Free Courage by Angela B. Macala-Guajardo Page B

couldn’t you?” There was a hint of bitterness in her voice, but Baku knew she didn’t even realize the undertone existed. She and her family had survived their share of hardship when she was little.
    “What I want most at the moment can’t be eaten or magically conjured.”
    Eve set the glasses on the table, one in front of Baku. “Why not?” She returned to the fridge.
    “It’s a situation surrounded by too many ‘what ifs’,” he said unhappily. Even though Aigis had different rules, any action with mortals entwined them with any rules restricting a Creator and his or her mortals. The only huge difference was that gods stripped an Aigis of free will. To a very particular extent. “I actually have laws and limitations to what I can and cannot do. There’s a balance to it all. But this isn’t what I’ve come to talk about, Eve.”
    Eve had collected some deli ham, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, black pepper, mayo, and wheat bread next to a wood cutting board, and was putting together two sandwiches. “The letter? Roxie?”
    “Yes, but let’s eat first. Such things are best discussed on full stomachs.”
    “Well then, have a look at this while I prepare lunch.” Eve headed over to the couch and changed the channel with a remote, then returned to the kitchen. CNN was on, and it was covering a story of some tall man holding a coach bus on his shoulders, and there in the foreground was Roxie, watching Aerigo dislodge a mangled vehicle from the bus’s rear wheels. The screen cut to an anchor, her face all serious with her rosy lips and straight hair, and she asked viewers to keep sending the station any tips as to where this “Superman” went. So far, he’d been sighted in various parts of New York, carrying a young woman, and another time on a cruise ship.
    Baku opened his mouth, which was caught between a smile and a grimace. “Oh, boy. And things are already chaotic enough.”
    “The thing’s been on television and the internet for about two weeks now. If Aerigo never shows up, his... heroic efforts will probably become nothing more than an exciting story.”
    Baku turned around and sat back in his chair. “We’ll see what happens.”
    Eve made the sandwiches, cut them in half, and placed them on square, green plates with curved corners, then added some baked potato chips next to them. She set one plate before Baku and he thanked her. She took a seat across from him and began pecking at her chips.
    Baku started on his chips as well, without taking any time to enjoy any of it. He listened to the birds chat away, and the wind make the wind chimes hanging on the back porch sing. The television continued to babble away, but he blocked out the words and sounds.
    “For a god, you seem rather human.”
    Baku gave her a soft smile. “Would you prefer a burning bush?”
    Eve laughed and shook her head. “Where did you get all your injuries? Is there anything I can do to help with them?”
    Baku swallowed his first bite of his sandwich, which he couldn’t help but notice was quite tasty. “There isn’t much you can do to help get rid of them. I’ve borne these injuries for about as long as Roxie’s been alive. I... got them... from my son.” He fell silent, waiting to see if Eve had anything to say to that. When she said nothing, he said, “They are more mental than physical injuries. Symbolic, perhaps, of where I need to invest more energies.”
    “They’re everywhere.”
    “That speaks volumes, now, doesn’t it?” Baku took another bite of his sandwich. “Let me explain some things before we finish eating and I get to the letter and your granddaughter.”
    “I’m listening.”
    “I’m very human because you mortals, you creations are a mirror to who I am. ‘In my own image’ can be taken literally. It’s not about understanding the will of a god, his or her plans, etcetera; I know things that would take a lifetime and more for you to understand, and I have powers you mortals