Cupid's Kiss Ch. 07

Psyche stared at the sex driven male Dalls that were butting heads over the females and felt her heart sink. How was she supposed to collect their wool without shooting? It wasn't in her nature to go hunting; she considered it to be a sport of mendacity where the hunter had definite advantage of the gun over the hapless prey. There was no real victory in that sport. She had numerous arguments with her father when he went on his hunts but now she wondered if she would have to compromise her values after all.

The Dalls were definitely unapproachable, especially in the mating season when the testosterones had made them extremely dangerous. Sighing, she sat down on the barren rock and took a mug of hot coffee from Melissa who voiced her thoughts "Do you think we would have to shoot them?"

Shaking her head Psyche looked at the bleak surroundings of sparse vegetation and hard rocks and mumbled "I hate guns and killing helpless animals is not my cup of tea."

Melissa watched the thundering Dalls who had locked their ivory horns in jumbled circular knots and realized that this could be the one task they might not be able to accomplish. She laid a hand on the hunting gun that Harold had insisted they carry despite Psyche's vehement protests and felt its cold steel length tempt her. It would be so easy to shoot one of those magnificent creatures down and take what they want from its carcass and yet a part of her felt that Aphrodite might not like the way the task was accomplished and that could put Psyche's life in jeopardy.

Sighing she stretched her legs and felt the cold nip of the autumn wind seep through her woolens and chill her bones. Pulling the lapels of her coat closer around her neck she asked a rhetorical question "How did it come to this?"

Psyche gave a dry smile and said "It was because of that goddamn mirror."

Melissa nodded her head and said "I meant to ask you how that mirror came into your possession."

Staring at the fighting Dalls blindly Psyche answered in a dull voice "It's been in our family through generations but it had been left behind at our ancestral home when my grandparents had moved to America from Greece. It had a tradition tied to it where it would be passed down to the spinster in the family and my father's sister, Psyche was single though still young in years and it was passed on to her. The story goes that after she inherited the mirror from Aunt Hilda she disappeared in about a week's time and no one could find any traces of her. The family searched for her high and low but their search turned futile and my grandparents moved to America as the memories of their lost child made their stay in Greece unbearable."

Returning the empty cup to the hamper she continued talking "They never returned to Greece and the house was looked after by a caretaker. A few years passed and my grandmother conceived another child very late in life, my father and he was a soothing balm to their wounded hearts as dad used to tell us how good his childhood was. They made it a point to tell dad about his heritage and most of all about his lost sister. And we in turn got to hear the stories as a part of the legacy and dad went a step further and named me after the sister he never knew."

Pulling her legs up against her chest, Melissa asked "What about your grandparents? Didn't they want to take their son back and show him his roots?"

Psyche shook her head and said "No, they didn't want to go back. They died just when dad had finished college so it wasn't as if he had the money to go back. Later on he got too busy building his empire and it was only last year after a whole lot of pestering on my part that he finally gave in and we went to Greece together. It was a bittersweet trip; we gained a whole bunch of long lost relatives and lost the house which had fallen to ruins. The floor boards were rotting away, the roof leaked, broken furniture lay strewn around and worst of all there were fat rats and roaches scurrying around. But, there in that shamble of a house we found a priceless object, that damn mirror. Its cool translucent beauty took our breath away and we brought it back with us to America."

Melissa cocked her head to a side thoughtfully and asked "Why didn't you get the mirror evaluated?"

"We never got around to it and it seemed to be at home in my bedroom." Psyche answered.

Melissa then decided to ask the next question that might hit a sore nerve but as her psychiatrist she had to bring the topic up. Clearing her throat she asked "Didn't Cybil mind that you two had gone on a trip without her?"

Psyche raised her eyebrow and said "You couldn't let that topic be could you?"

Looking back at her calmly Melissa answered "I know it's there on your mind and despite the calm façade that you have put up I know you must be pretty upset about the episode that happened between Harold and Cybil."

Psyche narrowed her eyes and said "What should my reaction be huh? Disown my sister for her blunder or doubt my father's word?"

Melissa didn't reply but looked at her silently.

Picking up a stone Psyche spoke "I am not the drama queen type. You have to realize that our mother was a soap opera actress. Day in day out we put up with her emotional upheavals and it left us drained. And I promised myself that I would not fall apart no matter what. I had to prove to myself that I was not like her and since then I have accepted all the shit that happened, taken it in my stride and moved on. What doesn't break us makes us stronger right?"

Melissa watched her throw the stone to the area where the Dalls were at the end of their fight and one of them was tottering off with blood oozing from the horns. She knew what had to be done but decided to wait a while more.

She turned and looked at her companion's profile and said "You shouldn't hold your emotions back. It's important to air out your feelings, to talk things out."

Psyche let some of her anger come to surface and said in a rough voice "What would you have me say? That I come from a fucked up family? That my sister is a mentally sick woman? Or that my father might be a child abuser? Would you like me to confront them together?"

