The two beings sat where the author left them last, surrounded by the various colors of the crowded foliage and gazing into the limpid water of the lake facing them.
Nalé had taken several more moments to grasp the basics of her newly received responsibilities and magic, whilst the God sat silently by her side, taking this moment as a rare prize.
They didn't get to have these peaceful moments very often, managing the universes and all.
Meanwhile, the woman sitting next to her pondered the implications of her new responsibilities.
Responsibilities were nothing new to her, she's had them all her life. From taking care of her sister when her parents had failed to. All the way to managing her team in the company she had last worked at.
Her eyes teared up at the memories she'd tried to avoid ever since coming to this world.
Her sister, she'd left her alone. Of course, she could take care of herself , but would she try to? Grief ate away at people, made them weak and susceptible to the negative thoughts that could usually be demitted on a regular basis.
They'd both had a slew of traumatic accidents happen throughout their life and her sister's death certainly wouldn't help her recover from those.
And her friend, lovely Moria, the only person she had allowed herself to get close to in that life, had passed.
She remembered the seeing the lights leaving her eyes after that first shot, the shock and fear she'd felt. But also the loss she'd been feeling since then.
Tears were flowing freely down her face now, the clear liquid staining her cheeks much like the absence of her sister, and friend had stained her heart.
She whimpered, turning her back to God, grasping at the moist earth beneath her palms.
"Could I- Could I ever go back?" she whispered softly, trembling yet still hopeful at the answer she'd wish to receive.
"No." The God had said with a finality that hit her like a ton of bricks.
And so the dam had burst.
The fear, hurt, guilt and other emotions she had been staving off all this time had come rushing forward and she'd succumbed.
And she'd sobbed out in the open, for the first time in her life.
She sobbed for the life that had been forcibly taken away from her. For her sister, and her friend.
Meanwhile, the God gazed upon their creation, silently watching as she wept and mourned.
Then they lifted their hand and gently placed it on the woman's cheek, wiping some of her tears away with a touch so gentle it could've rivaled a feather's fall.
"She'll make do with the love you left behind. You made sure she grew up with love, and though at times there were things that hurt her that you couldn't fix, you gave her comfort. And for all of those moments , all that love has accumulated. She will grasp at it, she will remember you like that. And though she is hurt now, she will heal eventually with the love you gave her."
The God poured southing energy into the hand touching the woman, and the woman sagged against the touch, falling into a peaceful sleep.
It was the first time God had comforted one of their creations personally.
I wonder if she'd mind me visiting her more often, they thought.
For the first time, the God had felt something akin to friendship toward this human woman.
She wanted a little more of that feeling.