Cupid. ( h o l d )

Chapter One.

I sat, alone, on the vacant mattress in a run-down hotel. My eyes closed, I watched as Eros began weaving his webs of fate, making it possible for the two who were destined to be together, to be together. His cerulean eyes scanned the city from the top of the Empire State Building, trying to find the perfect man and woman, or same sex, who would stay together forever.

Eros was doing this for me. He wasn't supposed to look for the "perfect match". His job was to find two random people and tell me about them so I could control their fate of meeting. Eros, knowing that I was watching him, pointed at a woman sitting on a park bench and at a man talking on his phone. Nodding, I opened my eyes, coming back to my world. 

The room I hid in was dull. In the center of the room was a lone mattress with an olive green blanket. There was a small wooden desk placed about three feet away from the door. The walls were beige and peeling. A plastic WalMart bag was sitting by the edge of the mattress, holding all of my clothes. 

I pushed myself up off of the mattress and, with a heavy sigh, walked over to the desk . On top of the desk was a piece of wood, carved into a slightly less than-perfect arch. I picked it up, admiring my craftsmanship. On the side of the bow, towards the bottom, were the words Amor fatali, which meant "Fated Love" in Latin.

I opened a drawer and pulled out a spool of tightly-wound string. Unraveling it, I tore off the right amount and tossed the string back into the drawer. I sat down on a small wooden chair and set the bow at my feet, my right keeping the arch from sliding. Placing one end of the string at the top of the bow, I wound it tightly, making a small knot before dropping the rest of the string to the floor, about three inches curling at the end of the wood. I bent over, my back pushing out like the Gateway Arch, and wrapped the remaining string at the base, tying a similar knot.

Next to me, hiding behind the desk, was small flint and obsidian heads that had blunt edges, long circular strips of wood, candles, a match box, and a Ulu knife. I placed the flint and obsidian heads on the desk and began shaping them to a sharp, yet not harmful, point with the Ulu knife. Once they were the perfect shape and angle, I matched one with a strip of wood. Striking a match, I lit a candle and held it over the spot where the head and wood met, sealing the open spots with hot white wax.

I shook the match out and blew on the wax, trying to quicken the drying of the wax. Once I saw that the wax was completely dry, I picked up the arrow, holding it above my head, my eyes closed. I called to Him, God, praying that he would kiss the arrow, blessing it with the deed of good. The arrow began to grow lighter than it already was, seeming to burn. My eyes snapped open, a small smile painting its way on to my lips. God, my father. has kissed my arrow.

Standing up, I rolled my shoulders and felt the familiar brush of soft feathers on my back as my wings unfurled. I walked outside, bow and arrow in hand, and felt the cool air tickling the porcelain skin of my shoulders. Stomping my foot on the ground, my body rose off of it, taking me in the direction of the rooftop. As I set foot on the roof, I spotted the two people that Eros had picked. 

I lifted the bow and arrow to my shoulder, my right arm pulling the arrow back. The edge of the arrow brushed my face as I aimed at the dark-skinned woman. I took a deep breath, and released the arrow. As it went soaring through the air, missing anything and everything that wasnt the woman, the arrow shimmered a bit, leaving an illusion of glitter behind. 

The arrow hit the woman square in the back, between her shoulder blades. As the arrow disappeared, the woman laid eyes on the man, who had now picked up his phone. She stumbled towards the man, a smile on her face. As they began talking, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"I think these two will save you the heart-ache," Eros stated, pulling me into his arms.

"I hope so," I muttered into his chest. "i really do hope so."