"Thirty percent chance of rain my ass." Whiqell said, watching the clouds cry heavily outside the window.

"Well, everything's been unexpected this year, yeah?" Kalily said, rearranging the money in the cash register. She grabbed a blue dress embroidered with dark flowers at the bottom, and handed it over to her cousin. "Can you put this inside a plastic bag before you go?"

Whiqell grimaced at the sight of the dress.

"Please?" Kalily added. "The plastic bag is right behind you."

Whiqell snatched it from her. "Fine." She snarled. "But only if you give me an umbrella."

"Why didn't you brings yours?" Kalily asked.

Whiqell turned to her with guilt plastered on her face. "I forgot mines at the apartment."

Kalily flicked her head up, narrowing her eyes. "Oh, how convenient..."

"Look, I was already halfway down town, I wasn't walking back." Whiqell said. "The dress is cute by the way. How many days did it take for you to make this?" She added, holding the now plastic covered dress in the air.

Kalily rolled her eyes, sighing as she strides to the back of the store. She couldn't be mad at Whiqell, and Whiqell knew it. She's been forgetful since the day she was born. Like forgetting her doll on the shelf in a grocery store, then needing to drive back to get it. Luckily, no one stole it.

While Kalily retrieved one of the umbrellas that she happily forgot here weeks ago, Whiqell shouts from the front, "Hey, did you hear about what happened to that girl at Berdanti High School?"

"I saw a little bit about it on the news before I left this morning." Kalily responded, striding her way back up front. "Why, what's up?" She asked, giving her cousin the umbrella.

"Okay, well, a girl named Jintoria Haligeant went to a party with a guy, whose name hasn't been exposed yet, but she went upstairs with him, never came back down, and someone discovered her dead body on the bed. The girl who discovered her said Jintoria's life force looked like it's been drained by a vacuum."

"What!" Kalily's eyes widened, hand covering her mouth. "How could that happen?"

"I don't know, but It's been speculated that some drama may have occurred with someone, so she went upstairs. Then the guy she came with, went after her. People say he came downstairs so casually afterwards, so they didn't think nothing of it."

"Oh, my gosh," was all Kalily could say.

"Did you know people are also saying they're seeing some of type man-beast flying in the sky, now?" Whiqell asked.

"What!" Kalily shouted. "Heavens no. What is going on? Do you think it's a demon?"

"I think that's the boy who drained the innocent girl's life away." Whiqell answered confidently.

"Maybe you should call your niece and see if she knows some inside details about this." Kalily said. "She goes to Berdanti High School, right?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot she's goes to Berdanti High School." Whiqell giggled.

Kalily sighed.

Then Whiqell went from giggling to frantically saying, "Do you think we're gonna be on lockdown? Or forced to evacuate Strilithys? I don't wanna leave a town I grew up in. It's just so many memories here."

Kalily gazed at her sympathetically and offered, "Would you like to stay with me for tonight?"

Whiqell's eyes fell to the floor full of hesitance.

Kalily assured her, "Don't worry, I have plenty of food. You can sleep on my bed if you want."

Whiqell shook her head. "I'm gonna head home."

"You sure?" Kalily questioned, watching her pick up her belongings.

"Yeah," Whiqell nodded. "I'll call Miloraya and ask about her school when I get home. And you know I'm gonna tell you everything afterwards." She smiled. "See ya later."

A cacophony of traffic from outside burst into Kalily's store when Whiqell swung the door open, and raise the umbrella above her head. Walking away, she waved at Kalily. Kalily waved back until she wasn't in the window frame anymore.

Kalily grabbed her long coat, slipping her arms through the sleeves. While grabbing her purse, the lights began twitching. The store began fogging up. Precisely black smoke, and it felt like dark energy wafting around her.

On the wall, the inchoate smoke form into a large figure, rising above Kalily, overpowering her.

"Not again!" She screamed, tucking her knees into her chest while lying on the floor. "Get away!"

The windows around her threaten to crack. The cash register randomly opens and closes. The hangers started ringing on the rack shivering the clothes. Kalily felt the dark presence lean towards her ear, and its emollient voice whispers, "Revenge. Betrayal. Jealousy. Friend."

"F-friend?" Kalily thought to herself.

That word caught Kalily's attention the most. She warily grabbed the counter to uplift herself when she felt the shadow dissipated. She wiped the tears from her blurred vision and quickly picked up her things.

                                          ***

Kalily frantically locked up her shop, opening the umbrella above her head before stepping into the egregious rain. She bust into a quick tread down the sidewalk, reaching for the bus stop.

The shadow encounter would be her fourth time. It always came to her lacking a form of gender whispering the same thing over and over. But for the first time, it mentions the word: friend. Mentioning that on the exact day she scheduled to meet up with a psychic after work.

On her way to sit on the bench for the bus stop, Kalily sighed as she saw a man with dark skin sitting at the bench. She closed her umbrella and politely sat down at the far end from him. Five seconds in and she could already sense him staring at her.

Kalily just kept to herself, stoic as possible until the man said, "How's your day going?"

"Fine." She tells him without looking in his direction.

"Yeah, well... mines okay." He said, as if anybody asked him. He allowed, at least, thirty seconds to go by before asking, "What's your name?"

