You're Making Every Single Day A Little Bit Better
"What would Death or Famine even entail?" Vera asked. They had all gathered in the living room, spreading out among the random seats provided. Josh and Raul stood behind the couch with Erin and Amy sharing the recliner. Rose sat in the other armchair with Koa just behind her while Nadia, Peter and Vera took up the couch. Peter searched random sights about the horseman of death while Nadia whispered specific words and phrases into his ear regarding the horseman.
"What about someone on law enforcement being Death?" Rose suggested. Vera pursed her lips. "That could make sense. There's plenty of cops out there who feel like the justice system is failing and take it into their own hands." Raul provided.
"What like a vigilante?" Erin said. Raul cocked his head and shrugged. "Possibly." She shook her head, doubtful. "How is a vigilante evil though? Don't they usually kill bad guys?" Peter said. Raul placed a hand on his shoulder. "They take the law into their own hands. That's illegal. You don't always know the circumstances regarding someone's actions." Peter sighed and turned back to the computer, typing 'vigilante justice' into the search bar.
Nadia pointed to a website that listed known vigilantes in the world. "This list gives us known vigilantes but the problem is that almost all vigilantes are caught pretty quickly. They're almost all amateurs who are wronged by the justice system in some way and decide to go after the person that wronged them." Peter nodded, clicking random names and skimming the details. He was extremely aware of Nadia right beside with her arm resting against his leg.
"Well, I guess we should start there then." Vera said, standing. Rose sighed. "This happened last time. We were so eager for another horseman to appear that we looked for him. God will send us signs when he's ready." Raul sighed and looked over at Erin. "We can't just sit here and do nothing, Rose." The lithe young woman stood from the armchair. "We have to be careful with this. We can't just assume things because we're anxious. You know what happens when you assume."
Raul smiled lightly at her teasing tone. He looked back at Erin and Amy. "Erin and I were thinking about taking Amy to the park." Rose nodded and watched the three retreat down the hall. Josh stood and swiped his hands across his jeans. "We need to go grocery shopping. We're almost out of essentials." Rose nodded and Koa stepped forward. "I'll go with you. You said we shouldn't go anywhere alone so, I'll help." Josh nodded appreciatively and they were gone quickly.
Neither Peter nor Nadia looked up when Erin and Raul returned to the living room with Amy in her rain jacket. "We won't be gone long." Erin said. Rose nodded and watched them exit through the back door before turning to stare down at the two youngest members of their chaotic little family. "You two need to get some fresh air. I only see you go out when something's going on." She carefully pushed her fingers against the back of the laptop screen, watching it close gently before looking up at their faces.
"It's a nice day. Go soak up some vitamin D. I'll be fine here. Erin and Raul said they'd be back soon." Peter sighed and glanced over at Nadia who just shrugged. He smiled and stood up, offering her his hand. "We'll take a walk around the block." Rose nodded, smiling at their backs as the left the house.
Rose was right. It was a nice day and Peter enjoyed the feeling of the heat against his back. "So, do you have any more of those Greek myths?" Nadia smiled up at him. He grinned and slipped his hands in his pockets. "I have lots of them." She nodded and shuffled her foot against the cement. "Tell me one."
"How about I tell you about where spiders came from." Nadia's face crinkled up and she shook her head. "Why not?" Peter laughed. Nadia shrugged and kicked a small rock across the sidewalk. "I hate spiders. They're gross and ugly and they have the potential to kill you." Peter snorted. "I'm not their biggest fan but they keep the insect population in check. Without spiders we'd be overrun with flies and grasshoppers that would destroy all the crops and plants and we'd starve and die."
Nadia laughed. "That's dramatic." Peter shrugged. "But it's true." Nadia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine. Tell me the story about how spiders came to be."
Peter took a deep breath. "The word arachnid is derived from the name of a young woman named Arachne. Arachne was a talented weaver in a small village. People were awed by her work and often times suggested that she was blessed with her gift by the goddess Athena. There are three different versions of the story. In all of them, Arachne challenges Athena to a weaving contest to see who the greatest weaver is. In two of the stories, Arachne wins and in only one does Athena win.
"In the first story, Arachne challenges Athena to weave. In Athena's tapestry, she weaved four different stories of humans who challenged the gods and tried to prove themselves equal. Arachne's tapestry depicted occurrences where the gods had mistreated and abused humans.
