Symmetry of a Soul's Evolution
Chapter One
Disappointments

Loneliness. That was the most of any emotion he ever knew. And there was anger. Anger was something he also knew very well. Being second best. Why? Just because he was the younger brother of Thor? He has always been shunned and when he knew he was not purely Asgardian it hurt. He had wept and mourned that his lineage was the stuff of monstrosities and that he was never a true son of Odin. He always had ambitious ideas and aspirations but his loyalty to his so-called brother severed when he realized that he needed to prove to Asgard that he was one of them that frost giant or not with that realm gone he would always belong. No one around could question that.

But what happened? He was thwarted at every turn. When he finally made mind to take over Midgard it happened that he was overthrown. Now, Odin would find out a punishment for him. He probably thought death was better after all what did he have? No family. No throne. No nothing. It was best to just destroy all that he touched or destroy him.

When the sentence fell he grew quiet. He closed his eyes.

This was hell for the living.

When Aygul Doina looked at herself she felt disappointed. And this disappointment had stemmed in her since childhood. But maybe she was making progress? Well, she didn't know for sure. Black-Brown eyes looked at her back. Well, her eyes were dark brown like nude cocoa and her hair was black, wavy, yet short, to the neck. But she kept it in a small ponytail. And she wasn't perfect. No siree, not perfect at all. She wore glasses and she was not toned thin. She was chubby or as her last boyfriend meekly put it "slightly overweight." and that boyfriend had been nicer than most. When she told him she wanted to do double Masters he looked at her as though the good times were over. She wanted to study more but he thought it was too much: "Aren't you happy with your job?" "I never said I wasn't" "Well, why do you need to pursue a degree in Physics and Literature? Aren't those contradictory?" "I don't think so." And that was a moment she had made best friends with. A moment that she had faced so many times with boys or men. They never really understood her. She was more or less the best friend and not really the girlfriend material. She was not that feminine at all. And he left when she was about to give the admission exams and soon she saw him happily with another. She tried not to let it get to her. But she did cry a bit. She was starting to think that she had someone, well not anymore. At that moment she decided to give up on relationships and just focus on her studies. She wanted to become an intern at Stark Industries if she could. That way she would have important things to do and would without a doubt not be a disappointment anymore. Also, Stark's streak was fierce. There was a partial guarantee that the company would be stable and she could find a good place there.

Aygul smiled. Still in her PJs. Things might become better and who knows maybe she would make new friends.

Aygul dressed up in jeans and a black kurta with green embroidery. Her brown eyes glowed and her curvaceous body wrapped in fine features highlighted her Middle Eastern origins with American bloodlines. Well, Aygul thought tying her hair, At least the first day might not be so bad.

What he saw before him was a crude crowd and he felt them dumb and mute. Despite their eagerness he saw nothing in them that interested him. So, this was his punishment? To live like a human with a spell tangled in him to obstruct him of his sorcery. How silly. How ugly he found most Midgardians. So, he must study here. But to what purpose? He didn't know and at the moment he didn't care.

"Oops, sorry." he bumped with someone in the crowd and looked annoyed at the bespectacled girl, "Wow, what a crowd huh?"

"I suppose." he said sans interest but then she continued.

"Are you new here?"

"Yes,"

"So am I. What's your name?"

"Loki." he answered trying to avoid her.

"I'm Aygul, so Loki, what subject?"

"I think I'm supposed to be a..." Loki paused, "Literature graduate student." he had understood what she had meant seeing that those were the scanty details provided with his exile.

"Really? Neat. So am I!"

Loki looked irritated. He did not want anyone around. Not to mention this amiable girl around. This whole idea to be an Earthling and human not an Asgardian; to be in an academic institute like them to learn more about them was hell! And now this girl was being too nice.

" We might have the same classes. Do you wanna go together?"

Loki sighed, "Sure." After all the crowd was suffocating him.

"Great." Aygul blushed a bit. He was a very attractive man and he looked slightly older than her.

Loki and Aygul walked side by side as Loki took a glance at her. She was pretty. Actually, she was quite beautiful in a way he hadn't seen before. Subtle; was that the correct word?

Is she naïve? She hardly knows me? Why is she being so polite and nice?

"Loki is a strange name." it was a sudden comment, "But I like it."

"Your name..." Loki realized he didn't properly pay attention.

"Ughh, it's Aygul. Do you have the same problem as me?" she smiled.

"Problem?" Loki looked too annoyed and Aygul looked startled.

"I remember faces but not names well."

"Oh, well, I remember well most of the times." Loki commented, relaxing, "Both faces and names."

"Lucky you." Aygul commented, "I sometimes forget things quite easily."

Loki did not respond. At the moment he did not care for a human's self-analysis. He was Asgardian; ancient people thought they were gods and even weaved a mythology around them; part-truth and part-lore to accommodate their mysterious bodies and ways. Truth was that they were different kinds of mortals; immortal in some ways but not sans death. But Loki always felt superior and he felt it, the superiority, twinge when he realized that her not remembering names was another sign of his powers and her impoverished brain. He smirked and realized how frail Midgardians were. But then he cringed. With these weaklings he was meant to live and do what they did. Midgardians are weaker than Asgardians, we are not alike, why would Odin think fit to exile me with a species I don't have much in common with?

In the lecture hall, Loki, for convenience, sat with Aygul. The other people nearby and Loki was silent until someone asked him, "What's your name?"

"Loki." he answered indiffrently.

"Just Loki?"

Loki realized that he did not have a last name as per Midgardian custom. He thought for a moment and answered, "Loki Vlatko."

"Strange name." the young man turned around and Loki thought about punching him. But then of course he couldn't cause such a disturbance.

"I still think it's a cool name." Aygul thought Loki was uncomfortable. She wanted him to feel okay.

Loki looked at her and suddenly asked for casualness, "What is your full name?"

"Uh, Aygul Doina."

Loki just nodded and looked forward, but then added, "It doesn't sound common."

"Not around these parts no."

Loki looked at the brown eyes, which were deep and the skintone fair but bronze-like at the same kind. "Uh, I have Middle Eastern ancestry." Aygul answered.

"I see." Loki interpreted that she had foreign origins concerning what she said as "these parts" — but then again he was not really interested.

Suddenly a jolly professor came in. "Good morning class. I can't wait to begin!"

Loki heard that voice and groaned. Yup he was in hell.