EMPATHY

Upon the next blink of my eyes, words could not contain my shock. I no longer stood in my heavenly home, in front of the mirror, but upon some tall, white, stone structure. Below me, rugged rocks sloped downward into clusters of clouds, and above, towering, circular columns ascended into the atmosphere, a sea of stars beyond their reach.

Wherever I am, obviously, I cannot stay. Who knows what will transpire in the heavens without my being present?

Bringing me out of my worries, I spotted two individuals walking towards me: a man and a boy. The boy in plain-looking, white robes, short brown hair topping an exuberant face. The man, in comparison, dressed in red, embroidered robes with a flowing cape complementing his wavy, caramel hair.

I called to them, asking where I was, but they ignored me, continuing to walk. If that is how it is, clearly a more physical approach is necessary…

I reached out my hand to the man, and- right through his shoulder?! What trickery is this?! Is the mirror responsible?

Somehow, I managed to regain calm to see the two approach a large chariot, plated gold and towed by flaming steeds.

“So, this is my inheritance?” the boy eagerly exclaimed.

In response, the man…sighed? “Indeed, Phaeton, my son. Although I still implore you to think wisely. None besides myself have proven capable of handling the chariot, not even the king of us all, Zeus. Surely there is some other way to…”

“No!” The boy cried. “No one will know I am the sun god Helios’ child unless it is this!”

Sun god? This Helios person? How? As far as I know, I am the only sun deity in heaven! I think more headaches are coming on…

In any case, Helios relented, allowing his son, Phaeton, I believe, to board. Helios then started mapping out a peculiar route along specific altitudes and constellations, of all things. I had never heard of such a chariot before. Perhaps a little observation wouldn’t hurt?

Certainly enough, with a rapping of the reins, the horses reeled the chariot into the starry sky, coated in a beauteous blaze with a divine aura akin to my own. This man truly is a solar deity, then…

“Too low! Pull up, Phaeton! It’s too low!”

Helios? He sounded so…panicked. Wait, where had the chariot gone?

Answered by what seemed like a cruel joke, a cacophony of crimson light erupted from below the cliffs, and heat filled the air. I turned to see embers coming from the plains and rivers below.

I knew I could see embers because swaths of fire parted the clouds; all things below burned, and those that hadn’t were charred black. In no time at all, the same searing flames spread to the sky! The constellations turned so red from heat I could swear they were crying in their own sweat…

“Helios! What is the meaning of this?!” Boomed a baritone I suddenly heard behind me.

The voice belonged to an absolute mountain of a man! Clad in regal robes much like Helios, with a beard long and white. I assume he is a god as well.

Without warning, however, he set his eyes on something in the sky and lightning crackled in his hand. Following his line of sight, I saw his eyes set on Phaeton! The horses had somehow come loose and he looked as pale white and hot as the chariot he rode out of control!

Wait… No…!

“Don’t!” I pleaded.

My words fell on deaf ears as the man took aim and lunged.

With a blazing crackle and a bloodcurdling cry, the bolt stopped the chariot, and it fell out of the sky…with no rider.

“Unbelievable,” I choked. “He… To a child…”

“Zeus!” Helios roared in rage! Wait, he is Zeus?!

“He has sullied your name and the Earth, Helios. The inferno before us is testament to that.”

“He was a child, Zeus! A child that merely bit off more than he could chew! And for that you condemn him to death?! Well, let it be known that I take my leave of Olympus, henceforth!”

“You shall not! We require your dominion over the sun’s cycle!”

“With such importance to you, maybe you should handle the chariot! Put those hands somewhere other than pointing orders and hurling lightning! Maybe then your heart won’t be as clouded as your skies!”

With finality, Helios stormed off as Zeus scowled, the daylight coating all things faded, leaving everything to burn in blackness.

My mind felt hazy. I rubbed my eyes and shook my head for moment and- Wait, I’m…back home! Sure enough, I was sitting in my parents’ room, the mirror as I left it on the nightstand.

What…just happened? Did the mirror do all that? Was it real? It felt real. It seems this mirror contains a proverbial window into other worlds.

Speaking of which, the empathy Helios displayed for his son was…staggering. On the other hand, it’s frightening how much Zeus reminds me of my brother.

No, not Susanoo, Tsukuyomi. The moon god was rather impulsive, and witnessing Zeus… ‘resolve’ the situation in such a rash manner reminded me of when I sent him to represent myself at a feast prepared by the goddess of food, Uke Mochi.

Using her spit to prepare food, Uke Mochi’s cooking process used was apparently too disgusting for Tsukuyomi’s liking. So much that he killed her in anger! Worse, he didn’t look the least bit remorseful! I was so livid then that I could not stand living under the same roof with him. Thus, he started living on the moon, whilst I remained here.

I suppose it shows that, no matter what kindness you show for what actions you commit, if that kindness cannot be internalized, it is all hollow.

Perhaps because it read my thoughts like before, I caught Father’s mirror shimmering again after finishing that thought, and I found myself, once again, drawn to the mirror’s abyss.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

This first story was naturally the hardest since I had to introduce what exactly the mirror was, find a good starting point for the worlds Amaterasu would see through the mirror, and do it within 500 to 1000 words. Then on top of that I found out that an author's note is a prerequisite for these stories too, so I'm left having to cobble together something at the last minute. My apologies if I am brief here.

I wanted a simple starting point to get Amaterasu questioning her views about divinity and morality, so basic empathy seemed like a good start, and I ended up going with Helios' empathy for his son Phaeton's plight to prove his birthright as his son, as well as his despair over it. I also chose this story for her to witness to present a conflicting element in Zeus, who represents impulsiveness to call Amaterasu's memories back to Tsukuyomi, getting to a conclusion that kindnesses without genuine intentions or remorse are hollow, which will serve as a bridge to our next story.

Getting Tsukuyomi in here was troubling as I did research on whether he, Amaterasu, and Susanoo were born before or after Izanagi's descent to Yomi to confront Izanami. Since the frame tale background based on Romance of Old Japan makes this time sense vague, and Wikipedia states Tsukuyomi was born of Izanagi as well, despite there being no mention of him in the Romance of Old Japan, I decided to go ahead and write him in. I feel as if this is a step down from my usual quality since I had so much to do in so little time, considering I was busy with other classes, but revisions will help, I'm sure!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ovid: The Metamorphoses: Book 2, translated by A. S. Kline

Wikipedia research on Uke Mochi, Tsukuyomi, and Helios

IMAGE INFORMATION

Forest fire explosion uploaded by user "geralt" on Pixabay