The Goddess That Was A Mistake

Inui smiled warmly as she looked at her miserable daughter. She had so many expectations of this one, alas she turned out to be a complete disaster.

"Out of the question, the Elder Goddess Maat and your father had already declared your duties for you. And all know that great Gods do not take kindly to the breaking of their decrees, whether by mortals or gods alike." Riya's mother returned the coy smile back to her daughter, electing only a grunt from her. "Now be a good child for once and be the goddesses you were meant to be, however few your worshippers maybe." She said with a final tone in her voice.

"I believe there is one groveling outside your door as we speak if I'm not mistaken." Her mother lips twisted in a smirk, fading away along with the now dwindling flame. "Don't tempt the wheels of fate, my child." Her voice faded into nothing, as the temple grew relatively dim once more.

Riya finally let out an agitated scream of frustration and turned to find her bed, wishing she could just throw herself in there and take cover in her warm blankets, and not reappear for a few days. But as she looked around her, she quickly realized that her old life as she knew it was no more. She couldn't even sleep anymore, and that was definitely the worst part.

As if waiting for just the right moment, a gentle knock came from the door, and a thin voice called from the outside, "G-Goddess..are you okay..?" Riya clenched her fist at the sound of the worshipper that reached her ear.

Three weeks ago she wasn't Riya, she was Abdo. and Abdo was sitting in his bed watching sitcoms on his laptop alone in his lovely, oh so lovely, room in downtown Cairo. Then there are two gaps. One gap in his memory in which he doesn't remember what exactly happened, and the other gap being the tight opening he came screaming out of, for the second time.

Another uterus, another adventure.

As if that wasn't enough, he remembers the slimy fluids and the taste of his own intrauterine baby filth, as someone pulled him out like a sack and tossed him into a cradle like the mistake he surely was. He didn't mind though, the cradle was so warm and almost magically soothing, he forgot everything as he just lay there quietly for what seemed like a long time.

Then they appeared.

A man and a woman approached his cradle out of nowhere. They stood there appraising him like an item for a while, towering closely over him. "Oh husband, it is a girl this time. I hope she is destined to be a River Nile goddess like myself." The white-haired women smiled at him, her plum colored lips leaning in towards him and planting a kiss on his forehead. Abdo was blank the whole time, but it was at that point that he started regaining some of his senses.

The man nearby stood solemnly quiet at first, stroking his long thin beard which was decorated in a very strange way. The strands seemed plaited like a pigtail with the end jutting forward in a curious fashion as ancient pharaohs did in paintings. He finally spoke a minute later, whispering to the woman near him, and keeping his eyes on Abdo at the same time. "Hmmm. Only Maat may divine another God's domain, that is for sure." He spoke slowly, exuding an air of authority with every word.

"Riya, I'll name her Riya." The gleeful woman squinted her eyes with an encompassing smile, making Abdo feel extremely special even though he was no girl named Riya

Abdo looked back and forth between the two as they looked back at him. "Shouldn't she be speaking and offering her respect to us by now?" The dignified man asked his wife. *Some children are slower than others, Husband." the women spoke softly. "Child, you have laid there enough, now offer your greetings to your father. The God Amuh-oo."

Abdo continued glaring at the pair in bafflement. He blinked repeatedly, trying to figure out if this was a dream or did he accidentally overdose on caffeinated drinks while binge-watching Seinfeld. Following a silent pause, he finally wet his lips with his small tongue, as he softly coughed and looked at his expecting parents while parting his lips for his first words.

"What the actual f.u.c.k?"

And that was the last time Abdo, or now Riya, had his father talk to him.