Creatura (5 page)

“Deities were once worshiped by every culture in ancient times—even before the age of the Greek and Roman Empires, before the age of the Neanderthal, and from the very moment in which mortal man was birthed on Earth.

“We lived in harmony with each other—the mortals and deities—, that is, until the age of the Roman conquest.

“Two problems arose during that time period: First, a small number of deities became egotistical with their power.

“You should be aware that most humans are easily consumed in the mere presence of a deity.

“A fair number of unscrupulous deities utilized humans for their own pleasures. They conceived half-human, half-godlike creatures, which, more times than less, resulted in abominations. They were evil and uncompassionate beings—savage beasts. The Creatura, as they were called, caused humans to despise gods.

“T’was this time when humankind rebelled, claiming the gods had cursed them when all they ever did was offer them praise. They saw that abhorrences were being born of these relationships that were strictly prohibited by Deus, the Creator; this created verbal feuds between deities and men.

“Secondly, man began to accept other faiths, opening the door to religious warfare.

“A war ignited among men, gods and Creatura. The Creatura were slain. Man, however, was spared by the mercy of Deus demanding deities to retreat after he saw the tragic bloodshed.

“The Oracles, those with the gift of foresight, saw that man and deity would destroy themselves if this continued. There was only one option that could be deemed rational; the gods were instructed by Deus to become oblivious to man—all, except for He who was the Creator.

“It was not for hunger of worship or conceit from which He placed this law in order; but because, you see, man cannot exist without faith. Faith cannot exist without man, for it is faith that keeps the soul aflame… even His.

“As time progressed, some deities were forgotten and others became fictional characters—their purpose, names and adventures were continually altered by man through generations. So it came to be, that deities became myths and legends for the children of men to tell.

“There have never been any humans in the lands of gods—none, except for you. You are the reason why I am here now.

“The land you enter in your dreams rests under my rule. I shape and inhabit these dreams. I give divine messages and divine nightmares to some. But it is not always my doing. The structuring of these dreams is mostly the subconscious that acts on its own. I am just a silent contributor. My existence makes it possible for the unconscious state to be redelivered to the conscious body.”

David’s explanation went far and beyond anything I was ever taught scholastically and religiously. I didn’t quite believe him, but after the whole inebriated kiss ordeal, I was willing to give him a chance… for about ten seconds! I shook the analytical Isis back into my head.

“That goes against every one of my beliefs in life and religion. How can you be a god? That’s impossible for me to absorb. You do realize how irrational and deranged that story sounds, right? Just how gullible do you think I am, anyway?”

“Isis, I will
never
lie to you. The truth has been hidden from your kind for thousands, upon thousands, of years. Some of us lead incognito lives amongst humans. Doctrinal Law prohibits Deities to have any type of intimacy, kill, or transport any human to our worlds. This is why I cannot comprehend how it was that you found Somnium.”

“Right,” I nodded. “Does the Tooth Fairy visit you there, as well?”

“Be serious.” His lips formed a straight line.

“Isis, ponder this: If I am not who I claim to be, how else do you explain my being here when, but a night ago, I was the one that told you I would prove that I was real?”

“I don’t know. I have no explanation for that,” I sighed and bit my thumbnail.

“Then, I believe, the score is two to one, in my favor. Is it not? Accept that I have rendered you sufficient evidence to prove my existence.”

“But, if you were so curious about me, why did you torment me every night for months?”

“I was trying to make you flee and never return. I was concerned for your safety.”

“My safety?” I was confused. “But it was a dream. You just said so.”

“That was no dream. That was Terra Somnium, and there are not only gods that exist in those other realms, Isis. There is a balance of good and bad, right and wrong just like on Earth. Deities are very protective of their lands and of humans, as absurd as it may sound. I was afraid someone or something would see you and condemn you to one of the dark realms.”

“Condemn me for what? I did nothing wrong.”

“Your simple presence there condemns the both of us. You are not to go there again if you value your existence here on Earth. Do you understand?”

I nodded accordingly.

David tapped on the steering wheel with his index finger. “I need to understand you. There is something about you that is quite different from other humans. While I am here, I would like to observe you, just as I observed you for that year.”

“I only saw you for three months.”

“Just because you did not see me does not mean I that I was not there.” His mouth formed a smile. “I actually was very reluctant to try to frighten you away.”

“Why?” My eyes narrowed.

He reached over and touched my cheek with the back of his hand.

“Because Isis… ,” he smiled, “ . . . just because.”

I pulled back and hit the back of my head on the window.

“What are you doing?” I demanded, in a defensive tone.

“I’m sorry. You just look so very, very… innocent,” he sighed. He opened the driver’s side door and circled the car to open my door.

“Take a walk with me?” He extended his hand to help me out of the car.

I hesitated for a moment before I took his hand. The beach wasn’t empty. There were quite a few people walking on the shore so I was sure he wasn’t about to murder me right then and there. I took his hand and he pulled me out of the car.

David walked beside me to the sand dunes where he stopped. “Is this area adequate, or should we walk further into the beach area?”

“Further in,” I immediately answered. I wasn’t taking any chances. I needed to be in the public eye, in case I had to cry out for help. My last attempt hadn’t been very successful, however.

“Ask me anything you would like to know, and I will try to do my best to answer. I know you must be curious about me as well,” he said picking up a sand dollar.

“You mentioned you were
immortal
 . . . so, does that mean you don’t age or die?”

