Living Horizons

It was not the assignment I wanted. Patron deity of a little deserted island? I’d had a clean record for the past 800 years. I could probably do better. Even so, the moment I looked down and saw the dejected eyes of the Island Getaway Package’s manager, the worried countenance of his two nephews, I could feel myself being sucked in. Fine. I’d be their saint.

I posed as a would-be villager interested in the island program. The manager shook my hand many more times than was necessary, his nephews tittering behind him while they set up my flight and itinerary. As my plane circled on approach, I peered out the window at what was to be my new project. It was overgrown, deserted, and isolated, but as the wind blew through the peach trees and shook a blizzard of pink leaves to the ground, I conceded that maybe it wasn’t as bad as it had looked from on high.

I knew I’d have a lot of work to do, but I couldn’t reveal my nature just yet. I went through the orientation and introduced myself to the other new residents, moral souls who were actually brave enough to sign up for the program. Their names were Hamlet and Mira. Mira had a bad habit of nervously twisting her ear while she was talking, and Hamlet kept butting in to tell us about the prime workout spots he’d already scouted on the island. IT should have been annoying, but after I remembered that these beings were to worship me eventually, it…