I closed my eyes as the cold salty waves engulfed over me. I tried to open them but the sting of the salt and the darkness that surrounded me was terrifying. I couldn't tell which way was up or down. My uniform felt tight and constricting as I was tossed around in the currents as the ship left me behind. I fought my way to the surface but kept being pulled under. No one had seen what happened and I was supposed to be resting in my room, not confronting a cheating husband.
Was this really happening? I wondered how my life got this way. They say you have flashbacks of your life before you die, but all that flashed before me was the kind and gentle moments I had shared with Danny. Was it really all a lie? I fought to stay afloat. Once I cleared the churning of the ocean liner's wake, the sea calmed, and I was able to tread water without too much difficulty. I stared at disappearing ship.
Maybe it was the shock of finding out my husband was cheating on me. Maybe it was the shock from discovering our relationship had been nothing but a lie. Or maybe it was the cold from the water that made me silent. Either way, as the frigid temperatures sunk into my body, it chilled my sense of betrayal and numbed any response I could have had.
Looking up to the sky, the stars seemed abnormally bright compared to the darkness surrounding me. On shore, you never realize just how much light there is. Streetlights, house lights, city lights. Even in the middle of the night, it is never truly dark. But here, treading in the middle of the ocean with nothing but the stars above, the darkness is all consuming. The fluttering in my belly reminded me to keep moving, but I was so tired. I struggled to keep my eyes open as the cold began to get to me.
My teeth chattered, and I began to shiver violently. As the waves swayed, and the world began to fade, I couldn't help but wish I hadn't had so much faith in Danny. My one regret was the child in my womb who would never have a chance. I leaned back on the water trying to float. I closed my eyes for what felt like the briefest of moments.
"Are you happy with how things turned out?" Startled, my eyes shot open to a strange view. All around me were blue and white clouds, like you would see in the sky of a painting. Turning, the water I had been floating on had disappeared. Hard ground replaced my watery bed. I pushed up and glanced around, looking for the voice that brought me here.
"Don't bother, you won't be able to see me." The clouds above me lit up as the voice spoke. My jaw dropped and I realized if I squinted, the clouds looked like a person leaning over and looking down at me.
"Hmm, I take that back, this is all you will be able to perceive. Interesting…" The figure smiled as if they were amused.
"I don't understand." Being yanked into this place, knowing I had just been in the water was confusing, but it was obviously a divine realm.
"Neither do I." The goddess chuckled and the sound flit though the air like a tinkling of wind chimes. "You shouldn't be able to see me at all, but you can perceive. That is good. It means I can do something for you." Leaning in to capture my eyes they asked again. "Are you satisfied with how things ended up?"
"No, I feel cheated. Though I know my choices were my own, the fact that they were made based on lies makes me angry."
"Remember that. Not everyone is honest. But let's get back to the issue at hand." The goddess pointed at me. "You are not supposed to die just yet."
"How do you know that." The goddess shrugged.
"I read your file. It looks like that woman stole what you were supposed to have. Your fate, so to speak. How was she even able to leave her world?" Standing up and looking off into the distance she sighed. "I'll need to have a conversation with management" she grumbled.
"Does that mean Danny didn't lie to me?" I hated the note of hope in my voice. The wish that I had not been bamboozled made me catch my breath waiting for her answer. But I could already tell from the look on her face that I was wishing for something that could never be.
"Your husband was always like this. The way your life was supposed to go, you would never have known. Danny was supposed to die a tragic death, and you would have moved on with your life after a period of mourning." The goddess shook her head. "But that was before that woman came into his life. She saved him from his fate. That is why I missed it. By doing that, she tied her fate to his."
The goddess then paused and darted a glance at me. Watching her pace around in the clouds was something else, but the look she had now was starting to get scary.
"Uh…Is something wrong." The goddess leaned over to me, coming within inches of my face before she looked down at my belly. I wrapped my arms around my midsection, protective of the life inside.
"Not for you." I felt my belly squirm and a light thump against my abdomen. I looked down in confusion. The doctors had told me that it would be a lot longer before I could feel the baby move.
