Bonus Chapter B7
Kaelen's Story
The black glass tower. Before David. Before change. Before hope.
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Before – Seventeen years earlier.
Kaelen had been a swimmer.
Not famous. Not Olympic. But good enough to compete, good enough to dream, good enough to believe that her body was her own. She trained at dawn, swam for hours, pushed herself until her muscles screamed and her lungs burned.
"You have a gift," her coach said.
"I just work hard."
"Hard work is a gift. Most people don't have it."
Kaelen smiled.
She was twenty-two years old. She had never been in love. She had never been touched the way she wanted to be touched. She had never been full.
But she was hungry.
Not the old hunger. Not the hunger of the goddess. Just the ordinary hunger of a young woman who wanted more than she had.
"There's a party tonight," her teammate said. "You should come."
"I don't know."
"Come on. You never do anything fun. You just swim and sleep and starve."
"I don't starve."
"You starve for something. I can see it in your eyes."
Kaelen went to the party.
She drank too much.
She danced with a stranger.
She let him take her home.
He touched her. Kissed her. Entered her. It was fine. It was nothing. It was empty.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing."
"You're crying."
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine."
"I said I'm fine."
She left.
Walked home alone.
The hunger grew.
---
The meeting – The same year.
Kaelen saw her at a gala.
A woman in a black dress, with amber eyes and crimson lips and a smile that made Kaelen's stomach clench. She was beautiful in the way that fire is beautiful—dangerous, captivating, hungry.
"Who is that?" Kaelen asked.
"No one knows. She's a model. A business tycoon. A ghost."
"She's staring at me."
"Everyone's staring at you. You're beautiful."
"No. She's staring at me. Like she knows me. Like she wants me."
"Maybe she does."
Kaelen walked to her.
"Hello."
"Hello, Kaelen."
"How do you know my name?"
"I know everything."
"Who are you?"
"I am the hunger. I am the need. I am the thing that will never be satisfied. And you, Kaelen, are starving."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do. You've been hungry your whole life. Hungry for touch. Hungry for love. Hungry for something you cannot name. I can fill that hunger. I can make you whole."
"How?"
"Come with me. Kneel. Serve. Feed."
Kaelen went with her.
She never left.
---
During – The first year.
The first year was the hardest.
Kaelen fought the hunger. She fought the need. She fought the emptiness. She tried to leave—three times. The first time, she made it to the lobby. The second time, she made it to the sidewalk. The third time, she made it to the subway station.
And then she turned around.
"Why did you come back?" Lilith asked.
"Because I was hungry. Because you were the only one who could feed me. Because I didn't want to be alone anymore."
"You're not alone. You have me. You have the hunger. You have purpose."
"What purpose?"
"To serve. To kneel. To lick. That is all. That is enough."
Kaelen knelt.
She licked.
She forgot.
---
During – The sixth year.
Kaelen had been serving for six years.
Her tongue was calloused. Her jaw was scarred. Her eyes were empty. She no longer remembered her own name—not really. She was Kaelen, the servant, the slave, the tongue.
"Goddess."
"Yes?"
"I had a dream last night. About my daughter. She's eighteen now. Living with my sister in Vermont."
"Dreams are not real."
"This one felt real."
"Feelings are not real either. Only the hunger is real. Only the need."
"I want to see her."
"You cannot leave."
"I know."
"Then why do you ask?"
"Because I'm tired. Because I'm empty. Because I don't want to be hungry anymore."
Lilith was quiet for a long moment.
"You can stop serving. You can leave. The door knows the word."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because if I leave, I'll have to remember. And remembering hurts more than the hunger. More than the kneeling. More than the licking."
"Then stay. Serve. Forget."
Kaelen stayed.
She served.
She forgot.
---
During – The tenth year.
Marcus came.
A journalist. A man who still believed he had a choice. Kaelen watched him from the shadows—watched him fight, watched him kneel, watched him break.
"He's new," she said.
"Yes."
"He's still fighting."
"They always fight. At first."
"Will he survive?"
"I don't know. But he'll try. And trying is enough."
"I tried. For six years. And then I stopped."
"You didn't stop. You chose. Every day. Every hour. Every time the old hunger whispered, you chose to stay. You chose to serve. You chose to forget."
"Is that the same as choosing to live?"
"I don't know. But it's the only choice you have."
---
The end – The hunger dies.
The heart of the temple was destroyed.
The hunger died.
Kaelen felt it—the absence, the silence, the emptiness. She had been hungry for so long that she had forgotten what it felt like to be full.
"Goddess."
"Yes?"
"The hunger is gone."
"I know."
"What do I do now?"
"Whatever you want. You are free."
"I don't know how to be free."
"Then learn."
Kaelen stood.
Her knees were bleeding. Her tongue was raw. Her eyes were empty.
"I want to see my daughter."
"Then go."
"Will she recognize me?"
"I don't know. But she'll try. And trying is enough."
Kaelen walked to the door.
Pressed her palm against the stone.
"Goodbye," she said.
The door opened.
She stepped through.
---
After – Vermont.
The house was small.
Blue shutters. A porch with a swing. A garden full of flowers. Kaelen stood at the gate, her hands shaking, her heart pounding.
"Can I help you?"
A woman stood in the doorway.
Young. Dark hair. Dark eyes. A face that was beautiful in the way a question is beautiful.
"Sofia."
"Yes?"
"I'm... I'm your mother."
The woman stared at her.
"My mother died when I was twelve."
"No. I left. I didn't die. I left."
"Who are you?"
"I told you. I'm your mother."
"My mother was a swimmer. She trained at dawn. She dreamed of the Olympics. She disappeared one day and never came back."
"I didn't disappear. I was taken. By a woman. By a goddess. By the hunger."
"You're crazy."
"Maybe. But I'm also your mother. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Sofia was quiet for a long moment.
"I don't forgive you."
"I know."
"I don't want to see you again."
"I know."
"Then why did you come?"
"Because I had to try. Because I needed to see your face. Because I needed to know that you were alive."
"I'm alive."
"That's enough."
Kaelen turned.
Walked away.
Did not look back.
---
The garden – After.
Kaelen sat on a bench.
The flowers were blooming. The birds were singing. The world was ordinary.
"Kaelen."
She looked up.
A woman stood at the edge of the garden.
Young. Dark hair. Dark eyes. A face that was beautiful in the way a question is beautiful.
"Sofia?"
"I changed my mind."
"About what?"
"About not wanting to see you."
"Why?"
"Because I have questions. Because I want answers. Because I want to understand."
"I don't have answers. I only have the hunger. And the hunger is gone."
"Then tell me about the hunger. Tell me about the goddess. Tell me about you."
Kaelen was quiet for a long moment.
Then she began to speak.
And for the first time in seventeen years, she remembered.
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End of Bonus Chapter B7