The heavens were so calm and peaceful on this lovely Spring day. All of the Roman gods and goddesses had gathered together, lounging around lazily, many of them feasting on Ambrosia and Nectar and sipping on their cups of wine, brought straight from the vineyards of one of their own, Bacchus. Normally such a gathering only included the ten most important gods and goddesses, but this was a much more casual affair, with no urgent business to discuss about the handling of mortals. So, as a result, some of the lesser gods and goddesses also attended. Among them was Cupid, son of Venus and Mercury.
As was the custom among the overseers of mankind, gatherings such as this on Mount Olympus always included lively discussions of one subject or another. On this particular occasion, the gathering took turns retelling the stories of their most difficult challenges dealing with the unpredictable mortal humans. Most gods and goddesses much preferred the animals, birds, fish (and even the insects) to the humans. They were creatures of habit, and thus easy to understand. Humans had proven to be much more complicated. As they all agreed, one could never be totally certain as to how a human would react to any given event. Because of this, all the gods and goddesses often found themselves frustrated by humans, even when trying to help them out. Nothing made this more apparent once it became Cupid’s turn to tell his story. By the time he finished, the others felt a great deal of sympathy for him. He began his story:
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“You all know that my purpose in life is simply to bring love and romance into the lives of these pitiful mortals. Not all of them need my help, of course. Many humans have been able to find their soul mates entirely on their own. Sadly, throughout time, some have found that the one they thought was their soul mate, was most definitely not, but many have been very successful. My primary task has always been to find those who have closed their hearts off to both love and romance, for they need my help more than any other. Normally it has only taken one attempt with my bow and arrow to bring a couple together. I have had so few mortals who could resist my magic love arrows. There were those rare ones who took a second arrow before they gave in. Thankfully, time means nothing to those of us who are immortals, because it was thousands of years before I finally found a mortal who had a will of iron, and managed to avoid the power of my love potion, even when struck.”
“Now, let me tell you about this mortal man, and then perhaps you will understand why I always think of him as my greatest challenge. First, I will preface my story with a description of the man. His form, figure, and appearance could easily qualify him as one of us. Although he is not built like Hercules, he obviously takes good care of himself physically, and there are many mortals who do not admire those who are overly muscular. It is his face that is most appealing. There is the look of a rogue in his eyes on occasion, but then his face softens when he is confronted by someone he cares about. There is something very special about his personality too, which is most appealing. I believe it is the fact that he doesn’t care what others think of him. His self-confidence draws one in, and makes him stand out in a world full of insecure mortals.”
“By what name does this interesting fellow go by?” Came a voice from his spellbound audience.
“Brian Kinney,” he answered. “Shall I continue?”
Heads nodded eagerly.
“As I was saying, with his looks and demeanor he could probably have countless lovers of either sex. However, this man had no desire for lovers… only for the momentary pleasure provided by sex. Once he had reached that goal from his temporary companion, he had no wish to even see them again. Yet, I sensed that this was a man capable of deep abiding love. I was determined to provide the perfect lifetime partner for him, despite his resistance.”
A voice from his mother, Venus, rang out. “But Cupid, my dear love, the task should be easy. Your arrows never fail to reach their marks.”
“True, beloved mother, but this mortal was slick. Somehow, he seemed able to sense when one of my arrows was aimed at him, and he always managed to avoid its penetration. It was in his youth that I made my first attempt to find true love for him. I thought I had succeeded but made a huge error instead. You see, he had a friend who was more like a brother to him. His name was Michael. They spent all their time together from early childhood on. Once, as teenagers, I caught them lying together on Michael’s bed. I could see the affection they had for one another, so I decided that they were meant to be a couple. I aimed carefully, as is my habit, and let fly my arrow. It hit its mark and pierced Michael exactly as aimed. It was easy to see the love he felt for Brian growing with each passing moment. I then let fly the second arrow, but just as it left my bow, Brian turned away. It nicked him, but only the tiniest portion of love potion from my arrows managed to enter. I knew he would feel love for Michael as a result, but he would never think of him as a soulmate. And of course, the magic from my arrows between two of the same mortals can only be used once.”
“I waited for some time before making another attempt with this man. Finally, a few years later, I discovered him attending college and spending all his time with a female classmate. Her name was Lindsay. Once again, I could see a great deal of affection between the two. So, I decided to try again at bringing this man to his fate with a forever lover by his side. Imagine my frustration when the exact same thing happened again, as had happened once before. The couple were lying on a bed in one of their dorm rooms with schoolbooks propped up in front of them. They were gossiping and laughing like children, between talking about school assignments. They seemed so at ease with one another that I thought this would take very little effort on my part. Oh, how wrong I was.”
“Once again, I aimed my arrow towards the young lady first. I am proud to say that it hit its mark perfectly, as is my custom. Her eyes lit up instantly, and I knew the magic was already working. I quickly set another arrow into my bow, aimed at Brian, and let fly. And just as quickly, the man slipped off the bed to get a drink. The arrow barely scratched his arm, just as it had the first time. I knew that here was another failure… that there was only enough love potion in that scratch to turn him into her faithful friend for life, but nothing more. By this time, I was beginning to think he was going to be one of my failures. After all, we do know that there are some mortals who are simply not meant to have a lifetime companion. But there was just something about this man… something that called to me and demanded that I keep trying.”
