Goddess of Light

I sat on the uncomfortable reception room chair, idly flipping through a magazine. I was nervous about what was going to happen. I was waiting for my first interview with a publisher. They had had my manuscript for what seemed like forever, until they had finally called me in for an interview. So I was waiting to find out if they were going to publish my first novel.

I noticed her immediately she entered the room. Tall, long blonde wavy hair, about my age, and very pretty. After speaking to the receptionist, she turned towards me. I looked into the most incredibly blue eyes that I had ever seen. She smiled at me as she sat down.

"Your first book?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"Mine too," I said. "What's your book about?"

"It's about the influence of classical music on pop music," she replied. "What's yours about?"

"Nothing as intellectual as that," I said. "It's just a novel."

At that moment, the receptionist told me that I could go in and see the publisher.

My meeting was very successful. The publisher told me that they would publish my book. He even thought that there was a possibility that they could make some money out of it. I didn't care about the money, I just wanted to be a published novelist.

After my meeting ended, I was talking to the receptionist, giving her some extra details, when the blonde girl came back into the room. I could see by the happiness on her face that her manuscript had been accepted.

"Success?" I asked.

"Oh yes!" she beamed at me. "And you?"

"Me too!" I exclaimed. Then, thinking on my feet, I thought that this was too good an opportunity to let pass. "So," I said, "we should celebrate. Will you join me for a drink?"

"I can't," she replied. "I have to go practice. We're playing at the Albert Hall tonight." She must have seen the disappointment on my face as she added, "You should come and see us."

"I'd like to," I said, "But I don't think that I would be able to get a ticket at such short notice."

"I can fix that," she said. "Please come as my guest. I'll leave a ticket for you at the ticket office."

"That would be great! Thank you," I said, giving her my card.

She looked at my card. "James," she read. "That's a nice name. I like it."

She turned to go. "Wait! What's your name?" I asked.

"I'm Aurora," she replied.

"Aurora," I said. "Goddess of Light."

"Yes," she said. "It keeps me busy." A shadow passed through her eyes, but was instantly replaced by a dazzling smile. "Bye, James," she said as she walked out of the door. "See you tonight."

I was very late for the concert. Parking had been impossible, and I regretted not taking a taxi. I dashed into the Albert Hall foyer and up to the ticket office. Sure enough, they had a ticket for me. There was also a backstage pass for use after the concert.

As I hurried into the hall, I realised that I had no idea who was the main attraction. Well, I really didn't care. I was just worried that I might have missed Aurora's performance.

I sat through two intro performances, and I was getting really worried when the emcee announced "And now for the main act of the evening - the debut of a great new group. Give it up for ... Stringz!"

My heart sank. I had missed Aurora's performance! I watched four girls walk onto the stage, carrying string instruments and waving to the audience. And then I realised that one of the girls was ... Aurora!

The performance of Stringz was great, a mix of classic and pop music. I could see where Aurora's ideas for her book had come from. Or maybe it was her ideas that directed the group. I made a mental note to ask her later.

I watched Aurora as she played. She positively radiated happiness - clearly she loved what she was doing. And I realised just how beautiful she was.

The group received tremendous applause when they finished playing.

After the performance ended I made my way backstage. There was a big crowd of people around the girls, but as soon as Aurora saw me, she ran over and threw her arms around my neck. "Oh James!" she gushed. "They loved us! Isn't it wonderful?"

As I hugged her it was impossible to resist. I bent my head and brushed my lips against hers. The sensation was immediate. It felt like an electric shock passed between us. Aurora pulled away in surprise, but then she pressed her lips to mine again. This time there was no electric shock. Instead, there was the best kiss that I have ever had.

"Can I see you tomorrow?" I asked hopefully.

"We could do something tomorrow afternoon," she said.

"How about a picnic?" I suggested.

"That sounds nice," she said.

Suddenly Aurora was swept up along with the other girls for interviews. I waited, not very patiently, until I could speak to her again. We arranged a time and place to meet the next day.

I spent the next morning thinking about Aurora. But something was troubling me. I was certain that I had heard her voice before. Her voice was soft and sweet but also confident. I had the distinct impression that she could provide comfort, or inspiration, in other people. I had never heard any other woman speak the way that she did. And yet I had no recollection of ever seeing her face before.

I picked up Aurora as arranged, and we drove to the country. It was a glorious sunny day, and the roof was down as the Austin Healey purred along the main road.

We stopped for lunch on a grassy bank next to a river. Aurora stretched in the sunshine, and she seemed to visibly relax. I guessed that life recently had been pretty stressful for her, with intense rehearsals and then the debut of the group. And as she relaxed, I became more and more aware of just how beautiful she was. She was a classic beauty, almost like a Greek goddess. Now why did I think that, I wondered. I guessed that it must be because of her name. It's a beautiful name, and it really suits her, I thought.

It was dark by the time that we returned to the city. I was driving along a narrow street when suddenly a pedestrian lurched out from the footpath right in front of my car. As I braked, Aurora stood up in her seat and reached over the windscreen. A bolt of blue light shot out from her hand. The light hit the pedestrian in the chest, pushing him clear a microsecond before the Healey would have hit him.

We stopped. The man did not appear to have any injuries apart from a few scrapes. Clearly he was intoxicated, which probably helped him to avoid injury on his impact with the footpath.

We resumed our journey in silence. Finally Aurora spoke. "James, we need to talk. Can we go to your place?"

"Sure," I said.

We went to my flat. I made us some drinks, and then we sat on the lounge. "James, about what happened...," she began.

"So you really are the Goddess of Light?" I asked.

"Yes I am," she said softly.

"And are you a Muse as well?" I asked.

"How did you know that?" she said, surprised.

"Good guess," I replied. "So, why are you here?"

"I'm here to help launch Stringz," she said. "The other girls are very talented, but they needed some direction. Although Cassie is the leader, I help her to make decisions. And I write and arrange all of the music. But once the group is firmly established, I'll step aside and find another girl to take my place."

Suddenly something occurred to me. I knew where I had heard Aurora's voice before. It was in my dreams!

"And did you help me too?" I asked.

Aurora smiled softly. "Yes," she said. "A little. You're a very talented writer, James. But it was just an accident that we met yesterday."

"I'm very glad that we did," I said.

"So am I," she said.

I reached for her and she melted into my arms. We kissed, a long, deep kiss. An amazing kiss, like I had never experienced with another woman.

After the kiss, Aurora had sort of a glazed look on her face. "Wow!" was all that she said.

"Maybe it wasn't an accident that we met yesterday," I said.

Suddenly Aurora became very serious. "James, you mustn't fall in love with me," she said. "You know that I'm only here for a short time."

"Then we had better make the most of that time," I said. Aurora squealed as I grabbed her and kissed her again.

"Sooo ...," I said carefully, "are Goddesses allowed to make love with Mortals?"

"Only in very special cases," she replied. "Like this one."

...

All of this happened a very long time ago, but I remember it as though it was only yesterday. I am now a very successful author. But whenever I hit a dry spell, a soft sweet voice in my head always gives me inspiration.

Aurora is still as young and as beautiful as she was when we first met. How do I know this? It's because she still visits me whenever she can, which is usually two or three times a year. We make love when she does, and it is still amazing. I have never been with another woman since we met, and I never want to be.

There's the doorbell. You must excuse me now, as I think that I might know who that will be.