Cupid's Karma | ONC 2024 ✔

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Golden rays from the sun were streaking across the blue and orange sky, painting a canvas that no artist could rival. It was a beautiful day, ideal for matchmaking, or rather it would have been quite ideal if only Eros wasn't stuck in a dilemma.

The last thing he remembered was making sure he had become invisible before shooting his love arrows into the air. The hours were ticking by and he had a lot of hearts to join before the Love Ledger could be completed.

All he knew was pulling his arrow back as he settled the quiver and aimed for the man's heart. Unknown to him, a girl with brown hair and brown eyes was waiting for the right time to take her revenge on the mischievous god of love.

It didn't take her long to recognize Eros out of a crowd of people as he seemed to have an unearthly aura about him. Pale golden light surrounded him that she could easily have missed if she hadn't watched closely. In such a busy urban setting, he was the only one shooting arrows but no one except Ayra seemed to notice him.

He must be invisible to others, she thought, and the only reason she could see him was that wish on a shooting star that she hadn't expected to get fulfilled.

The night after she had made that wish, she was surprised to find a small bow and a quiver with a handful of silver-tipped arrows beside her bed.

There was a small note attached to it which dissolved into golden specks as soon as she had read it. The words engraved on it were: I heard about your wish. These arrows are perfect for taking revenge on that little nuisance. Don't hold back.

There was no sign of who sent that note, no name scribbled at the end, and no knowing of where that bow and arrows had come from. Ayra found it strange as she examined the strange gift, finding only a single E imprinted in gold on the base of the quiver. It was conveniently small and could fit easily in her bag for her to carry around and use when required.

And now as she was coming back from work and was certain that she had spotted Cupid at last, it was time for those silver-tipped arrows to meet their target.

Of course, she didn't intend to kill him nor did she believe she could. After all, he was a god or so he claimed and she was a mere mortal. She had no belief in the existence of gods and goddesses either before that day as she thought it was all myth and fable.

But ever since she had broken up with Spencer, her life had been thrown into a series of turmoil and mystic revelations. First with the feeling that Cupid existed and was messing up with her life then with the wish on a shooting star that came true. And last but not least, the discovery of those mysterious bow and arrows that had simply appeared in her room out of nowhere.

Ayra took aim to strike the god of love and mischief. The first two arrows missed but the third and the last arrow that left her bow struck him in the arm, halting his process of spreading love in the air.

With the last arrow being used up, the bow and quiver vanished in her hands, shattering into golden specks just like the note she had found with it.

He was too far for her to see his reaction but she felt terrible all of a sudden as if the pleasant weather had somehow evaporated. The sun immediately felt much warmer and it struck her that she was also in the busy central district, shooting arrows at an unpredictable target.

How could it be that none of those people rushing around had noticed her?

It was almost as if she had become invisible too while using that mysterious weapon. Even then, the people around her were going about their business as if she wasn't even there.

It wasn't normal and it made her anxious. From the past few days, she hadn't been acting normal either, she thought. Perhaps she was hallucinating and there was no Cupid and no arrows, just herself standing at a bus stop, caught up in a wakeful dream.

She had to leave, that much she knew and as soon as her bus arrived, she boarded it. All through the bus ride, that nagging feeling of dread bothered her, and when she finally reached her stop, she hastily made her way back home.

Ayra lived in a small apartment that she shared with her best friend Preety Dhillon, who had gone to India to attend her brother's wedding. It would take her a week or two to return so until then, Ayra was all by herself.

She unlocked the door and stepped in, closing it behind her shortly after. Her heartbeat was racing as if she had just escaped death or severe circumstances, running as fast as she could. It almost reminded her of the time she and her brother would break the neighbor's window while playing cricket and then run for their lives before he saw them.

But she was no longer outside being chased. She was at home and safe, or so she thought. She had just brought her racing heartbeat back to normal and opened her eyes at last when an unexpected sight startled her.

"Hello, Miss Khan," a shock of white hair and blue eyes blocked her path, "I had always wanted to meet you though this wasn't how I expected."

Her eyes widened in alarm, seeing that striking man with a pale golden glow that set him apart from others, standing right in front of her. A white bandage was wrapped on his arm, and his eyes were focused on her as if he knew very well that she was to blame for his current predicament.

"How... Why... What are you doing here?" Her voice that had gotten stuck in shock returned and her eyes darted around to look for something to defend herself with in case he turned out to be aggressive.

However, aggressive and Eros were two words that couldn't go in the same sentence together. In fact, he looked so unbothered about the whole situation that it unnerved her.

He waved the silver-tipped arrow that had struck him earlier and was now covered in what seemed to be molten gold, "Just looking for an answer to this. Seems familiar?"

"You saw me?" Her words seemed to muddle in confusion and slight panic at being caught. If he had the arrow and was at her place, then he definitely knew she had shot him.

"Yes, although the question should be how can you see me?" Despite being struck by an arrow, there was no trace of anger in his voice, only a hint of curiosity and mischief. "Oh and why did you shoot me with my aunt's arrows? She is not going to be happy about this."

"What? I didn't... I don't know anything about these arrows..." Ayra was now contemplating everything that had happened so far.

She shouldn't have made that wish and she certainly shouldn't have used those arrows. After all, gods were said to be temperamental and there were many stories about humans being turned into frogs, lizards, or other such creatures due to their wrath.

A day earlier, she might have brushed it off saying it was just a myth. But now after seeing for herself that those celestial beings existed, she wasn't so sure about those myths being false either.

"If you were aiming for the heart like I usually do, you missed," he chuckled, wiping off that liquid gold from the arrow, placing it in his quiver among the rest of the red-tipped ones, "But sadly, you brought this upon yourself and now I won't leave until I get my answers."

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