How do you explain something that words cannot truly do justice to? How do you get your wits about yourself to even begin to adjust to the fact that you have stepped into a completely different world? I was like a child attending a theme park for the first time. I was overwhelmed by the wonder of the hotel, and for all my training on composure and etiquette, I could barely keep my mouth closed. Everything kept amazing me in ways I never knew I could be amazed.
Ayoki and I, led by Hio, walked the halls of the hotel, passing several interesting sights. I had seen a centaur, a creature with the upper body of a man and the lower of a horse, a giant with only a large eye, nose, and mouth on his face, a few forest nymphs that slightly towered over me, and a fairy that seemed to take a liking to Ayoki. It was almost like stepping into a fantasy storybook and experiencing all its wonders.
"Ayoki, this is...." I stared at a half-man, half-goat creature playing a flute. "This is insane." I was pretty sure that I was smiling, and it must have been a long smile because I felt my cheeks hurt.
"I told you it was amazing." He looked just as amazed as I was, and he had been here a few times before. I wondered how much of his mind was blown away when he arrived here the first time.
"That's a wild understatement, husband."
"The wildest," he said, intertwining his fingers in mine and smiling at me. "Lucky, aren't we?"
"The luckiest," and I meant it.
Our tour was cut short by the appearance of a being that took my breath away, not in the type of way that I would have wanted. It was a man, fierce and obviously strong, dressed in typical African warrior attire. He was so huge that we almost strained our necks looking up at him. His aura was a truly intimidating one, and I found myself reflexively bowing to him. It wasn't surprising to see Ayoki and Hio following suit. There was no doubt in my mind that this had to be a god.
"Osin Imole. Ogun, spirit of strength and iron, I salute you." Ayoki offered praise to the being standing before us, and I kept my head low, hoping that it was enough to keep him from killing us where we stood. Nothing was uttered for a short moment, then a loud laugh surrounded us. I didn't know if he was pleased or if he was just mocking us before he squashed Ayoki and me.
"You may lift your heads" We promptly obeyed the instruction, and I noticed the god Ogun had reduced in height, now only slightly taller than Ayoki. "Ayoki Zenin and his lovely wife Azul." He threw me a smile that seemed to linger a little too long. "You look just like her.""Who do I look like?"
"Your great-grandmother. Her name was Azul as well, but I'm sure you already knew that."
This was an interesting discovery. "You knew Azul senior?"He nodded. "We were very good friends, and I was with her when she passed."Perhaps I only imagined it, but I was sure that I saw his eyes grow misty.
"I'm sure my great-grandmother was lucky to have a friend like you." I didn't know whether to address him as'sir' or another title befitting a god.
He offered me a curt nod and turned his attention to Ayoki. "I hear you are of the Zenin clan.""Yes, I am."Ogun frowned and looked my husband up and down. "I've never liked most people from that part. A little arrogant for my liking."
"You should have met him as a child; you would have turned him into a spear." Ogun's expression lightened up, and we both shared a laugh before I added, "But I assure you, my lord, he's not like the ones that came before him. You will find a friend in him—in both of us."
"I look forward to that." The god of iron gave Ayoki's shoulder a light tap and walked away without another word but with a small grin on his face.
"A job well done, Madam Zenin," Hio applauded. "You seem to be a perfect fit for this role."
"Thank you, Hio."
"That was impressive, wife. Perhaps you should have ventured into politics," Ayoki added.
"And have your uncle as a rival? No, thank you." Ogun wasn't wrong when he labeled the Zenin clan as an arrogant bunch, and the one thing their pride didn't let them take too well was rivalry.
"May we continue with the tour?" Hio asked. "We have so much to see in so little time."
I let Ayoki, in his usual manner, hold my hand, and we kept following our tour guide. We had gone through several levels of the hotel, each one more breath-taking than the last. It was hard to believe that we were not in heaven. This was the first time I had seen pheonixes, dragons, unicorns, and animals that I thought only existed in myths, but the more time I spent in this place, the more shocked I became at the things I beheld.
"Husband, I just saw a unicorn"
He chuckled, "A healthy one, for that matter. But be careful around them. I heard they impale people with their horns."I never pegged unicorns as dangerous creatures, and that information about impaling people worried me a lot. I made a mental note to avoid trying to pet them.
Hio led us via an elevator that looked like a cloud to the top floor, where our offices were. I realize I said that each level of the hotel was a wonder to behold, but believe me when I tell you that they all failed to compare to this part of the hotel. The floor was made of a transparent golden color that seemed to hold your gaze the longer you looked at it.
The pillars and doors were made from what I suspected to be yellow diamonds; the music was so beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes, and for the first time in my entire life, I didn't feel good enough. One look at the place had me thinking that I wasn't worthy of standing in a place this intensely beautiful, not to mention managing it. Whichever gods built this were in a league of their own.
I was awestruck and i'm sure Ayoki was as well. We couldn't bring ourselves to move any further; this was way too much for humans to behold.
"Master and Madam Zenin?" Hio turned to us when he noticed we weren't walking alongside him any longer. "Is there a problem?"
"Who built this place, Hio?" I ran my hand across a flower, and I heard it giggle. Did I just tickle a flower? Did it just laugh?
That information is something that is hidden from me. I apologize."