"Is it my baby? What is wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong except that this little one is not supposed to exist. This complicates things in the most delightful way!" Moving back into the clouds, she threw her head back and laughed until I could see tears falling down her face.
"Don't worry, I can see from the look on your face that you think I might do something bad, but this will be good for both you and the child when they are born." She wiped at the streaks on her cloudy face and turned back to me.
"What are you planning to do?" I asked, caution lacing my words.
"A pup needs his father."
"I don't know who that is. Danny told me that he used someone else's sperm to get me pregnant." I blushed. I know that I was a victim, but I still felt the bite of shame that my gullibility made me so blind.
"Worry not, for I DO know who the father is. Luckily for you, he is in a realm I do have authority over."
"What do you mean?"
"The child you carry, his father is actually a beastmen from the world your husband's mistress is from. I'm not sure how she got his essence or was able to preserve it, but your child seems to be a stubborn one. He is already trying to protect you, even from the womb." The goddess smiled down at my belly fondly.
"So, what do you say, want to give your future husband a shot with you?"
"Huh!" I stepped back in confusion, but the goddess just continued to smile. "I've never even met him!"
"And still, he is undoubtably your husband, or at least, he will be once you enter his world." The goddess could see my confusion and sighed. "Bringing you here, I could do that only because of the child within you. He is part of a world I have authority over. But you, technically, you are not. I can't send you back and even if I could, would you want to?" I shook my head, thinking back to what would have been my watery grave. Death at the hands of an evil ex, which is what Danny would have been if I had a chance to break up with him was not on my bucket list. "I thought not. But I can send you to this other world and you can take up that woman's fate!"
"So, this other woman stole my fate and now I have to take hers to live?"
"Yes and no. You are, after all, a different person capable of making your own choices. You don't have the do what she would have done exactly, just the basic overall fate."
"What was her fate supposed to be?"
"In general, she was to be the leader of her tribe and give birth to many children for her husbands."
"Uh…. Husbands, like multiple ones?" I squeaked out.
"Yep, husbands. Women are spiritually joined with their men too, so every husband is loyal for life!" The goddess looked at me and chuckled. "Don't worry too much about it. Just be with the people you like and you should be fine."
"So as long as I become the leader to a tribe and have children, I will have met the basic requirements to have lived her fate?"
"Don't forget the husbands, plural. But again, don't worry too much about it. Men over there are fine with it."
"They're fine with in but what about me?" I exclaimed.
"No one is going to force you into anything, I can promise you that. Just take life as is goes and see where things end up." I sighed. I really didn't like the idea of multiple husbands. I mean one was hard enough to deal with.
"So, you'll send me there and what next?"
"The moment you step over, you will get a mate mark from the father of your child. He will have one too. I hope you don't mind, but when you decide, I'll be leaving a bit early so I can watch his reaction first. That man had always been calm and composed. It will be hilarious to see how he reacts."
"And he is a beastmen? What are those?"
"Lobo, constrictor, ocelot, and harpy. Beastmen can shift into these different creatures. All other creatures are like your previous world. I have other worlds with more or even less beastkin in it, but I figured I'd limit this one. Men are the only ones who can shift, and their DNA determines what kind of beast their male children shift into. Women do not shift, but they have magical power and can control the elements."
"That seems unfair."
"Don't worry, I have other worlds where the opposite is true."
"Does that mean I'll be able to use magic?"
"Not yet. I'll need to give you my blessing, but after that, you will be able to train. But don't think you'll be starting out with overpowered skills!"
"And if I choose not to go?"
"You can make that choice. Eventually, you will be put to work here by corporate in some capacity, but you will never change. Your child will never be born."
"So, where is here?"
"You can call it a limbo of sorts. No one here is living or dead and nothing ever changes."
I looked down to my belly. Rubbing my hand over the slight mound, I couldn't imagine not meeting my son. Barely a few moments ago, I thought I would die before he had a chance to live, so to have another chance, even in an unknown world seems just fine to me. Looking up at the clouds I could see the goddess slinking away.
"I knew you would make the right choice." With a final wave of her hands, darkness surrounded me once more.