I often hear from people, including my parents, that I have an evil look in my eyes. People don't shy away, but they try not to look me in the eye, divert their attention and isolate themselves from my company as much as possible. Others, on the contrary, try to ask me about it — how many yard fights started with my "crooked" look, as they say, hitting their self-esteem or pride.
Or maybe people just think I'm rude to them because of my slightly smoky voice — any answer I gave was automatically considered arrogant, cocky, and, oh, I could go on and on. Although I also started smoking because of these fights: hooligans stealing phones; rich kids flaunting their power; attempts to escape from crazy classmates who would challenge me to a fight "behind the garages," as if everything was trying to kill me. In a word, stress. Nevertheless, if it were up to me, I wouldn't hurt a fly.
I would love to find a girl who wouldn't run away on our first date or hang up on me during a phone call, thinking I was some kind of gangster. I would like to repeat my only date in twenty-five years, spent on the beach under an umbrella with a drink in my hand. To splash around with my loved one again... but unfortunately, I have to pee alone. And not on the beach, but in the pouring rain.
Drip, drip, drip*
Whether it was out of spite or an incredible coincidence, but the moment I got off the bus, it started to rain. I didn't suspect anything bad, but I took my umbrella with me anyway and spent the whole day with it, even though people were giving me dirty looks. I opened it, got off the bus, and headed home, stepping on the mud with my polished shoes. My face didn't show a hint of surprise; living with such coincidences all my life, you start to prepare for any situation. My legs automatically steered me away from manhole covers, and on every road, my eyes darted around in search of cars or speeding trucks.
How does the saying go... fools learn from their mistakes, and wise men learn from the mistakes of others? After being such a fool a couple of times and ending up in hospital, you inevitably start to look to the experience of others. Books, films, mini-stories: I gathered survival wisdom from everywhere, because I had no intention of becoming one of those idiots who, due to their carelessness, fail to notice a giant ice cream van that "unexpectedly" and "silently" jumps out from around the corner. Yeah, right.
Nevertheless, sometimes some people have a harder time than I do. Walking along the houses, my gaze caught a puppy huddled against a building, trembling. Looking around for its owner, I was forced to stand next to it and cover it with my umbrella. Looking closer at the dog, I saw a bent paw — bleeding and probably even broken.
"Are you having a bad day too?" I crouched down and heard a quiet growl. I had to put out my cigarette so that the dog's sensitive nose wouldn't be bothered. Remembering that I always had a handkerchief in my pocket for cleaning dirt, I slowly picked up the unresisting, cold dog and held it close to my body. I didn't care that I had stained my new jacket, which I had put on for a job interview, trying to wrap his paw in it — frankly, I didn't give a damn, they wouldn't have hired me anyway. They said I wasn't suited to working with clients.
"Hey, look.
"What is he doing with that dog?
Schoolgirls walking down the same street started looking at me and whispering, thinking I was up to something. But I just gave them a simple, calm look, and they all got scared. Even the schoolgirls ran away.
Ah, yes... I developed faster than my peers from childhood. I was a little taller and stronger than the other children, which meant that the older kids had the official right to pick on me. That's probably why I developed wrinkles, which scare girls so much.
"You need to be warmed up and fed," I said, seeing that the dog was shaking too much, and dragged her home. At the doorstep, I kicked off my dirty shoes and went into the kitchen. I spread some paper towels on the floor, laid out a couple of pieces of chicken in front of the dog, and then sat down at the dining table. My face was reflected in the window, my slightly damp black hair clinging to my angular features. My eyes reflected my exhaustion. "I need to call the vet."
"Hey, man," but what I definitely didn't expect to hear today was a stranger's voice in my flat. And not from some random burglar who had broken in — I'd had that before — but from... a dog sitting on the table. "Yes, I'm talking to you, mortal.
"A talking... mutt? The chair flew out from under my feet as quickly as I moved away from the table.
"R-r-r," the dog growled, baring its teeth at me. "I am not a mongrel, but a deity! Mortals once praised my name and called me Anubis, the god of death.
"It can't be... do I have a gas leak? - glancing at the gas leak detector - bought just after the worst cold spell, I froze. Everything was fine. But the dog sitting on the table, looking at me with a knowing gaze, said otherwise," "A stray dog is named after an Egyptian god, isn't that... heresy?
"You're talking about my uniform again," the growl became louder. I moved away. "Oh, you foolish mortals. Can't you see that I'm seriously injured? Times have changed, I had a run-in with Bastet that took a lot out of me. We had a little quarrel.
"... Like cats and dogs.
"If she heard you, she'd slit your throat," the dog proudly stomped on my desk. "Or maybe she'd just watch you. A long death is much more interesting. Especially if it's filled with the suffering and despair of a mortal.
Being on an emotional roller coaster, hearing passive aggression directed at me from the so-called God of Death, I pressed myself against the wall. Defensive jokes no longer helped — it was scary to open my mouth.
But then Anubis looked me up and down.
"You could die at any moment, your life is a game of chance," he said calmly and began to lick his paw. "You were apparently forgotten when luck was handed out. The gods have stopped paying attention to the world altogether lately. They've gone wild, wandering around other worlds, handing out power left and right. Oya... OoYa... OYASH all kinds of creatures, they've completely lost their minds.