“It took nearly a decade, which in human terms is quite a bit of time, but I refused to abandon my quest. During that decade, I made many more attempts to plant the seed of love in his heart. And, by Jupiter, the number of men he conquered sexually was astronomical. Yet not a man among them brought forth that light in his eyes, which would have led me to believe there might be a chance for my arrow to overcome his natural rejection. After all, the magic of my arrows can only work if there is at least the tiniest connection already present between the couple.”
“Perhaps,” came another voice from his rapt listeners, “this man you speak of is one of those who have no need of a partner in life, and you have misjudged him.”
Cupid bristled at the suggestion. “I am never wrong. My instincts about such matters is well known by one and all. He longed for true love, but had lost his faith in it from an early age. You cannot let love into your heart without trust. Now, may I continue?”
A subtle nod from his audience indicated they wanted more.
“As I was saying, many mortal years passed with nary a single connection that my arrows could work with. Then, out of nowhere, I finally saw a glimmer of hope for the man. He was just leaving an establishment, where he had received the usual sexual attention he claimed was all he needed, when he spotted a young man on the other side of the street. I do believe that he thought only of how attractive the young man was, but as he approached and began to speak with him I suddenly saw it again… that perceptible spark in his eyes that I had only seen twice before, only this time it was much brighter. Even better, I saw the same spark of recognition for a kindred spirit in the young man. Although he was obviously much younger than Kinney, I felt a great deal of maturity within the young man. This was no boy that I was observing, although it was also obvious that he was a novice at this game they began playing with one another.”
“I made up my mind then and there to give myself one last shot at bringing true love into the heart of this man, who had fought all my previous attempts as if his life depended on it. I placed my arrow in the bow and aimed carefully. They were standing so close to one another. It was easy to pierce both hearts at the same time with a single arrow.”
“And they lived happily ever after,” came a tired voice from the crowd. “I don’t see how that could be your greatest challenge. It was only a matter of time. You just had to find the right person to connect with him.”
“Did I say that they lived happily ever after, Fool?” Cupid retorted. “Far from it. Even with the magic of my arrow firmly entrenched in his heart, that man fought the attraction with everything in him. The young man felt the love almost instantly, and luckily for Kinney, he refused to go away, despite repeated requests that he do so. There was a moment when I thought the battle was over. It happened when he allowed the young man to move into his home, something which Kinney had never even considered doing before. But then, a youthful miscalculation by the young man ended that arrangement. However, my magic was still present inside Kinney, although still buried deep. They spent more and more time together, with many an occasion for passionate lovemaking. Of course, Kinney referred to it only as fucking or having sex, but the young man knew in his heart that it was lovemaking. Then, not quite a year after meeting, a tragic event unfolded which I was certain would open Kinney’s heart so that my magic would finally take firm root.”
Another interruption… “What kind of tragic event?” Someone asked.
“One which is very typical of mortal human beings… out of jealousy, hatred, and fear of who he himself was, another young man attacked Kinney’s young lover and nearly took his life. It was as clear as can be to anyone who paid attention, that this event tore at the heart of Kinney. It opened his heart a crack so that some of my magic could take firmer root, but to my great frustration he continued to fight the inevitable. Then, sometime later, another foolish event came as close to ending the influence of my arrow as anything could. The young man began losing hope he would ever convince Kinney that they were soul mates. His eyes began to stray towards another. I, of course, had no intention of piercing the heart of his alternate lover with an arrow. I knew this other young man was wrong for him, but all I could do was hope he would recognize this fact for himself.”
“And did he?”
“He did indeed. And in no time, he took up the cause of capturing Kinney’s attention again. It was a joy to see. I must confess though, that those two gave me such a headache more times than I can count. First one would make a foolish mistake and taint their relationship, then the other would do the same. I truly began to wonder if I had wasted my magic arrow on the two of them. But I refused to allow such a momentous failure to my credit. Then, it happened! Finally, something horrendous tore open Kinney’s heart and every speck of my magic love potion from the arrow flooded in. Once again, there was the chance of his young lover perishing because of hatred, when a bomb was set off in an establishment where he was. The moment Kinney saw that his young lover was alive and safe, love overwhelmed him. For the first time in his life, Kinney declared his love openly.”
Loud clapping filled the heavens, as the gods and goddesses congratulated Cupid on his success.
“So, they did live happily ever after?” Came a question, once the applause died down.
Cupid grinned with a twinkle in his eye. “We are talking about mortals. Yes, indeed they are bonded for all eternity… true soul mates. But naturally they still have their foolish moments. They were about to marry, then changed their minds. But this matters not a bit. No matter what path they take with their futures, they will always be a couple… a couple in love. I still keep an eye on them, because I find them fascinating, but I already know that I will never have need of a second arrow to pierce their hearts. The first one worked its magic. It may have taken far longer to work than it ever has with any of my other couples throughout the centuries, but all’s well that ends well. That is my… and their happily ever after.”
The End
