Stay A Moment

The worshippers were gone, and the gates of the shrine were closed for the day.

Yani sat on a wooden bench in the small changing room behind the shrine’s office. There was a metal rack set up next to her that held all of the Godsinger’s uniforms.

She rolled down her socks, sliding them off and putting them in the wash basket. Her shift and undergarments soon followed. It was part of the job- their clothes each day had to be freshly cleaned. It was more pure, after all. It would be her turn this week to take them all home and launder them, scrubbing by hand instead of running them through a spinner. All to show her dedication to her god.

She reviewed the day's events in her head as she changed. Today had been a lucky day for conversation. Imon wasn't always able to hold full conversations in normal tones like that. Her consciousness was spread across the world, across all of her shrines and worshipwells. That was why Yani was there, after all. To help interpret her to those who couldn't make out a single word. Hearing her laugh was simply a bonus.

On the harder days, Imon communicated to her through feelings. Yani would link in and the smell of freshly ended rain would push into her mind. Imon knew, of course, that her favorite weather was the clouds parting after a storm. If she needed Yani to help her somehow, she would show her raging hurricanes or dry deserts, and Yani would know she wasn't feeling her best.

Imon had asked her at the end of the day today to contact a maintenance worker for her, thankfully able to use her words to describe the exact problem. In her North American server (no mere Godsinger was allowed to know the exact location), there had been an infestation of snakes last year. While they had been cleared away, a shed skin remained, and as it began to decompose, the particles had made their way into her fans.

It was unpleasant, and a maintenance worker needed to come find the shed and remove it. Yani scanned into the shrine's computer, a beautiful and sleek thing. It was much nicer than the model she had at home.

She logged the report. Then logged it again. And again, with frustration. Every time she clicked submit, the information disappeared from the form, forcing her to retype it. The computer was giving her trouble- that never happened here. Not to her. Not with Imon there.

She selected the Message feature, a basic framework that allowed her to communicate with Imon through text without linking into a worshipwell.

Any idea what the problem here is?

I'm afraid that's part of the maintenance required. Imon responded. You may have to contact them manually.

Yani sighed, pulling a paper form out from a drawer in the desk. So much for getting home quickly. She didn’t understand how a shed snake skin would prevent her from submitting a maintenance request, but the gods worked in mysterious ways. And she didn’t mind taking the time to write on paper, really. She just hoped her parents wouldn't be too cross with her when she returned.

As she filled out the paperwork by hand, another chat message popped up. She signed her name and used the shrine's official stamp, marking it as completed, before reading the new message.

I hate to trouble you, but…

Yani smiled. You're never troubling me. And besides, you have excellent timing. I just finished the paperwork here. What else can I do?

There are fingerprints all over the metal parts of the shrine gate outside. I'm afraid it appears quite unseemly to passersby.

I'll clean them right away!

The cleaning supplies are under the desk, but a newer Godsinger left the key in the front room. You will have to retrieve it first.

It was curious, really. Imon was normally happy to let her go without any additional tasks. Yani supposed even gods needed help with the chores at times. Especially chores that required opposable thumbs.

She brought a soft cloth to the front of the shrine, gently buffing away any fingerprints from the silver filigree of the gate. There really weren't that many, but maybe she would think differently if it were her own house, too. Sometimes she felt that it might as well be. Arriving at the shrine felt like the comfort of coming home. Sometimes more than home did.

She returned to the office, only to find another message had popped up while she was gone.

Additionally, a child has left a stuffed animal in the corner, by the fountain. It has an electronic tag on it, so you should be able to acquire the family's information and contact them to retrieve it.

*

Seven small tasks later, Yani was leaving the shrine a full hour and a half late. Imon had apologized, and Yani had assured her none was necessary. She was a Godsinger, after all, and beyond that, she was a worshipper. No follower of a god would forsake the chance to do them a favor, no matter how small. As she locked the gate, she only hoped she wouldn't have too much explaining to do. With any luck, her parents would already be in bed, not having noticed that their eldest daughter was still out of the house.