The door of his room flew open and stirred Brent from his nap. He shot a glance at the blond haired lady that he instantly recognized as his mom. “Are you ready to go,” his mom asked. Brent responded with a confused look as his gaze shifted around the room. He sat up slowly and rubbed his temples in an effort to nurse the headache that stole his attention. “Hurry up and get dressed. We’re going to Johnny’s for dinner. Brent nodded his head and pushed the covers away from his feet.

  The drive felt long, but it was anything but boring. If there was anything he shared with his mom, it was her taste in music. A lot of the hour-long drive was spent singing along to the radio. Brent stared out the window of the car and watched the ever changing landscape of the red desert state. The house that Brent’s uncle lived in stood tall, towering over a green grassy lawn and surrounded by a chain link fence. The house itself had a tan colored paint job, with maroon colored windows.

  Brent opened the passenger side door and stepped out onto the asphalt. He lifted the bar carefully and pushed the gate open, waiting for his mom to pass by. The floors of the house were made of hardwood and each step came with the sound of wood creaking beneath his feet. Brent could hear the roar of the TV from the front door. He made his way up the steps in front of the doorway and followed the sound. Brent’s uncle John sat at the side of the television and looked up at them from the basketball game. He wore a light blue denim shirt and his hair was blond with a natural curl to it. “Come on in,” he said behind a thick blond mustache that matched the color of his hair.

  Brent heard the sound of heels clicking against the hardwood floors. His Aunt Rose stood in the doorway of the living room. “You’re just in time, Dinner is almost ready,” she said in a soft welcoming tone. A smile painted across her bright red lips as she took another step into the living room and lowered herself onto the couch. Brent recognized the long wrinkly blouse that draped over her torso as the shirt she wore on the day that his aunt and uncle offered to pay for his Church mission. Just as Brent had suspected, she parted her lips to start the conversation. “So Brent. Have you given any thought to going on a mission?” Rose continued as she made herself comfortable on the couch.

  

  “Do you have any idea Of the kind of mess this mortal is making?!” Kronos shouted as he fell sideways against the entrance to the temple of time. “I specifically told you when I brought you into this realm and granted you a portion of my power, that you could not mess with anyone else’s work!” His voice was dry, yet powerful. It echoed off the Golden walls of the temple of time.

  The sound of Kronos’s anger stung Aery’s ears. His nerves were shot instantly, rendering Dr. Love Motionless. He struggled to maintain his composure. He shifted his Gaze to Clotho who gave him a blank stare in return. Aeryn struggled with the words to say, but managed to muster up an ounce of courage. “Lord Kronos, I assure you I’m looking into the matter as we speak!” He shouted, scrambling to the stairway to meet Kronos.

  Kronos made eye contact, slowly lifting his finger from the button that sat on the golden pocket watch that hung from his neck. Clotho shortly joined Aeryn at the top of the stairs urging him down the stairs. “You summoned the fates to help you?” Kronos continued, holding his cane tightly and using it to steady himself.

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  “Come Father,” Clotho said, making her way down the stairs. ”Let’s go take a look at the situation.” The trio disappeared from the temple in a small cloud of sand.

  

  Time stood still in this realm where Aeryn, Kronos, and Clotho stood. Here in the living room of Brent’s uncle’s house. On one couch sat his uncle Johnny, on the other sat Brent, his mom, and his Aunt Rose. Every muscle in each of their bodies rendered motionless. It was a rare thing for Kronos to stop the flow of time, but his concern was just. Kronos knew what this contest could mean. Anytime someone messed with the balance power of between the Keepers, meant work for Kronos to restore it. Neither Aeryn, nor Kronos or Clotho could be seen. Any sound made in this state would seem like a thought or whisper to the nearest mortal.

  “If this mortal’s fate is changed, Aeryn. Then I have no choice but to disqualify you and take my blessing back.” Kronos whispered sternly. “You were lucky the first time you allowed these mortals alter the tapestry of fate. Lucky that their fates intertwined. And even then you almost brought this mortal to an early death.”

  The expression on Aeryn’s face changed. Replaced by concern and worry over the possible failure. Aeryn had put so much thought into this. It was a gamble from the beginning. A gamble on these two mortal souls. He nodded and whispered “,Thank you father,” as his gaze dropped to the hardwood floor of the house. He watched out of the corner of his eyes, his thoughts racing as Clotho extended the tapestry from the frozen torso of Brent’s body.

  Kronos took a step closer. “How does it look Sister?,” He asked in a calm tone. Clotho removed an eyeglass from her sleeve and held it up to her eyes. Two strings gave off a bright glow that could only be seen through the eye glass. Aeryn couldn’t make out their whispers. He could only watch as the fair skinned pretty brunette surveyed the tapestry.

  “So what does anomaly mean, Sister?” He whispered quietly to Clotho. “Will this change be difficult to fix?”

  “Fates smile upon your apprentice, Father.” Clotho whispered in response, shooting a quick glance toward Aeryn. “If you look over here the weave is identical to the original design.”

  Kronos disguised his smile cleverly and straightened his posture. ”Thank you for your assistance, Sister.” Kronos inched his way slowly toward Aeryn. “You are lucky, my apprentice. Now let us head back to the temple. We have work to do.” With a simple pat on Aeryn’s back, the three would disappear into a brightly colored golden sand. As soon as the grains of sand disappeared, time began again.

  The words spilled from Brent’s lips. "Yes I have, but I don’t think we could afford it.” He replied, letting out a brief sigh. “We can barely afford to pay rent as it is. Just the other day I had to walk down to the city office and use my paycheck to get the utilities turned back on.”

  “That’s very sweet of you,” Rose said, rising to her feet slowly and making herself comfortable on the couch next to Johnny. ”Your uncle John and I discussed it and we decided that we could help pay for you to go on a mission. Would you be ok with that?’

  Brent responded with a sheepish nod. “That’d be great. I don’t wanna ask you to spend money that you might not have.” He said, looking up at her and trying to retain his composure.

  “Oh shush,” she said in a soft tone. “You don’t need to sweat it. Just go do the lord’s work. Your uncle and I will help take care of things. It will still be here when you get back.”