We weren't even upset at that, but it would have been nice to know who created a place this gorgeous. Ayoki tapped one of the pillars and shook his head in wonder.
"Think of how many more hotels like this exist around the world, Azul." I didn't want to think about it; my brain could not handle it any more.
"It might interest you to know that even as we speak, more hotels are being built in other parts of the world."
"Why so many hotels, Hio?" Ayoki inquired, as we had finally gathered ourselves enough to keep walking with the golden man.
"Most gods are very strict about what other gods and creatures venture into their territory, and most times, gods have business in these territories.""So these hotels are supposed to be an avenue for other gods to cross into the territories of other gods?"
"As long as they are on their best behavior, yes."
A thought crossed my mind, and I decided to ask. "Are there any creatures that aren't allowed into the hotels?"
"Demons are banned from all hotels now and forever."
"Is there a particular reason they are banned?"
"Yes"
"And what would that be?"
"Because they're demons and their reputation precedes them."
Ayoki and I shrugged; it sounded fair enough. It would seem humans were not the only ones who were weary of demonic entities.
"If you would come with me, I have to show you to your office, Madam Zenin."
Excitement coarsened through my body upon hearing this. I wondered what my office was going to look like; my imagination ran wild, and for very good reason.
"My goodness, honey, did you hear that?" I grabbed his shirt and tugged on it like an excited schoolgirl. "I'm going to have my own office. I bet the furniture is made out of rubies or maybe diamonds".
"I can't wait to see it as well, my love."
"In that case, let's be on our way."
Hio led Ayoki and me to a large door and pushed it open. It looked like a regular office, only large enough to host over sixty people, and was designed by what I suspect was an angel. The room was elegant and yet simple at the same time. It wasn't as mind-blowing as the rest of the hotel, but it looked exactly like the kind of office that I would have liked. It felt very Azul.
I walked around the office, looking through the bookshelf that contained books that I loved to read when I was much younger. The office had paintings of my favorite artists hung on the wall and an old jazz tune my parents used to dance to playing in the background. The colors gave it a calming aura that was deliberately done to ease the stress that came with the job. But it was hard to imagine being stressed in an environment this lavish.
Ayoki was right; I was going to end up liking this place a lot more than he was.
"Are you satisfied with the room, Madam Zenin? Your mother mentioned some things that she thought you might like."
"Mother did that?" I looked around the office and realized for the first time that, despite always having to work, my mother actually did pay attention enough to know some core things about me. "She did good. Send her flowers for me, would you? Daises and roses would be nice.""Of course, Madam Zenin," he bowed lightly. "Would there be anything else?"
"No Hio. Thank you"
"Wait a minute. What about my office?" Ayoki asked.
"Oh, you won't be having an office of your own, Master Zenin." I was pretty sure that I heard Ayoki's heart break when Hio broke this news to him. "As is usually done, your wife will be in charge of running the hotel, and you will mainly be attending meetings with several gods and heads of other hotels."
"Oh," Ayoki sounded highly disappointed, and understandably so.
"If it's any consolation, master Zenin, you will mostly be in the company of gods and goddesses, traveling around the world and other dimensions. And if you ever get too lonely..." he gestured to me. "You could always invite Madam along with you, but her place will mostly be here."
That didn't seem to be much consolation to Ayoki, but he decided to suck it up and let it be.
"Thank you very much for that gut-wrenching disappointment, Hio."
Hio bowed. "I shall leave you two to get settled in, and if you ever need me, all you need to do is call my name three times, and I'll appear."
I found that concept hilarious. "Oh, just like bloody Mary?"
"Yes, madam Zenin. Exactly like bloody Mary."
"Only bloody Mary doesn't exist. She's a myth."
"So was Lord Ogun until you bowed to him not too long ago."
Usually I would have something ready to say to him, but he was right, and now that there was nothing left for him to say or do, he bowed once again and exited the room, leaving Ayoki and me to ourselves.
"Wow, he really shut you up, didn't he?"
I slapped his arm lightheartedly, and we both shared a laugh. "You're just jealous because I have my own office and you don't."
"That's not entirely wrong, but I am happy for you, my love." He snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him. "Yes, I am not pleased with not having my own office, but maybe Hio is right. Maybe hanging around gods will be fun."
"Are you sure? I was scared when we bumped into Ogun earlier. He's terrifying"
"And yet you handled him like a true Zenin."
"That I did."
"Do you really think that you can do this? You weren't too thrilled about this whole hotel situation earlier."
"That was until I realized it was coated in gold and saw actual fairies," I let out an excited laugh. "And take a look at this office, my love. It's amazing! No wonder our families are so rich; this whole place is covered in rare gems."
He kissed me "It is amazing, as are you, Azul. But really, can you really handle all this?"
"Yes. As long as you're here, I can handle it. So tell me,Will you always be here?"
"When I'm not traveling through unknown dimensions, yes."
"Will you leave me for some beautiful demi-goddess?"
"Leaving a goddess for a demi-goddess sounds like a huge step down, wouldn't you agree?"
"And the house you promised me?"
"Paid for in full and currently undergoing renovation."
"I love you, Mr. Ayoki Zenin."
"I love you too, Mrs. Azul Zenin."
We shared another kiss, and I knew in that moment that as long as I had my husband by my side, everything was going to be just right.