Here and Now

Ava’s cynical mind pushed violently against the unworldly vision before her, freezing her mid-step.

No! This is it - you’re finally losing it! This is the terminal, and everyone’s going to think you’re crazy!

And yet, her body leaned forward despite herself. Sweet grass, birdsong, the warm rush of wind, the bubbling of a distant creek. The sensations lured her in like a gentle tide.

How could this be fake? It felt… more real somehow. More real than what, she wasn’t sure.

“Welcome, Ava. Please, step forward so that I might see you.”

The voice was soft, feminine, almost tender. The silhouetted figure raised a hand in invitation.

Ava’s inner cynic snarled that anything too good to be true never was. But curiosity wasn’t about to sit this one out.

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

The figure chuckled. “You need not address me so. We may even become equals.”

Equals? Huh?!

Holding her breath, Ava crossed from the jet bridge into the garden. She braced as if expecting sulfur, but the air filled her lungs sweetly. Her eyes drank in a brilliant sky where the clouds reflected colors from an unknown source. A sunless light poured over an impossibly pristine creek, its waters swaying with the rhythm of the birds. Insects glimmered as though carved from jewels.

“You may breathe now,” the figure reminded her gently.

Relaxing her shoulders, she carefully allowed herself to breathe out, hoping the figure wasn’t tricking her.

Startled, Ava exhaled and turned her attention to the woman before her. She was striking - mid-forties perhaps, dressed in layered robes embroidered with birds and rivers. Her smile radiated calm, but her heritage, her very features, seemed slippery, as though they belonged everywhere and nowhere.

Ava’s instincts screamed to run, yet she couldn’t summon fear. The woman radiated too much calm.

“I am Phos, God of Peace. She Who Listens.”

Oh. That’s why.

Wait - can she read my thoughts? She’s answering everything I think!

“You may address me as Phos. Come.” Phos simply adjusted her smile as though she were stifling a laugh and motioned towards a grassy patch that gently rippled back on two sides as though an invisible wind pushed it back to reveal a stone path manifesting from the ground, seemingly obeying her.

Ava stole one last glance towards her left to admire the scenery before starting on the path that Phos created for them. As they walked, she felt her head buzz as she tried to fathom everything that had just happened and sort any sense to it, but her thoughts just seemed to collide and dissipate like sad fireworks. There simply wasn’t any sense to be made.

Phos strolled along with her silently, eyes fixed ahead and still wearing her gentle smile. Ava occasionally peeked up at her, but she seemed relaxed and clearly not starting any conversation.

Was she being literal about the whole “She who Listens” thing? Maybe I should say something.

Say what? I don’t even know what’s going on.

What if I’m dead?

I’m in a dream?

What if I’m just crazy?

If she’s a real God, she could smite me for asking the wrong thing.

She seems nice, though.

Is she following me, or am I leading?

Ava stopped abruptly, pretending to admire the forest. Phos stopped too, smiling as though content to share the view.

Well now it’s weird. Guess I have to stare at the trees for a minute to sell it.

As Ava studied the brilliant yellow-green leaves that shifted into beautiful blue and wintergreen hues, she noticed a curious detail. Not a single one was broken or brown. The trunks, roots and grass were all pristine, too. Life here was untouched by decay.

“It’s… uhm. Quite beautiful,” Ava said softly.

“Yes. I come here to think.”

Good. I didn’t offend her.

“Do I-?” Ava pointed nervously down the path and Phos nodded, smiling in response.

The scenery stretched endlessly, purpose unclear, until Ava’s stomach dropped.

Wait… Phos. The name on the ad. Oh my god I’m so stupid.

Keeping her eyes forward, she asked, “Phos… I was told to meet you for instructions. Uhm - what would that be?”

Phos chuckled. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d ask.” She swept her arm outward, and a stone gazebo emerged, adorned with bird motifs and draped in flowering ivy. A fountain bubbled at its heart, carving miniature streams across the grass. With another flick of her wrist, cushions materialized on the seats.

“We have arrived.” She touched Ava’s back lightly, guiding her forward.

“Oh!” Ava nearly tripped over herself sitting down, hands clasped tight in her lap. “So uhm… am I dead?”

Phos threw back her head and laughed, a sound rich and alive. “It appears I owe Elion a favor.”

“Uhm - what?”

“Nothing. You will understand.” She dabbed at her eye, smile still wide. “No, dear. You were chosen by the Archon to become a God.”

Ava tilted her head like a confused puppy. “Archon…. God?”

“I understand it is much to fathom. Time here is not as you know it - it does not pass in equal measure to Earth. Your mortal life is safe. For now, your focus must be here. Becoming a God is not to be taken lightly.”

“Oh - yes. Of course.” Ava straightened, as though pretending she grasped the enormity of what had just been said.

Phos swept her sleeve, the embroidered birds shifting into living patterns. A tear opened in the air above the fountain, glowing with impossible light. Through it, Ava glimpsed a black void, and then… something geometric, blurred, and wrong, as though her brain refused to define it.

“The Archon chose you, Ava. The choice was mutual. You are here because you accepted.”

“I… yes. I did,” Ava murmured, throat dry. Did Phos know what really happened on the plane?

“Forgive me but… what do Gods do?” Ava’s words tumbled out with rising panic. “I don’t think I’m qualified - I can’t do what you just did, I have a job, I have Kingsley -”

“Remember. Here and now.” Phos’s voice was firm, but not unkind. She spread her arms, and the garden itself seemed to breathe with her. “Now, you are becoming a God.”

Ava’s stomach twisted. Kingsley. My job. My life. I can’t lose him. And yet… if this was real, maybe the God of Peace was right.

“So… what do I do?”

“Do nothing. Learn everything.” Phos smiled. “You are but a newborn in our world. The process has already begun.”

“Process?” Ava’s eyes widened as she leaned forward. It was shocking enough just to be here, but now it sounded like things had already started - whether she was ready or not.