“No, we do not die, but we do age. Age depends on how fast one reaches maturity on many levels. It may take millennia. Mind you, the aging process does not vary much from deity to deity. It is quite the same as the human stages of growth, only deferred.”

“And just how old are you?” I wondered.

“In human years, I would be age eighteen.”

“That’s not what I asked. How old are you, really?”

David scratched the side of his mouth and smirked.

“Does it matter?”

“If you want me to trust you, answer my questions.”

I found a clear spot next to an elderly couple sitting on beach chairs under a colorful umbrella. I started to lower myself to sit but David shook his head in disapproval. I sighed and continued walking, with sand sifting between my toes. I stopped to take off my sandals. David mimicked me and removed his shoes also. He reached out and took my shoes in his free hand to carry them for me.

“Well?” I probed.

“Well what?” he acted dumb and avoided the question.

“What’s your real age?” I asked once again.

“You won’t believe me.” He raised his shoulders.

“Answer the question or I will scream ‘bloody murder’ for all these people to hear,” I grew impatient.

He pursed his lips before he answered. “Two millennia… well, essentially, closer to three.”

I abruptly halted.

“Millennia?” I gasped.

“Mhh hmm,” David murmured with his chin tucked into his chest.

“Okay, then…” I was wide-eyed and kept quiet for a few minutes. I kicked some seashells into the water as I walked.

“Do you have a family?” I reinitiated the questioning.

“Yes I do. I have a mother and a father and two brothers. My mother knows of you and emphasized her interest in meeting you.” He smiled as if pleased by something I was not aware of.

“Really? You told your mother about me? Was she impressed?” I joked.

David chuckled as he nodded. “Yes, she was extremely impressed; plus, I had to tell her. She started growing curious of my whereabouts after the first month, when I would disappear at the same time every day. I could not keep the secret from her.”

“Why did you watch me without attempting to communicate?”

“I was curious. I wanted to know if you were a deity I had never met before or something else. Then, I noticed you were just interested in walking through the fields and talking to yourself. I didn’t see any harm in that, but then I mentioned you to my mother.

“She was taken aback when I told her I thought you might be human. She advised me for months to drive you away by any means necessary, warning me of the ill consequences. If any other deity found that you were being permitted by myself to roam Terra Somnium, I would be set to trial. Luckily, no one discovered you there.”

“So these laws are very strict?” I was unsure of why he was here with me if it wasn’t allowed.

“Ridiculously strict.” He pointed to a solemn spot on the sand. “Would you like to take a rest?”

I bobbed my head and turned my course to the place he indicated. I crossed my legs on the sand and looked at the ocean’s constant sway.

“But, if these rules are so strict, why are you telling me all of this? Why are you here with me now?”

“You’re captivating. I suppose I could regard you as a personal project. I need your cooperation to find out how you found your way to Somnium. I also want to be assured that you will not return.”

“So, in essence, I’m your lab rat?” I huffed.

“I did not mean it in that sense,” David chuckled.

“Why is it so important that you find out how I go there anyway? I’m sure anyone can do it. I’m not special.”

“Isis, there is no possible way that any human could just stumble upon it, much less return as often as they like. It is humanly impossible.”

“Apparently, it is.” I lifted my eyebrow. “Besides, I’ve already told you all I had to do was think about it. Isn’t that explanation enough?”

“No, not for me. I thrive on knowledge. Aside from the teachings of other gods, I studied under some of the most brilliant minds in history, I’ll have you know: Galen, Galileo, Socrates, Newton, Darwin, Einstein and Freud, to name a few of the ones you may know. Their theories were very interesting and quite exact, actually.”

“Wait, that means you’ve attended school on Earth.”

“Yes, it does, and I have been privately tutored as well. Contrary to what you may think, we are not born knowing everything. An education is a privilege your kind sometimes takes for granted.”

“You attend school on a voluntary basis? Why?” I was shocked.

“Well, I find it astonishing to see how much man has evolved in his education over so many centuries. You would not believe the ridiculous theories they taught children in the past.” He chuckled as he reminisced about his previous experiences.

“You sure do sound like my grandfather. A word of advice, if you plan on attending school, you’re gonna have to tone it down about three millennia and not act your age. How in the world do you plan on getting away with that anyway? You hardly use contractions.”

“For your information, I speak in English, not in idiot idioms. But I can lower myself to the elementary level again. Worry not over me.” He twitched his nose in a flirtatious manner.

I rolled my eyes at his conceitedness.

“What about your laws? Aren’t you banned from socializing with humans?”

“As long as we are undetected, we may live among you.”

“You’ve revealed yourself to me. Isn’t that breaking the law?”

“Not when it was you who found me—loophole.” He priggishly grinned.

“Says who?”

“Says the Doctrinal Law. My father is a council member, therefore, I have access to ancient scriptures. I studied volumes of literature on the subjects of conviction and perjury time and again and not once does it mention this situation.

“Being as the council does reserve a place for my father, I would assume they would be lenient with me. That’s the only reason I decided to take you up on your ‘invitation’. However, I did take precautionary measures. The only person that knows I’ve come here for you is my mother.”

“Hmm…” My forehead wrinkled. “ . . . and if they aren’t lenient on you, what happens then?”

“I would probably be prohibited from any visitation to this or any other world—quarantined to my own land—or, . . .” His lips formed a straight line. “ . . . worst case scenario, incarcerated, beheaded, gutted and incinerated.”