Chapter 19: A fall from grace

"When I was a child, my mother took me mountain climbing. It was the tallest mountain near the forest where we lived. It was so high that when we reached the top, you could hardly see the bottom.

After hours of climbing, we made it up there. My mother lit a fire and I watched her pray for three hours straight until the fire finally turned white. She told me to hide behind a rock, so I did. Then I heard her talking to someone, she sounded so happy, I could feel her tears.

She expressed gratitude to the voice and said how much she missed them, it was the same for it too. They talked about old times and how my mother should return home, but she said she couldn't. When the voice asked why, she called me out.

I slowly creeped out from behind the rock and she gently grabbed my hand and held me firmly in front of the fire, then she said, "This is why."

"Athena...please tell me you didn't." the fire said to her.