Love is Blind, or is it!

Goddess! Please help me."

A soul in distress was calling her. She looked around closely, her myopic eyes squinting a little. All she could see were pink clouds. These mortals were great ones for making a mess of their lives with great regularity. Then the prayers for her, The Love Goddess, would start.

She knew the routine. She had helped many with her Advise and at time even with a little discreet magic. The Goddess had a heart full of compassion and eyes which couldn’t see much beyond her nose. In fact she was near blind and that’s what made her a great Love Goddess. She reluctantly put aside her wine, put on her jewel rimmed glasses and the heaven came in focus. Ugh! How she hated seeing things in focus! The pink fog which always swirled around her was so much more comforting.

She arranged her pink robes in an attractive pattern, patted her pink cotton candy hair into some order, and sat up straight on her throne of pink clouds. Pigeons, rabbits and other assorted animals frolicked around her. At her signal the angels struck up the band. She was rather a stickler for right ambiance. Then with her ring adorned fingers playing with her necklace of pink pearls, she waited.

She smiled at a young man approaching her and beckoned him to sit at her feet. He looked around in a confused manner and chose a comfortable looking cloud to sit on. Obviously his first visit to heavens.

The young man was still completely distracted by all the beauty and stared around with awestruck eyes. He had never believed a place such as this existed. The Goddess looked at him with a smile. She loved impressing the first time visitors.

Finally he looked at her benevolent face and his eyes filled with tears as he kissed the hem of her robes.

"Hush!" she whispered patting his head. "Things are never as bad as they look. Tell me all. Who is she? "

He gulped back his tears, and started spilling his tale of woes. As always, there was a girl, a girl who didn’t care. The Goddess suppressed a yawn. Such a familiar tale, and she had listened to all its variations. Why didn’t they try something new for a change? Like loving some one who Did care?

The young man was now trying to describe his love but words kept failing him. Finally, he said a little lamely, "You would understand if you ever saw her. She is as beautiful as a Goddess" but after catching her raised eye brows, he amended hastily, "well, almost….well not really, but she is awfully pretty".

He pointed down excitedly, "There she is, sitting in the garden."

Goddess looked down from the heavens at the view of an earthly garden, where a pretty damsel was sitting. No! There were two in fact. The Goddess thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, as they sometimes did when ever she forgot to wear her glasses. She removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. There were still two of them.

"They are sisters, twins in fact" The young man explained.

"And which one do you fancy?"

" The one on the left.... no, one on the right, with a basket in her hands."

She looked closely. They still looked alike to her. How can he tell them apart? But that was not her problem and she said briskly,

“Are you sure? Ok then. Young man, I have decided to help you. I will put my spell on the damsel of your choice, the left one did you say ? Okie-doke, here it goes"

She sprinkled the pollen of the flowers in her hand around her and blew at it gently. Slowly the pollen wafted towards the earth as directed by her magic. The youth went away gratefully, with his faith restored in love once again. With a deep sigh of satisfaction the goddess took off her glasses and went back to her wine, glad to have done the day's good deed

………………………………………………………………………………………….

"Goddess, ...." The youth was back.

"What now? Didn't the spell work? Why are you looking sad ?"

"Goddess, pardon my boldness but you have put spell on the wrong one, and now she is following me around where ever I go".

"Wrong one ? Are you saying I put a wrong spell? I am the Goddess, and Goddesses don’t do wrong spells. And anyway, that shouldn't really matter. You said, they are identical twins." Mortals were rather silly most of the times.

" Errr......but Goddess, I love the Other one! I would rather have that one, if you don’t mind".

"LOVE ! What do You know about love! I am the Love Goddess and I am telling you that I have chosen most wisely for you. Now GO, and live happily ever after!"

She said in her most haughty manner, but he refused to be dismissed.

The Goddess was getting rather tired of this whole business and was heartily regretting ever volunteering as a love Goddess in the first place. The Man just stood there with a mutinous look on his face.

"Ok ok, so may be I aimed wrong. My eyes you know. But tell me, what’s your problem with the other one? Is she ugly? Bad tempered? Ill mannered? She is identical to the one you love, but far better in temperament."

"But... what about my love for the first one?" The man gathered courage to ask.

“Love ? What love? Have you even talked to her? Wooed her? Do you know what she likes? Doesn’t like? "

“ Oh No! I never dared to. She doesn’t talk to any guys. I just lay flowers on her path and hide. She is so much above me. Like a Goddess!" he saw the look on her face again and went silent.

The Goddess rolled her eyes, will these mortals never learn?

"Young man, listen to me. I have given you a damsel, who is beautiful, and loving- thanks to my magic, and well mannered. Don't crave the other one. She will make you miserable"

The Goddess tried to persuade him for a long time. Showed him how the damsel of his choice would make him unhappy through her disdain, and uncaring heart. It’s much wiser to accept one who loves him already. But the young man didn’t look convinced. He stood there looking sulky.

The Goddess’s eyes flashed orange flash of lightning in deep irritation, as she boomed in her deep Goddess voice which she saved for just such occasions.

"Foolish Man! My magic once done can not be undone. Now Go Away". Even Love Goddesses have their bad days. Today looked like one of those.

The man moved away, dragging his feet, looking utterly dejected.

The Goddess looked at him worriedly. Will she ever understand mortals and this thing they call LOVE? What makes a man choose one woman and spurn another one identical to her? Why this one and not that one? Is it their aura, which only they can feel? Is it some kind of a magnetic pull or a magical thread which ties them together? Will separating them disturb some divine game plan? She knew she couldn't really change his destiny. His life will be shaped by the deeds he will do, the choices he will make. All she could do was to add a little romance, a little spark, a few memorable moments to his otherwise drab life. It isn't easy being a mortal. Why not let him have his heart's desire? He will live long enough to rue it anyway, which ever girl he chose. But maybe, just maybe, they will actually achieve what mortals look at as ‘Happiness’. Her divine mind couldn’t understand such eventualities.

"Hey! Come back" The man looked back, hope mingled with tears in his eyes.

"Take this. Share this wine with the one you love. Then all will be rectified and you will get the one you want. Just choose wisely. Now Go!"

The youth eagerly took the vial reverently and rushed away.

Her bosom swelled with tenderness as she watched him go. She loved being a Love Goddess, even though she didn’t understand the first thing about it.

Then removing her glasses, took a sip of her wine, and murmured,
"Mortals!", she went back to her deep contemplation of fuzzy pink clouds.