Stolen Power
by Anima Grey
The river was still, but for the humans who crept along the banks in the darkness. They came every full moon in summer. They had day lives as shopkeepers, teachers, mechanics and parents, but when the moon came, the only labels that mattered were man and woman. No one knows when it started, because no one spoke about it. These were upstanding citizens in a dull river town. Gossip was the town's favorite pastime, but not about the summer full moons at the river. On these nights, what their bodies did was never acknowledged, even to themselves.
He had no money and no future, but on the summer nights at the river, He became a god. All the good wives and shy waitresses came to the river hoping to stumble upon Him, knowing that if chosen that He would haunt their fantasies for the rest of their lives. He had never had to seduce a woman. His broad shoulders and icy blue eyes were already in their dreams. He swam in the cool water, His muscles shimmering in the moonlight. He was waiting for the Goddess.
The faceless woman who spent her days at the library watched him with lust and disdain from her place at the river bank. Her ill-fitting clothes were piled in the grass with her glasses carefully laid on top. She let the moonlight bathe her tiny gymnast's body as she took her hair down. He couldn't see her. No man ever saw her, except on these nights. She decided to choose him. She crept to the water's edge and submerged her body. She dug her toes into the mud at the river bottom and waited.
He saw her enter the water and swam slowly to her. He could see the outlines of other shadows disrobing and entering the water farther down the banks, but He knew that they were alone. The only sounds were water and wind. He approached as her head emerged, long hair slicked back by the river. He didn't recognize the dark eyes, though He had seen them hundreds of times. They stared into His own, holding His gaze as if magnetized. Was He swimming, or was He being pulled? He felt strange and confused.
He put His arms around her, grabbing the bank. She didn't back away, but she didn't pull Him towards her hungrily like all the others. He started to kiss her neck, but she grabbed the back of His hair and pulled him away. She stared into His eyes and then leaned in to kiss His mouth. They kissed slowly. He moved down her neck and she put her leg around His. She could feel that she had made every part of him alive. His breath quickened.
The Goddess stood in a clearing across the river, her blond curls framing her ample breasts. She would let them worship, but they knew that she only came to the river for Him. Only He had enough of the kind of currency that mattered during the full moon. Her perfect, wealthy husband could never win a trophy like her on these nights. She waded into the water and licked her full lips. He would come to her.
She saw the Goddess over His shoulder. “She's here for you,” she said softly in His ear. He turned and saw the Goddess waiting for Him. He had been hoping that she would come. The Goddess belonged to Him alone, and everyone knew it. She was the greatest compliment He could pay Himself. “Better run along,” said the strange woman, grinning. She pushed His chest, and He backed away from her, turning towards the Goddess. This was against the rules. He had made His choice too soon, He thought. He started swimming towards His Goddess. He looked back. The stranger was still smiling.
The Goddess saw Him approaching and relaxed. He had come for her. But then He stopped swimming in the deep middle of the river. He was treading water, staring at her. She pretended not to notice. It was impolite to notice someone while they were admiring you. He stared for an eternity, and then suddenly turned and swam away, back to the dark bank from where He came. The Goddess looked down at her reflection in the water. It looked like a work of art.
The strange woman was waiting for Him. How did she know He would come back? She looked at Him as though he were an idiot child. Now it was He who was too hungry. He splashed towards her and kissed her angrily. She wrapped her legs around Him. He cupped her small breasts and kissed her neck. She laughed. He grabbed her firm body and entered her. She gasped and squeezed him with her legs. He wanted her to think that He was imagining the Goddess and merely doing her a favor, but He was not. He was not imagining anything. He was gone. There was only an animal, a predator, left. He was ready to release when she pulled back and stared into His desperate eyes. He was no predator. She moved her hips, shut her eyes and gave His release permission with her own. He clutched her desperately and cried out into the silence.
She pushed him away and pulled Herself up onto the bank. Without a word, She put on her glasses and Her clothes and walked away. He stared into the darkness.