theatrical_muse 264; The past is never dead.
The gods mentioned in this story are not meant to represent any of the gods that may currently exist in the variety of prompt and roleplaying communities on Livejournal or elsewhere. They are gods inside of Athena's universe only, and their actions and personalities have no relation to, or effect upon, any other characters but Athena.
I Guess I Always Knew the Score
"The past is never dead. It's not even past." William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun.
I ran into Helen the other day. I was getting a latte at Starbucks before I had a meeting at the UN, and there she was, looking as beautiful as ever. There was a time when that would have bothered me, but it's not like I'm ugly.
Actually, I've been ugly from time to time, and it's not so bad. But in the twenty-first century, it's much easier to be attractive.
We always recognize one another, we gods and demigods, no matter what we look like or how long it's been since we've been together, or what pantheon we're from. You just get a feeling, and then you know, instantly.
"Athena?"
I smiled. "Helen. It's been a long time."
It had. I think the last time I had seen her was in Paris during the Hundred Years' War.
Ah, Paris.
Helen and I hadn't gotten along well for the first few hundred years after the apple incident. But I got over it eventually. Sometimes I worried that she hadn't. It had been a pretty tough time for her; tossed from man to man like a piece of meat.
Then again, there was something to be said for being so beautiful that men would risk the world for you. Literally.
Even if they were stupid men.
"It has. How've you been?"
I shrugged. "Busy. Unlike some other people in the family," cough cough, Dad, "I don't hang around Olympus bemoaning the sad fate of my pantheon while plotting increasingly more ridiculous means of revenge."
Honestly, Father, a world-wide bout of honesty? Hilarious, yes. Chaotic, yes. A way back to the glory and the power we had when the Greeks and Romans ruled the world... not so much.
Helen smiled her beautiful, small smile and shook her head. "Father does more than just that."
"Seen him recently?"
She nodded. "I was at Olympus last week." She seemed about to say something and then stopped and stared at me for a moment. "Do you have a few minutes? To talk?"
It was strange enough, considering how we'd gotten along for the past four thousand years, that despite my impending meeting I couldn't help but say yes. "Sure."
We found a small table in the corner and sat. I took a sip of my latte and waited for her to speak, since obviously she had something on her mind.
"How do you do it?"
Not what I was expecting. "Do what?"
"Live. Here, among the mortals. You're a goddess." She spun her cup around in her hand and looked at me plaintively. I knew there were only a few of us living this way, but still. Was it that much of a mystery?
"I got over myself."
I swear her jaw dropped. I almost laughed.
"What?"
Shrugging, I continued. "I got over myself. Okay, I'm a goddess. Great. So what? What does that mean? The majority of the world thinks we're myths, if they've even learned of us. They even take us out of the stories now." That's right, Petersen, I'm onto you. How's your career been lately? Oh, Poseidon? Yeah, that was a great remake. Good job.
Ahem.
"Listen, Helen... we're old. Really old. You've got to get some perspective on things."
She looked at me as though I'd just run over her puppy. I imagined her having a little poodle and naming it Paris, and then I laughed.
"What?"
So I told her.
And then she laughed, too.
Good start.
I Guess I Always Knew the Score
"The past is never dead. It's not even past." William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun.
I ran into Helen the other day. I was getting a latte at Starbucks before I had a meeting at the UN, and there she was, looking as beautiful as ever. There was a time when that would have bothered me, but it's not like I'm ugly.
Actually, I've been ugly from time to time, and it's not so bad. But in the twenty-first century, it's much easier to be attractive.
We always recognize one another, we gods and demigods, no matter what we look like or how long it's been since we've been together, or what pantheon we're from. You just get a feeling, and then you know, instantly.
"Athena?"
I smiled. "Helen. It's been a long time."
It had. I think the last time I had seen her was in Paris during the Hundred Years' War.
Ah, Paris.
Helen and I hadn't gotten along well for the first few hundred years after the apple incident. But I got over it eventually. Sometimes I worried that she hadn't. It had been a pretty tough time for her; tossed from man to man like a piece of meat.
Then again, there was something to be said for being so beautiful that men would risk the world for you. Literally.
Even if they were stupid men.
"It has. How've you been?"
I shrugged. "Busy. Unlike some other people in the family," cough cough, Dad, "I don't hang around Olympus bemoaning the sad fate of my pantheon while plotting increasingly more ridiculous means of revenge."
Honestly, Father, a world-wide bout of honesty? Hilarious, yes. Chaotic, yes. A way back to the glory and the power we had when the Greeks and Romans ruled the world... not so much.
Helen smiled her beautiful, small smile and shook her head. "Father does more than just that."
"Seen him recently?"
She nodded. "I was at Olympus last week." She seemed about to say something and then stopped and stared at me for a moment. "Do you have a few minutes? To talk?"
It was strange enough, considering how we'd gotten along for the past four thousand years, that despite my impending meeting I couldn't help but say yes. "Sure."
We found a small table in the corner and sat. I took a sip of my latte and waited for her to speak, since obviously she had something on her mind.
"How do you do it?"
Not what I was expecting. "Do what?"
"Live. Here, among the mortals. You're a goddess." She spun her cup around in her hand and looked at me plaintively. I knew there were only a few of us living this way, but still. Was it that much of a mystery?
"I got over myself."
I swear her jaw dropped. I almost laughed.
"What?"
Shrugging, I continued. "I got over myself. Okay, I'm a goddess. Great. So what? What does that mean? The majority of the world thinks we're myths, if they've even learned of us. They even take us out of the stories now." That's right, Petersen, I'm onto you. How's your career been lately? Oh, Poseidon? Yeah, that was a great remake. Good job.
Ahem.
"Listen, Helen... we're old. Really old. You've got to get some perspective on things."
She looked at me as though I'd just run over her puppy. I imagined her having a little poodle and naming it Paris, and then I laughed.
"What?"
So I told her.
And then she laughed, too.
Good start.