More Than You Know

“Hey, Kai…”

“Mm, yeah?”

We’re walking together in an open park in the mortal realm with the smell of freshly cut grass surrounding us, enjoying the sun on our skin. It’s one of the few days Kai has had free time to go on a date with me ever since the whole Cronus ordeal a few weeks ago. Other people are also out and about with their families, with their friends, all laughing happily, carefree smiles on their faces. Kai swings our joined hands as we walk, waiting patiently for me to speak.

I take a of my ice cream before looking at Kai. “Do you ever think… what if you never met me and none of those things would happen as a result?” I ask, watching as Kai’s brows scrunch together in thought as he ponders my question. I’d thought he’d answer right away but I’m glad he’s thinking about the answer thoroughly.

“I don’t think I’d be as happy as I am now, not by a long shot. I also think that regardless of whether you are in the picture or not, Cronus would have still found some way of freeing himself. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and without you, we could very much have been caught unawares and got our handed to us,” Kai replies, with a shrug of his shoulders.

I laugh at his crude words but nonetheless, there’s a sense of relief in me knowing that Kai is happy to have me with him.

“I’m happy to be with you too,” I grin.

Kai rolls his eyes, muttering, “Of course you should be,” though his smile gives away his feelings.

We continue our way through the park, enjoying ourselves with this rare chance to be away from the Underworld, even for a little while.

I spot a kids playground and run towards the swings. Kai laughs from behind me, and just as I reach for the empty swing, some kid swoops in from nowhere and nabs the seat before I can, leaving me flabbergasted. I hear Kai come up behind me from the laughs coming from his mouth.

“Oh shush,” I mutter, pouting a little to have been beaten to a swing by a kid. I kind of wanted to feel the nostalgia of being a kid again.

“I have a surprise for you at home, so you can stop pouting so much that you'll turn into a duck,” Kai replies, circling his arms around my waist.

“Surprise? Oooh, this is different,” I say, cuddling up to him. “What's the surprise?”

“Now it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you would it?” Kai leads me away from the park’s main thoroughfare and towards a more secluded area where weeping willows are growing.

“It’s about time we head back anyway,” Kai murmurs, glancing at his wristwatch, “Ready to go?”

“Yeah. Let’s go home,” I reply, stepping closer to him as per our usual routine. He circles his arms around my waist, tells me to close my eyes, and within moments, I know we’re back in the Underworld.

The familiar smell of sulphur hits my nostrils as soon as we arrive. I open my eyes and wrinkle my nose, “Kai, does the Underworld really have to smell so bad?”

Kai laughs, “How many times have you complained already? We have to keep up the image! Besides, souls can’t smell anything and the smell keeps most of the other creatures away. It’s also because we’re standing in the volcanic area. So, it’ll always smell of sulphur.”

“Yeah, yeah, fine. I honestly don’t understand why you can’t just set up some barrier instead,” I mutter, bending down to poke at the black dirt beneath our feet. The volcanic ash sticks to my fingers which I quickly rub off. “Though, this stuff is great for growing plants. I could make such a great garden here if it didn’t smell so much.”

“You’re really starting to sound like the Goddess of Spring.”

I ignore him and instead, make flowers grow where I hover my hand