“Please, you have to save my child! He’s dying!”
“I-I have money! I’ll give you it all!”
“A moment of your time, just a moment is all I ask!”
“I beg of you, please... please... What do you want? I just need a little...”
“It’s not for me, I promise. It’s for my husband. He needs it. We need it. Can you spare some?”
“How fortunate you are to have such a wonderful power! You must have done something special to find favor with the gods.”
“You were blessed by the gods! How dare you withhold it! What gave you the right?”
“You selfish child! How could you forsake these people that believed in you?”
“These people are suffering and you will do nothing about it? You don’t care, do you? You never did.”
Mariko had a power. The power to bless and the power to heal. Fortune followed those she smiled upon. She could heal the sick, mend the wounded, and save the dying. Money fell into people’s laps when she winked at them. Barren women became pregnant when she laughed. Flowers bloomed where she danced and music played when she sang. A little goddess, she was.
But it wasn’t true, wasn’t right what the people said. She wasn’t blessed by the gods, she was cursed by them. They wanted her to suffer and writhe on the ground for their amusement. And no one disobeyed the gods. So, she suffered. Her hair was pulled out and portions of her skin and flesh was cut away by fervent worshippers wanting nothing but a piece of her to have. She was shoved to the ground by angry rioters and nonbelievers, kicked and spit on for being a false prophet. And all the while, she looked up at the gods hidden among the people, and watched them smirk and laugh behind elaborate fans and heavy makeup.
Mariko was 25 when she heard the news. A prostitute from the next country over was revealed to be the reincarnation of the goddess of beauty. Surely, she thought, this was an unfortunate soul just like me. I will pay them a visit. Perhaps there is someone to share in my sorrow.
So, she traveled days through woods and cities alike, hiding her face from the people she passed and crying out in fear when someone recognized her.
Upon her arrival, she glimpsed the one. And right behind them was a god. The god was smiling sweetly and she knew. This person was not a suffering human, nor were they the reincarnation of a god. They were the child of a god, and that meant she was inferior to them in every way. The blessings the people thought she had, they actually did. Their skin and hair would be protected from blemish and their followers were loyal and real.
Mariko called her own followers around her, for she had an announcement. The rumors were false, the prostitute was the prophet of an evil god and not to be trusted. In fact, they could not be allowed to live.
While a real god would have no trouble shrugging her off, this half-breed would suffer. She would be sure of that.