Page 116 of Into the Mist

“Absolutely.”

Together, they walked to one of the big troughs full of wine bottles floating in ice water. Ford poured them two plastic cups full and then sipped silently as they watched people dance.

“In this moment it’s easy to forget we’re living in an awful apocalypse,” said Mercury. “Actually, I’m suddenly getting bigRomancing the Stonevibes.” She glanced at him. “But you probably didn’t see that movie.”

“Joan Wilder?TheJoan Wilder?” Ford said in a very thick Colombian accent, which caused Mercury to crack up.

“Oh my Goddess, I love that part.”

“I’m actually pretty fond of the festival scene. You know, where Joan Wilder and whatever Michael Douglas’s character’s name was—”

“Jack T. Colton,” Mercury said.

Ford grinned. “Yeah, that was it. Where Jack T. Colton and Joan Wilder have their firstmoment. That’s my favorite part.”

“Oxford Diaz, are you a romantic?”

“Oh, completely.” He held Mercury’s gaze and added, “I wish it could last. This night—this festival… But I agree with what Stella’s been saying. We cannot stay. I also feel—”

The women closest to them sent Ford shocked looks, and Mercury took his arm and lowered her voice. “Let’s check out one of these firepits—away from listening ears.”

“Good idea.”

They walked slowly to a firepit far enough out of earshot that they could speak easily. Beside it on the park’s verdant grass was a pile of wood, which Ford fed to what was already burning so that the fire leaped and made the bears cut out of the iron sides of the pit appear to sway in time with the licking flames.

Mercury sipped her wine and gazed up at the sky—and then sighed wistfully. “That full moon is gorgeous tonight.”

“It is, but why do you sound sad about it?”

“Oh, I’m not sad. It makes me homesick, that’s all. Today is Ostara, and a full moon on a Sabbat is particularly fortuitous. I had a huge Ritual planned.”

“Ostara—isn’t that the original Easter?”

“Sorta. It’s the Pagan celebration of the Spring Equinox, named after the Anglo-Saxon goddess of dawn, Eostre. Christians adopted it for their Easter like they did several other Sabbats—Samhain, or Halloween, and Yule, or Christmas, in particular.” Mercury sipped her wine and then continued. “Have you ever wondered what bunnies and eggs have to do with zombie Jesus rising from the grave?”

“I’ve never really thought about it. My grandparents were strict Catholics, but my parents not so much—and me, not at all. Like I said before, I’m more of a nature worshipper than a sit-in-a-church-and-pray-to-a-distant-but-judgmental-God guy.”

Mercury smiled at him. “That’s very Pagan of you.”

“Thank you. So, my guess is that the baby animals have a lot more to do with the Goddess than Jesus.”

“Right you are! The Easter bunny and colored eggs come from an Eostre story. It’s said the Goddess heard the pleas of a little girl beseeching her to save a bird that was frozen and almost dead. Eostre interceded and saved the little creature by turning it into her sacred animal, a white hare. But, because the hare was really a bird, it laid eggs in the colors of the Goddess’s rainbow.”

“I had no idea,” said Ford.

“Yeah, Pagans would draw symbols of the goddesses and gods on the eggs and then use them to decorate their altars and bring prosperity and fertility to their crops and families.”

“Well, that makes more sense than Jesus coming out of the tomb with bunnies and eggs,” Ford said with a laugh. “What would you have done at your Ostara Ritual?”

“I’d planned to have my friends Gather at Woodward Park, which is in the heart of midtown Tulsa. It’s filled with azaleas that would’ve been in full bloom. I’d have an altar set up. We’d circle around it and call in the elements. Then everyone in the circle would write on their piece of prayer paper what blessing they’d like to beseech the Goddess for, in the form of the Lady of the Earth, and the God, in his form of Lord of the Wood, in the coming season.” She paused and then added. “Just to be clear, I choose to worship a female deity, but I do include men in my Rituals. Then we light the prayer papers and toss them into the air, ask the Goddess and the God for their blessings, close the circle, and feast. There’s lots of dancing and merrymaking and harmless drunken revelry that follows.”

“That sounds like something I’d be a lot more interested in than sitting in church,” said Ford. “Hey, why don’t you and I do a mini-version of your Ritual right here—right now?”

“Really?”

“Sure, why not? Just tell me what I need to do or say.”

A rush of unexpected happiness made Mercury feel incredibly light. “Ford, that would mean a lot to me.”