"Kalily..." she accidentally replied too quick, not meaning to tell her real name. But she kept her face stoic.

The man chuckled. "That ain't your real name." Kalily didn't say anything, so he continued. "Even if that was your real name, who named you? Your mom, your dad?"

"Both." She answered. Due to his silence, she finally looked his way. His face was screwed with confusion. "My mom wanted to name me Kara, my dad wanted to name Lily, so they mash my name together."

"Why couldn't they just name you Kara Lily... what's your last name?"

"Nice try." Kalily said.

The man laughed. Kalily couldn't help but break her stoicism for a smile.

"This may be to early to ask, but would you like to go out for a drink?" The man asked.

"I have a boyfriend." Kalily told him.

"Oh, he one of those." The man said.

Kalily gazed at him bemused. "'One of those' what?"

The man extended his arm above the bench. "One of those guys who's too insecure for their girlfriend to have male friends."

Kalily glared at him, only for a blur of light to engulf her perception, hearing a loud engine coming up the street. It's the bus. Kalily arose on her feet, grabbing her things, then heading on to the bus. She slipped a quarter into the slot, hastily taking her seat. As the bus started moving, Kalily looked at the man one last time, watching him smirk at her until he wasn't in sight anymore.

                                          ***

Kalily's feet were killing her. Heels are definitely a no-go for a long walk off the bus stop. Including an extra long walk in a rusty neighborhood.

Luckily the crying clouds were beginning to dry up a little bit, but the weather became humid. By the time Kalily made it to the trailer park far down the road, her face was immensely glistening of sweat. Good thing she wore a black t-shirt, yet her blue long coat absorbed sweat through her armpits.

After knocking on the door, a honey-brown skin woman with big hazel eyes, red lip stick, and wavy short hair opened the door.

"Are you Asheweh?" Kalily asked.

"That depends." Asheweh knitted a brow jokingly. "Are you Kalily?"

"Yes," Kalily smiled.

"Well, get out of that hot-ass weather and come on in!" She said, stepping aside for Kalily's entrance. "Sit right there." She pointed at the round table sitting in the center of the living room.

After Kalily got comfortable, Asheweh asked, "Can I take your coat? I know you hot under there."

"Oh, yes, please." Kalily responded, removing her coat.

Asheweh took it and causally threw it on the couch behind her, then took her seat as Kalily stares at her bewilderingly.

"Okay," Asheweh started. "So you're the one dealing with the shadow, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am." Kalily said.

Asheweh delicately lays her hands flat on the table and said, "Give me your hand."

Kalily rest her hands upon hers. Asheweh tells her while shutting her eyes, "I'm going to read your energy."

Kalily watches the woman screw her face a few times and make a few sounds. "Oh, dear lord." Asheweh says.

"What? What did you see?!" Kalily desperately inquired.

Asheweh shot her eyes wide open. "Did you know you used to be Dstrilda in a past life?"

"I was King Hapyous second wife?!" Kalily widened her eyes.

"So you know the story of Dstrilda, yes?" Asheweh asked.

"I mean, I know that everyone and King Hapyous loved Dstrilda more than they loved Queen Chascher because of how rude she was, but that's it."

"But do you know why though?"

Kalily shook her head.

"Dstrilda was one of Hapyous's concubines that he fell in love with and married. No one respected Chascher, but that's because no matter how kind she was, Hapyous ordered them not to. He only married her to become King of Aishedal, present day Strilithys. Because of Chascher's misery and witnessing Hapyous's happiness with his second wife, she decided that he should feel the same as she does. She called to the Goddess of Chaos and asked her to curse Dstrilda's shadow to haunt her through all lifetimes."

Kalily's lips quivered, lost for words.

"I'm going to show you your past life, okay? I want you to look deep into Hapyous and Chascher's eyes." Asheweh told her.

"Why?" Kalily questioned.

"Because it'll expose to you who they are in their current lifetime." Asheweh said, gesturing Kalily to plant her hands onto hers again. "Now shut your eyes." Asheweh tells her.

Kalily's then taken back to the ancient time where she is staring at herself in mirror, realizing she doesn't possess the pale skin like she does in the current lifetime, but more darker skin in this one. She takes herself to the chambers where Hapyous awaits her. Just the sight of Dstrilda caused him to smile from ear to ear. She deeply gazed into his eyes and his face revealed to be her best friend's husband in her current lifetime, Ichrean. Then she looked at Chascher, whom glowered at her. Her face revealed to be Harjine.

"Oh, my gosh!" Kalily snapped out of the vision.

"What did you see?" Asheweh asked.

"It's my best friend and her husband!" Kalily shouted in astonishment. "How can I get rid of this shadow?"

Asheweh's face was extremely stoic of no response.

"Asheweh?" Kalily said, waving her hand in her face.

"I feel a powerful presence coming onto me." Asheweh claimed. Suddenly she dropped her head, then lift it back up. She spoke an alluring tone. "Kalily, I'm Blixeight. Goddess of Negotiation. Let me do something with your shadow."

THANKS FOR READING! MORE MAGNIFICENT MYTHS TO COME!

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