They say once you have mastered being alone, you are ready for the company of others - not that it’s any easier. When everyone’s journey diverted from my own and my own heartbeat began to deafen my ears in this empty shrine, I realized that this was a journey not meant for everyone. What I need will never come and no matter how much I seek I won't find it. I wasn't born for great things, nor will I find my place in the sun. I could try every day, work for what I want and need, but there are no paths to success, not from here. Would you visit and pray to a goddess of natural disasters? Didn’t think so. It will balance our earth, but if humans could prevent it, they would.
»»——««
Tenki looked up from the bottom of her ocean shrine, the sun shining down on her from above. Today the light is oddly bright, casting the seagulls into dark shadows against a sky of palest blue. She swam upward, following the bright beams of sunlight upwards to the ocean’s surface. She closed her eyes to the lullaby of the ocean, breathing in it’s poignant salty breath. She didn’t do this often, as she was only supposed to arise to alert the humans of an incoming storm or natural disaster, but coming up to the surface was something that made her happy - she loved it. Though this seemed to be the calm before the storm. Storm clouds came rolling in like nothing before; it was like this calm day had summoned her just in time to warn her people. Oarfish swarmed around her, the people of her small fishing village knew well that these fish were called the messenger from the Sea God's palace. They were sent to her before a storm and she knew this would be a big one. The sky hues were much like molten silver, swirling in steady and radiating ripples. Tenki loved the sky before a storm, as though the greys of every shade and depth could have been some sort of intricate painting. She could swim in the atmosphere so subtly electric and alive with an excitement for what is to come. Though this is the only thing she enjoys as the disaster soon to follow is nothing short of fatal. She would never receive the same love that other gods and goddesses received; who would ever pray to a goddess bound to bring misfortune? These were terms she had to grow to accept. Fortunately, these were the moments she was allowed to come to the surface, she wished she could do so more often, though she’d bring fear among the village folk. Tenki took one more deep breath of the ocean air before sinking back into the water which has shifted into violent waves. The waves were an ever changing mosaic of the blue made so glorious by their watery-crown splashes.
