This was my challenge fic for the November song-to-story challenge. It didn't go to well for me but I hope some of you still might like it, I still love what I wrote. There is a small idea on how to continue this but I'm a slow writer and overthink a lot - so it will take time. I also got quite a lot of fic ideas that I wanna write so time will tell what comes first xD
Hope you like this :)
Children of the Gods
People say love hurts.
In a good way.
And sometimes in a bad one.
No one today seems to know where the saying comes from. People seem to just think that it's just something you say - because sometimes it does hurt to love.
But the thing is that I know where it really comes from.
Back in the time of pyramids and pharaohs, there were people born with pain - from the moment they took their first breath and until it was their time.
They were called the children of the Gods.
Everyone was told, rich, poor, and even slaves, that the children of the Gods were in pain because they loved their other half so much, that they couldn´t live without the constant reminder that they were out there waiting somewhere - calling for the other piece of their soul.
It didn't matter who was born with the pain, even a slave would be seen as a child of the ancient Gods of Egypt and treated with love, respect, and showered with gifts. They were taken care of by the whole Empire and parties were held to help them find their other half.
Because when it was time, the two halves would meet and the pain would go away.
It was even said that when the pain got worse it was because your soulmate was closer. Like the pain was trying to make a great dramatic exit before it would be gone.
And all it would take was eye contact.
Years of pain, sometimes even a lifetime and all it would take was meeting the eyes of your soulmate and it all would be just a memory. Gone forever.
And after the pair found each other they were celebrated and loved even more. Their love for each other couldn't be measured, but people believed that if they could love one another so much to be in pain for years - then their capacity of love must be greater than the power of the pharaohs and maybe even the Gods. So to be loved by them would be seen as a gift from the Gods themselves.
It was because of that belief the pharaohs often welcomed them into their homes and families. They thought if they treated them well and had their love then their lives would be better in this life and in the life that came after.
Sadly with the fall of empires and fewer people born with the pain - they became forgotten. And centuries later they were even burned as witches.
Today many are born with pain and it's diagnosed as an illness.
It's not that pain I'm talking about.
The pain I'm talking about is worse but also better in a way.
This type of pain can go away.
You just have to meet the right person.
Why am I even talking about this?
Because… I was born with the pain. I'm being treated for the illness the doctors think I have but I know better than them - at least this time I do.
I don't even know how I know all this.
I just do.
I wish I was born in a time where I would be taken care of and where I would get to meet as many people as possible to help me find the right one.
Sadly that time is long gone and in many ways is good that it is. It's a bit selfish of me to wish for a time like back then.
But back then my pain would have been understood. In today's world I have to move without help, go to school and hope no one touches me, go home and take care of a household and sleep in a bed that has always been too cold.
Yeah, that's another thing. We with this type of pain always feel cold, not our skin- our whole being. I can never get warm enough even when the sun was shining on me back in Phoenix. Laying still makes it worse but the pain lessens.
So I have to decide; if I want to hurt more than freeze.
None of it goes away completely though.
I'm always cold and in pain.
Cold.
Pain.
Cold.
Pain.
Pain.
Pain.
Pain!
Mike just laid a hand on my shoulder again.
Pain.
Pain.
Pain!
Don't cry.
Don't cry.
Don't cry!
I bite my tongue, swallowing the pain, and I slowly move his hand off me while smiling my custom fake smile. The smile I have worked so hard to make real that even my own body thinks it's real.
He sits down and he doesn't touch me again. Thank the gods of Egypt!
I can't hear their conversation, yet. The pain is still singing loudly in my head - a song I hate just to make sure I'm tortured enough today. One day I will find the person who thought a song about a baby shark and his family was a good idea.
After a few moments, the song echoes away and I can hear the soft buzz of the cafeteria again, no clear words - just an almost comforting murmur.
"Be..ll…B?" I hear after another few minutes pass. "Bell….Bella?"
"What?" I mumble. Ouch. Why does it hurt to move my lips?
"You okay?" Angela asks, worry clear in her voice, but Jessica has only eyes for herself so she cuts in - her question stoping my answer.
"Have you seen the new students?!" She gushes, I glance at her face and I'm met by a dreamy look that belongs in a Disney movie, and not in our music-less high school production called life.
"No," I almost whimper after stopping my head from shaking.
"They are sooo hot… I mean the three guys are… the two girls are….meh…" she shrugs and tries to bite into her pear with some kind of tv commercial grace, but sadly for her - it was a juicy fruit. A small squeak was heard from her when the juice sprayed all over her face.
I would laugh if it wouldn't make the pain flare up again.
Ugh…this day has been more painful than any other for some reason and now I can´t even move my lips without it hurting more than Mike´s hand on my shoulder. I really don´t need to be in more pain, it will just make it harder to do the laundry today. Maybe I can play sick, use the increase of pain to help me lie...
Wait.
I´m in even more pain than this morning.
More pain…
That means…
No, it can´t be...
Or can it be?
Is he close?
I barely dare to hope but if the people of ancient Egypt believed the pain could guide you then maybe...maybe he is close...
He must be close…
Please let him be close...
Deep breaths. Don't panic. The pain will be gone soon…I want it to be gone. Even though the pain has been the only constant in my life - the only thing I could rely on. The cold and pain. Always there.
But today it might leave me… just like my mother did. Though this won't hurt. This will be pain-free.
Carefully I lift my head. My eyes follow the sight of Jessica's - she has her gaze locked onto the table right in front of ours, at the window. Some pear juice is still on her cheek like a tear.
The five new students.
One of them?
Because it can't be the new teacher. I had him before lunch and looked him in the eye.
I don't know how or what made the name slip from my lips. I don't even know how I knew it to begin with. But it was whispered barley laud enough for my own ears. But it echoed loudly in my mind.
Still, he heard me, and his head lifts from glaring at an orange juice bottle.
"Jasper," I say again.
And I meet his golden eyes.
Warm.
Bliss.
Free.
Home.
I swear I heard the old songs of ancient Egypt and the warm sun of the desert stroke my skin.
He smiles and I think I feel millennia-old love sep into me like the waves of the ocean that swallowed Atlantis. Powerful but soft.
He rises.
I rise.
Nothing else exists. I'm sure the world around us could have ended but it would never be able to affect us.
We were born with pain.
We were born with the cold of death and loneliness.
We were born to be strong enough to carry the pain. The end of the world wouldn't stop us and not the hand that tried to grab me before I somehow got away could have stopped me.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
He and I. Finally so close that his hand can fall on my cheek and cool the heat that has never been there before.
"Bella."
He knows my name as I know his.
"Jasper."
His body is hard and cold. But it doesn't matter. He is warmth to me, he is freedom and bliss.
His arms circle around me, holding me close, and the world around us is back - but still, it doesn't exist.
Finally, we are one.
Finally, we are without pain.