Melissa shrugged and said "That would be a start."

"Start to what? Get real, Melissa. I already have a lot of shit to deal with and that issue will have to sit on the backburner."

Shaking her head Melissa replied "It is already out and with your sister there do you think things would be calm and quiet? It will come up and you will have to deal with it whether you like it or not."

Psyche stood up and looked down at Melissa and answered "Fine, I will cross that bridge when I come to it but right now I need to follow that sheep before it disappears."

Melissa picked up the shooting gun and said "I don't think it will go too far. It's weak and wounded. We should follow it down to the stream and put it out of its misery."

As she walked down the steep slope Psyche said over her shoulder "That evil witch said to collect wool not kill them. If I deviate even an inch that woman would have enough excuse to kill me so lets be a bit more patient."

Following her down carefully Melissa wondered whether Psyche would be able to juggle the family crisis at hand and succeed in meeting her lover. But what really played on her mind was the fiendish nature of the mirror. It acted as a portal from another world but what really worried her was whether it was safe? After all it had let in dangerous beings into this world that seemed to treat humans no different from playthings; Cupid's immoral rape of Psyche and Aphrodite's shameless exhibition of power had convinced her that they could wreck havoc in their world if they were allowed.

Suddenly she stopped short and as a sudden realization dawned on her. There were probably other mirrors or ways through which they entered into this world; destroying this mirror would probably achieve nothing except anger Psyche and the goddess. Resuming her walk she made a note in her mind to talk it over with Harold, an artifact like that cannot be left out in the open and unguarded. And when were they planning to tell Cybil about the ongoing events? It wasn't as if they could sweep the ongoing events under the carpet. There was going to be one big family fight and she would somehow have to make herself scarce but she would try and convince Psyche to talk things over with her sister before things blew over.

"Are you planning to walk into the stream or what?" Psyche's dry voice broke her reverie and she became aware of her surroundings. She was standing at the edge of the stream and hadn't even realized that she had walked down the mountain; her concentration had been so deep.

Melissa turned around and saw Psyche sitting crossed legged with a dying Dall's head on her lap. Blood and drool were staining her jeans but she didn't seem to mind. Kneeling down she put her hand on it's magnificent head and felt the life slowly seep out of its body. She said softly "I didn't expect it to die so fast."

Caressing the dying Dall, Psyche replied "Neither did I but his injuries are pretty bad." She continued to stare down at the sheep and said "In a way I'm like this Dall. He put his life on the line for a mate and I am doing the same. Hopefully I won't share its fate."

Melissa smiled at the analogy and asked Psyche "Do you want to put it out of its misery?"

Psyche shook her head and said "I told you before we cannot shoot it. We will just have to wait for it to die."

An electronic beeping in the hamper invaded the sounds of nature and Melissa opened the hamper and took the cell phone out. Opening the flap she answered "Melissa here."

Harold's voice replied "Hi, sweetheart. Did you two find the Dalls? Would you like me to come there?"

"No its okay Harold, we found a dying Dall and will be taking its wool in a bit."

She heard the relief in his voice "Thank god for that. Hurry back as Cybil is here and is asking questions."

Psyche silently asked for the phone by holding her hand out. Melissa gave it to her.

"Hi Dad how are you? Cybil must have come by now."

"Don't tell me you two already had a fight."

Psyche rolled her eyes and said "No I don't need to kill it. Dad don't be so trigger happy and one more thing be nice to Cybil okay?"

With that she closed the phone and gave it back to Melissa and said "I will have to tell Cybil and that is one task I am dreading."

Putting the phone back in the hamper she asked "Why do you say that?"

Psyche sighed and said "She will be angry that I told dad and kept it from her. She thinks that Dad and I deliberately sideline her."

Melissa watched the Dall take it last gasps of life and decided to broach the taboo topic again "The only way you can heal the fissures is by a having a dialogue with your family."

Gently laying the head of the dead Dall on the cold ground Psyche replied "So you keep telling me to do. Anyhow give me the carving knife will you? I need to shave it."

Melissa gave her the knife and watched her shave the wool off the dead animal. Things will not be easy for Psyche or her father especially if Psyche decides to talk to her sister.

Psyche collected the wool and put it in a bag that Melissa handed her. Tying a knot on the bag she put it in the hamper and before leaving she laid a hand on the dead Dall and whispered a silent thank you.

Stretching her back Psyche asked Melissa "Ready to go back and face the music with me?"

Melissa nodded as fell into step with Psyche as they headed back to the lodge and said "Would you like me to be there when you talk to Cybil and Harold?"

Psyche shrugged and said "If Cybil wouldn't mind it, sure, I would like you to be there."

She looked up at the sun which was making it way towards the middle of the sky and said "It's going to take us about two hours to reach the lodge so we would be back by late afternoon which gives us ample time to explain things to Cybil and later on meet Aphrodite."