For All Eternity
Miko

        The old woman knelt before the gravestone. She lit the incense, then bowed her head and quietly prayed. She spoke to her long-departed love, and, deep inside, she was certain that he could hear her prayers.
        It was a bright, sunny day. Rays of sunlight warmed the cemetery grass. A light breeze rustled the leaves in the trees overhead. The buzz of cicadas and chirping of birds seemed to say that life went on. The seasons changed, the years slid by, and few remembered the wonderful man she'd married so many years ago. When she was gone, would anyone remember, at all? People, animals, plants -- everything grew old and fell by the wayside, but life never stopped to notice. Life went on.
        Enmeshed in her own thoughts, the old woman at first did not notice that she wasn't alone. But then she saw, further up the hill, another woman, sitting before another grave.
        The old woman walked slowly up the hill. She saw now that it was a girl -- a foreigner, it seemed, with milk-white skin and beautiful brown hair that fell past her waist. She didn't want to disturb the stranger, but she felt drawn to her, somehow, for reasons she couldn't quite explain.
        The girl wore a flowing white dress, trimmed with green. She wore gold bracelets and anklets, and a necklace, and earrings that dangled and sparkled in the sun. She had strange markings on her cheeks and forehead. She was very beautiful.
        Birds were perched in her hands, and on her arms.
        The old woman paused. There were birds all about the foreign girl, and squirrels at her feet. She was talking to them!
        The strange girl glanced up, and their eyes met. The girl smiled. As the birds and animals scattered, she waved and then called out, "Good afternoon! Don't be afraid! Please, come up here and sit with me!"
        She approached the girl. "I don't mean to intrude," she said.
        "Oh, I don't mind at all!" the girl replied warmly. "My name is Belldandy."
        "Tama Saisho," the old woman said. "I was just visiting my husband's grave...."
        Belldandy's eyes filled with concern. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"
        "You needn't be," the woman said. "It's been twelve years now."
        Belldandy took her hand. There was a great deal of warmth, and strength, and tenderness in her touch. "But I know how it feels," she said. "The pain never completely goes away."
        Mrs. Saisho nodded slowly. Briefly, she glanced past the girl to the nearby marker. Belldandy followed her gaze to the headstone, and her eyes clouded with sadness.
        "His name was Keichi Morisato," she said. "He was a wonderful person, always thinking of others, never quick to anger, always willing to help. He was very gentle, very sweet. He loved cars, motorcycles, aircraft, and vehicles of all kinds. He was good at driving them, and good at working on them. That was his favorite thing, to work on his car or motorcycle on a sunny afternoon. I would make him some tea or a snack, and his eyes would always light up...."
        "It must have been hard when he passed away," the old woman said.
        Tears formed in Belldandy's eyes. "It... it was. Very hard. But, still, I understand... death and life are intertwined here on Earth, and you cannot have one without the other. And I've always thought that it humans live their lives more fully, because of their mortality... so perhaps it's best, that way...."
        "Well, there's some truth to that," Mrs. Saisho said, "but a life not fully lived, that's always a tragedy. I see no good in that. I mean, he must have been quite young when he died."
        "Oh, no!" Belldandy exclaimed. "My Keichi lived a very long, full life! He was 105 when he died, and right up until the last few months he had a sound mind and could still work on his old motorcycle. Even he said that he could not have expected anything more out of life. I could have wished for more than that... but I know it is only selfishness on my part...."
        "But... 105? Was this Keichi your grandfather, perhaps?"
        "Oh, my, no! He was my husband!"
        "But... but..." the woman sputtered. "But... my dear girl, you can't be much older than twenty or twenty-one!"
        "I am a great deal older than twenty-one," Belldandy said. "After all, Keichi and I were married for nearly eighty years!"
        "That... my dear girl, that simply isn't possible!"
        "Of course it's possible," Belldandy replied.
        Flustered, the woman's gaze flickered back to the headstone. For the first time, she read the dates below Keichi Morisato's name. She could see that it was true -- Keichi had lived 105 years. But she noticed something else.
        "Now I know you are making up a story," Mrs. Saisho said. "The Keichi Morisato who lies beneath this headstone has been dead for more than sixty years!"
        Belldandy nodded sadly. There was an aching pain in her eyes, a hollowness that spoke of loss and longing. The old woman instinctively knew that Belldandy's pain was real, that she was not making all of this up -- but it couldn't possibly be true!"
        "But... my dear... you can't possibly...."
        "I'm a goddess," Belldandy said. "That is how Keichi and I met; I was sent to grant him a wish, and he wished for me to stay with him. But I am immortal, and Keichi was a mortal human...."
        For several long moments, Mrs. Saisho looked upon the beautiful, sad girl, not sure what to believe.
        "Well, I don't know that I believe your story," she finally said, "but whatever your relationship was, it is very sweet of you to come visit his grave. I'm sure that he appreciates it, wherever he is now."
        "Oh," Belldandy said, "I'm not just visiting, you know! I'm always here."
        When she saw the confusion in the old woman's eyes, Belldandy added, "It was his wish, you see. It was the way he phrased it. His actual words were, 'I want a goddess like you to stay with me forever!'
        "And so," Belldandy said, smiling sadly, "here I am... forever."

FINI