Cupid's Karma | ONC 2024 ✔

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Ayra stayed awake for most of that night.

She could still not wrap her head around what was happening and didn't know how she would deal with it. At first, it had felt absurd like a dream or a hallucination, but that seven-foot-long scroll was enough proof that she wasn't imagining things.

Out of curiosity, she had opened it only to find that it contained millions of names. It took her a while to realize that it was Eros's to-do list, containing the names of all the people he had to matchmake that month.

Her name was on that list too and it was the only one with a red question mark beside it. Then some names were written in pairs and crossed out with a red line, which probably meant that Eros had succeeded in setting them up together.

She could have observed it further but her phone rang and as she had left it on the table in the living room, she went to bring it. By the time she returned, the ledger had vanished.

It didn't seem surprising after everything she had witnessed in the span of just one day. Perhaps Eros realized he had left his list at her apartment and discreetly came to take it back.

But there were no golden specks or the halo of light that she had seen around him earlier. Perhaps he chose not to reveal himself and simply nicked away his lengthy list of upcoming projects.

However, by then Ayra did feel some sympathy for the god of love. He had so many people to set up with each other in so little time, it could have put quite a pressure on him. True, he was an immortal who had a more than unfair edge over humans but still that list was long enough to scare anyone.

Her phone rang again, shaking her out of her thoughts and she answered the call as it was from her best friend Preety.

"Good morning, Ayra, or is it night there? How are you?" Her cheerful voice made a smile flicker on Ayra's face.

"I'm fine, how about you? How's the wedding going?"

Preety had gone back home a little earlier than the start of the semester break as she had to attend her brother's wedding.

"You know my family, they are partying like there's no tomorrow," she laughed, "You are missing out on all the fun."

Ayra temporarily forgot about the weird encounter with Eros as she listened to her friend. In that entirely absurd day she had been having, talking to Preety was the only normal thing that had happened so far and she wanted to cling onto that comforting normalcy for as long as she possibly could.

***

Eros knew he had to return to the mortal world and bring back the Love Ledger. But before he could go to Mount Olympus, a familiar voice stopped him.

"Looking for this?"

He turned around to see the messenger god Hermes, twirling the ledger in his hand.

"Thank you so much!" Eros almost hugged him out of joy, "You're a blessing."

"No, I'm a god who blesses people," Hermes chuckled, his brown eyes twinkling as he ruffled Eros's platinum hair, "And you have been blessed with my eternal friendship, child. Consider yourself lucky."

"Indeed, very lucky," he remarked, safely enclosing the ledger in the satchel he carried.

Hermes flung an arm around his shoulders, the wings on his feet making him hover as they walked together. Out of all the Olympians, Hermes had been the first to acknowledge Eros as an equal and worthy of his companionship. Since then, the two had gotten close and Eros valued him a lot.

Some would say that he had gotten the most insignificant tasks of all gods. Zeus was the king of gods and controlled thunder and lightning, Ares was the god of war and strategy, Poseidon was the god of the sea and the ruler of the aquatic world, and Hades was the ruler of the underworld. But Hermes was simply the messenger, tasked to deliver letters back and forth, a very menial power compared to the other gods.

However, he was also the god of luck and fortune but not many people remembered that about him. So if an Olympian was having a spell of misfortunes, chances were that he or she might have had a bone to pick with Hermes, who prided himself on the fact that he could always get away with it each time he took revenge.

After all, who would the victims blame? A spell of bad luck? Totally not something an insignificant god like Hermes could muster, or so they thought.

Despite the ridicule Hermes sometimes had to face from his immortal brethren for his often unpredictable decisions, none could deny that he was the heart and soul of their world.

His mere presence brought warmth to the surroundings and although he had one of the busiest jobs, delivering messages to the immortals all over the world, he never let it ruin his cheerful aura. Plus, he was always the first to know any news or rumor and was the most authentic source for Olympian gossip.

"I heard that Artemis found her arrows," Hermes began spilling the tea as most young mortals would put it, "And for some reason, Eris was last seen going into her camp."

Eros looked surprised, "Really? But why?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. But I think it might have something to do with that girl you left your ledger with."

"Not too loud, Hermes. I can get in trouble for that," Eros remarked but his brow had furrowed into a thoughtful look, considering whether Eris had delivered those arrows to Ayra.

After all, she was the goddess of chaos and discord, she was always on the lookout for an opportunity to cause drama.

"Speaking of trouble, your mother also found out that you got struck by an arrow. Artemis's arrow, to be precise," Hermes resumed spilling the tea but this time it seemed as if the tea he spilled was scalding hot, making Eros jump out of his skin.

"Wait what? Who told her?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, "Eris."

That was quite expected, he thought. Now Eros was certain that Eris had delivered those arrows to Ayra and later told Aphrodite about it just to get her fun out of it.

But knowing how protective his mother was over him, he had to stop her before Ayra met a terrible fate at her hands. All of that wouldn't have happened if Eris wasn't getting bored by the peace in the divine world. She simply had to invade it using her discordant schemes.

"Granted it's her job to cause trouble but things were so peaceful here when she was staying at the White House for the previous term," Eros mumbled, "only the mortals had to deal with her chaos back then."

Hermes chuckled, recalling that chaotic but hilarious time when Eris had packed her bags and shifted to what she called the high seat of causing trouble in the mortal world. And from there, she had enjoyed orchestrating all sorts of chaos for five long years that had left the world baffled.

"You won't believe the messages I had to deliver back then," he added, "It could easily surpass the time that lunatic Caligula declared war on Poseidon."

However, their brief trip down memory lane was interrupted by the formidable sight in front of them.

Aphrodite was blocking their path, her aura of love and beauty twisted into that of concern and rage. Hermes knew it was better if he sneaked off before Aphrodite unleashed her anger so bidding a low good luck to Eros, he vanished into specks of gold.

Poor Eros had to face his mother on his own, because the little moral support Hermes offered had also vanished along with him.

***