Live, Die, Repeat

Chapter 2

The ground was soft under the heavy grass, and I lay back and plucked idly at the lyre in my lap. I sighed deeply and then started singing a simple lullaby that my mother used to sing me to sleep with, and it brought a smile to my face as I sang softly as though she were there with me. I'm sure the goats appreciated it as well.

I'd been out with the goats for a few days already, and wouldn't be home for several weeks, so that they could get the good grass up in the hills. It wasn't too bad of a life, and I was used to the company of the goats and the solitude. This was the life my family had for generations, and I'm sure that once I found a bride my children would be up in these same hills, just like I was now. When the lullaby was over, I shifted to a folk song that we would sing down in the village, it was a simple melody, but it was always pleasant to sing along to.

"You have a lovely voice. Will you please sing another?"

My eyes flashed open and I sat up gasping in shock. A woman sat on the other side of the fire, watching me. A soft smile was on her face, and her eyes seemed to be glowing, though I'm sure it was the reflection of the fire. Eyes don't do that, right? She stood up and shook her head, her dark hair fanning out to frame her face as she approached.

"Please? One more?"

I couldn't speak, how could I sing? "Who? Who are you?" I finally was able to gasp.

"My name in Inanna. Now, could you please play one more?"

I stood and stared, knowing I was being rude and unable to process what was happening. I'd seen pretty girls in the village. I even thought about which ones my parents might think would be suitable to marry, but this woman was a beauty beyond anything I could even begin to imagine. She was slim, but with curves that seemed impossibly perfect, and her eyes seemed to capture mine and never let go. She was like a bird of prey, and I was the meal.

My finger finally moved, and a string was plucked. The single chord sang out, and she smiled. The smile melted me, and I knew if I kept playing it would stay on her face, so my fingers picked up the melody, and my voice finally joined in after I was able to settle my nerves. It didn't help that she started to dance around the campfire as I played, and my eyes followed her every move as she did. Her hips moved in time to the lyre, and her arms were raised above her, graceful as the necks of a pair of swans. I was utterly entranced. She could walk away with the entire flock of goats and I'd just watch her.

The last notes of the song died away, and she walked around the fire back to me. She knelt on the ground beside me and took my hand in hers. "You have very skilled hands for a goat herder," she whispered, examining it as she raised it to her mouth and kissed it. "Perhaps you could put them to other uses?" She took my hand and placed it upon her breast, then leaned down to kiss me. The next three nights were the most magical of my life. But then, I was dead.

As I drove around the town, I saw several Christmas trees at the curb, and it dawned on me that I had spent the holiday as a damned squirrel. I should have remembered, having died in Spain on Christmas Eve, but when you're running around collecting nuts and dodging cars in the street, that kind of thing tends to slip your mind.

It didn't really bother me too much; I mean I spent the majority of the years of my life with no inkling of the day called Christmas. There were a lot more festivals around the winter solstice, and some of them had similar traditions, so I just rolled with it. I mean, I wasn't one to scoff at the idea of a god, though since I had met three of them, I knew limiting it to one was a little short sighted. Still, I would decorate a bit, and I loved carolers, and I missed that this year.