bet too.

“If he can survive the next month, I’ll be your personal chef for a whole month. If he dies before then, you become my personal chef for a whole month.” Grey smiled. They were both good cooks, so the trade seemed fair to him.

“I like this bet. It’s a fair trade too.” Symphia thought it over. “You’ve got a deal.” They shook hands. “I’m looking forward to you making me sundaes every day.”

Grey laughed. “Just hope he doesn’t die before then.”

Symphia opened the door and exited, going about the day as if nothing had happened. None of the nurses notice. Grey simply disappeared in the dust again.

Emi was glad that his headache was now gone. He sat up in his bed looking around. The doctor told him that he would be able to go home in about another day after some more observations. Emi nibbled at the food Symphia brought him.

“You’re awake!” Joe cheered as he came in behind the nurse.

Emi smiled. “Yeah. I was told there was an explosion?”

“Yeah. It was crazy!” Joe stated as he sat in the chair by the bed. “I got knocked off my ass.”

“You’re camera wasn’t damaged was it?” Emi’s eyebrow rose as he saw the camera hanging from Joe’s neck.

“Yeah, amazing huh?” Joe smiled as he held up the camera. “I just got done with some elementary school pictures. I’m getting paid a good bit for it.”

“That’s cool!” Emi gave a thumbs up.

“I brought the pictures from that day with me. Do you want to see them?”

Emi opened his mouth to speak, only to have the door slam open. He looked up to see his uncle Carmike standing there. His salt and pepper hair was a mess. He smiled the moment his eyes rested on Emi.

“You’re alive!” A tear came to his eyes as he wrapped Emi up into a bear hug.

“When did you get here?” Emi squeaked.

“He was the only family contact we could find for you,” Joe whispered, giving a look of sympathy.

“Who’s we?” Emi arched an eyebrow at the cameraman.

“Everyone at the café,” Joe scratched his cheek with his finger. “I can’t believe you’ve been working there for two years and not even the boss has met your parents. But the boss remembered meeting your uncle once and she had his number so she gave him a call.”

“Ah, I was so disappointed that she didn’t want to go out for that coffee.” Carmike sighed.

“You hit on my boss?” Emi cringed.

“What? Can you blame me? That lady is a looker. Who wouldn’t want to get with a woman like her?”

Emi groaned as he fell back into his bed. “I love you Uncle Carmike.” It was all he could think to say.

Emi stared out the window of the car. Carmike owned a nice hybrid car. He had saved money for years just so he could have one. It was a green car. Emi was never sure why Carmike decided to get a green car, but he was sure the car magnetic on the bumper advertising a marijuana business was a good clue.

“Is your business doing well?” Emi asked softly. He wasn’t sure if Carmike would hear him over the Johnny Horton.

Carmike turned the radio down to a soft whisper. “Yep! It’s booming! I was even able to get this shiny new car.” He laughed as he pulled into the driveway. Emi’s home was a simple place. A two story apartment with a small flower garden out front.

Emi smiled at the still alive little flowers.

“I watered them for you.” Carmike stated as he opened the door.

“How’d you get the key to my apartment?” Emi paused as he stared at his uncle, who stood in the doorway like a deer in the headlights.

“The nurse gave me your belongings,” he answered after a long pause. “I wasn’t given your clothes though. Apparently they had to cut them off of you.”

Emi sighed, “Oh well.”

He’s two floor apartment was quite nice. The first room you entered was the living room. To the right when you came in was the kitchen. To the left was the stair case and a small bedroom that Emi used as a storage room. A small bathroom was under the stair case. Up that stair case was Emi’s bedroom, a large bathroom and the laundry room. Emi really liked his apartment. It was a real nice one too.

He paused as he stared at the tall suit case leaning against his couch. A soft smile spread across his face as he noticed the papers on the coffee table. They were to do lists in Carmike’s handwriting.

* Water the plants.

* Sweep and mope

* Change car oil

            * Visting hours are 12p to 5

Emi gingerly picked up the paper. He found it funny how Carmike would often misspell certain words if he was in a rush.

“Thanks for taking care of my place while I was in the hospital,” Emi placed the paper back on the table.

“It’s no biggie.” Carmike shrugged. “Though I was surprised that you didn’t have a pet when I got here.”

“What makes you think I would have a pet?” Emi asked as he sat down on the couch. He didn’t feel like going to bed. It was the first time he had been home in two months. The thought was surreal to him. But at least he wasn’t gone for years.

“You always wanted a pet when you were little. I think for a while you had trouble deciding if you wanted a cat or a turtle.” Carmike smiled at the old memories. He sat down beside his nephew and ruffled his hair. “You’ve grown up so quick. You used to be so tiny.”

Emi laughed as Carmike held his hand out at the height he was when he was a toddler. “I remember you used to look like a giant to me.”

“Your mum must have been the tallest giant then.” Carmike had a far off look in his eyes.

Emi smiled bitterly. His mother was a touchy subject for him. “She was really tall, but normally she would kneel down to talk to me or pick me up.”

“Yeah that sounds like Isabell.” Carmike nodded. “You’re her pride and joy, you know that?”

“Yeah.” Emi brought his knees to his chest. His eyes falling on his mother’s picture hanging on the wall. Isabella Saint. His mother. She had pale blue eyes and long wavy black hair. Her smile lite up the house with a warm glow that made everyone feel welcomed. She was the center of Emi’s world. At least until she went missing.

Emi sighed as he uncurled himself. He didn’t want to think about the past. “I’m hungry. What’s in the fridge?”

Carmike laughed. “Not much.” He groaned as he stretched. “Are you wanting to cook? I’m thinking going out to eat would be good. Yeah, a nice outing since you’re finally out of the hospital.”

Emi smiled as he watched his uncle ramble on.
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