Unplanned

Some time ago, a sister came to me with a curious question. "Mal,"
she started, "I have a problem."

Now, this sister has had her share of problems. Usually ones she's
caused herself. And because of that, I waited for a hoard of angry
people to come storming in at any moment. They didn't. Instead, she
sighed and sat down next to me. I asked her what was wrong and she began
by telling me how much she loved her husband, that she just couldn't
imagine life without him.

Granted, I just kind of smirked at the time. I wasn't high priestess then,
and I had my Lace to keep me in line.

Her eyes then turned sad as they met mine, and the smirk quickly left
my face as she let out a sigh. She had met someone. This man too she
had strong feelings for. She didn't know why it happened, it just
did -- unplanned, unwanted -- but there it was.

"Why does the Goddess do this to us?" She asked. I honestly didn't
know what to say to her.

I thought for a moment as I put my arm around her and gave her a
comforting hug. "Maybe it isn't that She is doing anything to you," I
pondered, "It could be just that both of these guys sing to your soul.
And She doesn't want you miss that." I was reaching, I was sure of
it. If anything, I have a gift there.

She raised her head from my shoulder and smiled at me, content with
the answer I'd given. She soon left, and went to her husband. She told
him everything.

Now, nothing had happened between her and this second man physically.
It was a very emotional bond that they shared. But the husband didn't
want to hear it. And being the stubborn thing that he was, he left and
threw himself at a Bengal tiger. When she heard the news, she was so
upset at what she had caused.

It's been several years since I've seen that sister. Her husband lived.
She told the other man that she'd never see him again and she returned
to the husband, trying to make up for what she had caused.

The problem here is that it wasn't what she had caused, it was
what he had done to keep her to himself. She was never the same
after that. It was as though part of her self was gone.

I still think about my sister and wonder what she's doing now, if she's
still alive, and if so, if she's still with her husband.

I now believe what I told her that night. Every word.