"Athena saw that Arachne's work had not only insulted the gods but was better than her own and she became enraged. She destroyed Arachne's tapestry and sprinkled a potion over her, turning her into a spider and cursing her and her descendants to a lifetime of weaving.
"In the second story, Zeus judges the works and the loser had to promise never to touch a loom or spindle again. Arachne wove a tapestry that was thin but woven with thousands of different colors. Athena wove a tapestry that showed the gods in all their glory.
"Arachne was devastated at Athena's win and therefore the loss of her most treasured hobby. Athena took pity on Arachne and turned her into a spider, granting her the ability to weave without special tools.
"In the third telling of the story, Arachne wins and Athena is awed by her beautiful work. To make Arachne realize her insult to the gods and respect them, Athena touched her forehead with her hand and Arachne was overcome with guilt for her insult and she hung herself. Athena then brought Arachne back to life as a spider, so that she and her descendants could weave all their lives."
Nadia watched Peter the entire time he told his story. She couldn't help but smile at the way his face lit up when he got to the challenge. His eyes would crinkle at the corner and they would blaze with passion. His hands moved wildly in the air before him as he talked with them. His voice would change at different parts to the story. It would deepen and rise. He was fascinating to watch.
"How'd you get into Greek mythology?" She asked. Peter slipped his hands into his front pockets and shrugged his broad shoulders. "I was in a group home when I was ten. There were, like, eight or nine of us there at once. I was one of the youngest and I've always been pretty quiet guy, a loner. I was always an easy target for the older kids.
"There was one room in the entire home that I was the only one brave enough to go in. It was this big, dusty old room that the foster parents didn't even go in. It had these shelves upon shelves of books as big as my head and some as small as my hand.
"I was the only one who would ever go in it because it was the only place that the older kids didn't bother me. I would spend hours in that room, flipping through all the books and finding my favorites. I would sit on the floor by the door so I could tell if anyone was going to come in looking for me.
"My favorite books were the ones about the Greek heroes and the gods. They would have these pictures that looked like they'd been painted by Michelangelo or like they belonged on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. I was fascinated by stories of these people who didn't understand the life they led and who wanted to be different. Some of the people didn't even know they were different and were given tasks by kings and queens to calm the wrath of the gods."
Peter smiled and looked over at Nadia who blushed furiously under his gaze. "It sounds stupid, I know but those stories were what helped me get through my days in the groups homes." He shrugged and looked down at his feet.
Nadia rested her hand on his arm and ducked her head, catching his eye. "I don't think it's stupid. I think it's amazing that you were able to find something that got you through your day. It's better than other vices that people find. You could've gotten into drugs." Peter snorted and nodded. "I know plenty of foster kids who got in a bad way."
Nadia took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. "It's getting late. Raul's probably back by now and freaking out wondering where I am." Peter nodded and they turned, simultaneously, to head back to the house. "Hey," Peter looked down at Nadia when she spoke. Her face was set in a mask of concentration. "Being an angel of the apocalypse, I feel like your believe in God is pretty much cemented." She looked up at him as if to confirm. Peter nodded. "Do you ever wonder how you were chosen?"
Peter drew his eyebrows together. That was a question that had never crossed his mind before. "Not until now." He said. Nadia laughed and licked her lips. "When I think about it, I realize that we've all done bad things. Erin's wanted for kidnapping; your uncle is running from a drug lord and the DEA. We're not perfect but we were chosen for a reason. Maybe God saw something in us that he knew would help us save the world."
Peter looked down, watching his feet shuffle against the pavement. "It sounds so surreal when you say it like that." Nadia giggled. Peter shook his head and chuckled. "It kind of does, doesn't it? I mean, I know we're looking for the four horsemen of the apocalypse but to say we're saving the world sounds so…I don't know." Nadia nodded and looked up; staring at the front porch of the abandoned house they'd all been living in.
"This was nice. We should do it again." Peter looked over at her and almost missed it. She had leaned up on her toes and touched her lips to his cheek. His eyes widened as he watched her turn and enter the house. His cheek burned where she kissed it and he absently ran his fingers over the spot she touched. He couldn't keep the grin off his face when he entered the house and promptly ignored Josh when he asked what he was so happy about.
