Mother Nature grabbed Fate’s hand, and the two of them materialized on the top of a mountain with a beautiful view. It was pretty Mount Lafayette in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
“Okay, so here we are.” Fate took up a lotus position on a nearby rock. “What happened?”
“What happened is that you picked a loser for me. A crazy person. I don’t know what you were thinking.” Gaia clasped her hands behind her back and paced back and forth in front of her sister.
“I didn’t pick him, remember? This is why I hadyoupick. I knew you’d try to blame anything that went wrong on me.”
Gaia stopped in her tracks and whirled on her. “Ipicked him?”
Fate gaped at her. “I showed you some pictures of possible matches. And you decided which picture you liked.”
“I did not.”
“Did too.”
Karma appeared between them. Her red hair blew in the wind until she grasped it and tied it into a knot. “Don’t fight. You sound like children. I think what happened was just a misunderstanding. Now before we move on, try to be clear about how you want these matches to happen. But what I want to know first is what went wrong with each one so far, so the mistakes don’t get repeated.”
Gaia frowned. “I know it may have seemed like a good idea to match me with a Wiccan. He obviously believes in the Goddess—with a capital G—and a whole host of other gods and goddesses. He was a little starstruck, and I have to admit I enjoyed that a little bit.
“However, he has some weird-ass ideas about me. About all of us. And he’s wrong. I don’t require people to wear black robes, meet in circles under the full moon, and hold elaborate rituals.” She snorted.
Karma shook her head. “So what? If it makes them feel more connected to you, what’s the harm?”
“Okay, okay,” Fate said. “No one is going to be perfect. And no human knows the real you. You’re going to have to deal with that.”
“I agree,” said Karma. “You are one mysterious mother…”
Gaia folded her arms. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Karma and Fate glanced at each other and giggled. “Look, Sister,” Fate said. “We love you. We want you to be happy. We know it’s not easy to find a relationship built on friendship and trust in this world. It involves time—and getting to know each other. All your humans have to do that. And your paranormals have an even more difficult time, because they have a secret to protect until they know for sure they can trust the other person completely. Think of the box you’ve put them in.”
Gaia threw her hands in the air. “Is that what it takes? I have to get to know someone and let them get to know me without revealing who I am? That’s a really strange set of circumstances. Did you set that up, Fate?”
“Um, no. You did!” Fate lowered her gaze and voice. “I may have contributed to it, however. I never expected it to be this hard. I created soul mates. I thought they would recognize each other. And sometimes, they do. There really are incidents of love at first sight. Unfortunately, these days, a lot of people wind up talking themselves out of the idea. There’s only so much I can do for people without interfering.”
Gaia sank down on a nearby rock and clasped her hands around her knees. “You’re right. It’s difficult. I suppose I have a little more compassion for the paranormals, especially when they have to resort to humans, trying to find a partner they can share a life with.”
Fate let out a breath she’d been holding. “Finally. She sees it.”
“Sees what?” Gaia asked.
Fate and Karma exchanged another glance.
“What? What am I supposed to see?” Gaia rose and jammed her hands on her hips, leaning forward, challenging her sisters.
Karma smirked. “Cancel that thought, Fate. She still doesn’t get it.”
Gaia whirled on Fate. “So are you going to tell me? What am I missing?”
“Gaia, you’ve always been a little hard on your people and paranormals,” Karma said. “We only wish you would be a little more understanding. It’s hard enough that you stick them with this all or nothing rule, never to reveal themselves to humans. Never? What about when they fall in love with one of them? Are they supposed to hide their secret forever?”
“You have seen some of these relationships yourself,” Fate added. “They grow and unfold the way any relationship grows and unfolds. They are attracted to each other. They get to know each other. They get to like each other. Eventually, they come to love each other. And then what do you expect them to do? Lie to each other for the rest of their lives?”
Mother Nature shrugged. “Couldn’t they just fall in love with their own kind in the first place?”
Fate approached gingerly and put her arm around her sister, probably taking her immortal life in her hands, so to speak. “Love is love, my darling sister. I do create soul mates, and sometimes they’re unlikely matches. And sometimes if they’re too much alike, that causes problems. I try to find people who complement each other. Just as I was trying to do with you in the beginning of this ‘mission implausible.’ I was trying to find people whose strengths would help ameliorate your deficiencies and people whose faults would be supplemented by your strengths. I wasn’t really impressed with the results of that endeavor.”
“Deficiencies? Fate, you know I don’t have much in the way of faults to be supplemented by a human or paranormal.”