"Luck?
"Yes, you must be very observant, that's why you haven't been killed yet," he looked around intently, studying the bars on the windows, all kinds of sensors, leak detection systems, and even the number of locks on the front door. "But you won't be able to avoid meeting me there for long. Sooner or later, you'll die, and it won't be a natural death — violence, accident, witches or sorcerers. And you won't be able to get rid of your lack of blessings; you can't remove something that isn't there. Even in the next life, you'll probably remain a failure.
He spoke calmly and casually, lazily licking his paw. But... those words penetrated me to the core. He knew how my life was going, as if he were an observer. And there's no stopping it? Playing the lottery with my life every day, fighting with pushy homeless people and drug addicts, being forever alone, unloved... for the rest of my life and all my future reincarnations? A black streak as long as... eternity.
Slowly sitting down on a stool, I took out my cigarettes. I lit one and smoked while Anubis watched what I was doing.
"You can't count on divine help either — you may have helped my skin, but I don't have complete control over the afterlife and the process of rebirth. And I can't make a deal with anyone either — you can see for yourself what's going on up there. I only fought Bastet because the gods don't fulfil their direct duties.
Even the gods can't. At that, I simply took out a cigarette and stared at the floor with a glassy gaze.
"But that doesn't mean the problem can't be solved," he said, forcing me to raise my head.
"You said yourself that my luck can't be restored," I said, my voice rough with anger. But for the first time, there was no reaction.
"No, but you can continue doing what you're doing, only better," he drove my brain into a dead end. "Ah, you stupid mortal, I will give you the ability to avoid unfortunate events! In this world, you can't rely on luck for everything; it's possible to make decisions that bypass chance. People can't see which decision will be beneficial, but... I will teach you. You will retain your freedom of choice, the greatest gift from the gods to humanity, but you will still continue to live with your curse.
"Ah... something's wrong with my heart.
"I understand.
"No, I'm serious. It hurts," he said, clutching his chest and falling to his knees. I wanted to ask God many questions, to ask if I could find a girlfriend with his gift. To return to a normal life and at least touch humanity. But my vision quickly blurred.
"You shouldn't have started smoking in this life. Well, I guess you'll get your gift in the next one. Hmm, Osiris probably won't approve of that. Oh, screw it, I'll just say you're one of my believers. Except all my believers only appear in a specific natural area~ Oh, never mind, you'll like it.
***
"W-a-a... w-a-a!
My loud cry echoed through the small tent, the all-consuming pain in my lungs tearing me apart from the inside. I could feel grains of sand on my teeth, which had been dry since the moment I appeared, and the stifling heat made it impossible to concentrate or come to my senses. Even when a strange shadow in front of my eyes began to sway and another one standing behind it said something, my head was filled with questions.
Had I just died? Why did I feel only a tremor, as if after my death and before my birth, I had seen something magnificent? Endless gardens where nymphs splashed and gods rested, and the fate of mortals was decided by Anubis.
And what did Anubis promise me that I can't remember...
"The Multi-Choice System prepares all paths for safe SURVIVAL... Given the high risk of mortality during birth, you were placed in a child who had already been born."At that moment, blue letters appeared against the blurred background of the world.
"Safe paths have been found. From now on, you will be given different options to choose from. By choosing them, you will direct your own life in one direction or another, bypassing failure. I warn you in advance that it is impossible to get rid of all negative effects, but you can trust the system's options, even if they seem strange to you. And now."
"Make a decision: 1 - Pull your hands towards the shadow that is holding you up (your relationships will improve). 2 - Pull your hands towards the shadow that is standing slightly to the side (your relationships will improve). 3 - Press your hands against your body, ignoring the presence of the shadows (by remaining true to yourself, you will have options for retreat. Life as a homeless person may have its advantages)." It seemed that Anubis' words were beginning to come back to me. Now, I can at least try to live like a normal person... and yet, I can't stop relying on my intuition.
The inscription disappeared. Raising my hands and glancing at the shadow in the distance, I stretched out my tiny hands towards it. How I wished the veil would disappear from my eyes so I could see what I was doing.
***
Shuuuuh*
A warm breeze blew past my tent, picking up clouds of sand. Sitting on the step at the entrance, watching the sun setting in the dunes, casting sparkling rays on the reflective sand, I still couldn't understand... why I had ended up in this damn huge desert in the middle of an equally huge continent. Why, of all the places I had seen on the very familiar map in my parents' house, had I ended up in this desert that burned all my nerve endings and wore away my feet?
And it would have been fine if it were the modern day, with all the advanced medical equipment, rescue services and advanced transport that could have made my life a little easier, given my luck. But not in the world of the Howling Mages, where a war of genocide has been raging for a hundred years! Where only one small pacifist child must decide the fate of the entire world.
Anubis - what the hell!
"Choose: 1 - Wipe away your tears and prove that you're not a wimp (your daily training time will increase by a couple of hours) 2 - Keep crying, then drink some fermented juice (your training time will drop to zero) 3 - Realise that perseverance or a safe life is not for you (you can try to get a job as a bar cleaner. Training time will be significantly reduced)"
***
Advanced chapters:
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