Page 1 of Mr. Mistletoe
Prologue
Baldr
“Father,”I say to the god known as Odin, but to me, he’s my father. That’s all I know him as. “These dreams I’ve told you about… They trouble me. They worry me. Something is going to happen to me; I can feel the great misfortune in my bones.”
My father looks at me. He shakes his head. “You mustn’t worry, son. Many love you. Who here hates what you are, what you represent? Worry not, I will embark on a quest to the underworld to seek an answer for these dreams. You are one of the most beloved gods in Asgard; no harm shall come to you.”
“Yes, father,” I answer him, but it doesn’t take the worry away.
Instead, the worry increases triple-fold. Being one of the most beloved means nothing if I’m dead. Not only that but what I represent: goodness, innocence and forgiveness...how can that be something that the people believe in if I perish? What will the people do?
* * *
The arrow piercesme and there are no words that I can even deliver. There’s nothing that I can even say about what just happened to me. There shouldn’t be anyone who can do this to me because my mother, Frigg, gave everything she could. I became invincible and even more beloved by everyone in Asgard. Loki discovered my weakness, though, something I’ve never told a single soul. My mother asked almost everything that existed to promise not to harm me except the mistletoe. She forgot about that. She thought of it as a weak thing, too small and innocent to hurt me.
I was a fool to tell everyone at this party to throw a damned sharp object at me. I can admit when I’ve become too ignorant even to comprehend the situation that lies ahead. I should’ve known that just because I became invincible, it didn’t mean my misfortune went away; That the nightmares that plagued me were gone once and for all. Loki set me up well with my blind brother, Hod. No one believed that he could shoot an arrow right at me but he did. Hod didn’t just throw any kind of arrow at me. It was an arrow made of mistletoe—my weakness. So, there, that night, I faced my death, something that should’ve never happened to me. I am the god of forgiveness, but how can I forgive Loki for doing this to me? How do I let go?
I know where I am. I know who I’m sitting by in the underworld. I’m sitting with the death-goddess, Hel. I watch as Hermod tries to ransom or instead negotiate with Hel to let me go. Hermod is looking at me. I know how I appear because that’s how I feel. Very distraught. I should be proud, honored even that I’m sitting in the seat of honor by Hel. Hermod tries to convince Hel to let me go by telling her how much the people mourn my death. Hel gives him an opportunity letting him know that she’ll release me if everyone weeps for me, but there’s misfortune when one old hag refuses to cry for me. I shake my head remaining distraught sitting right next to Hel. My life was meaningless; there was no love or living. How could I get carried away with nothing? How was I the god of happiness when I’ve never been happy?
Dear Baldr, you won’t be dead forever. Your death signaled the beginning of the events that led to Ragnarok. Your resurrection will signal the end of Ragnarok and the beginning of the new world. Be prepared because you will return to the land of the living. You will bless the earth and its inhabitants. With your return, you will bring light, happiness, and hope to fill the new world.
Awake Baldr. Shine your light on all to see. It is time for your happiness now. Spread your joy. Pour hope and the show that love isn’t dead. That there is more to life than just living. There’s love.
Deacon
“Baldr...Baldr...It’s time…” I hear a whisper in my ear. I wake up confused as ever.
I get out of bed stumbling for a second, and then it’s like a flood of memory explodes in my head. I scream for a second as each memory I’ve ever forgotten comes to the forefront. These aren’t memories of this life but another. I know who I am and what’s going to happen even before the memory hits me. This time, I hit the ground screaming in agonizing pain, remembering how much the mistletoe that my brother, Hod, shot me with burned me from the inside out. The scorching pain that I felt then takes hold of me right now and I’m grateful that no one is here. That I’m alone because the anger and madness seem to take over.
“Loki!” I yell out. I breathe through the pain and summon him again. “LOKI!”
Loki appears but not as himself. Instead, he looks like the one depicted in the Marvel movies. Shifty motherfucker. “Hello,” he greets me. “What do they call you now? Deacon?”
I stare at him, ready to lose my shit. “Look normal, asshole!” I grit through my teeth as he shifts back to his usual self and the anger takes over. It’s a blinding rage that’s taken over and I want to knock his head clean off his shoulders. We circle each other because he’s picking up on what the fuck I want to do. Loki slips into that shifty ass grin that everyone knows spells trouble.
“What do you want,Deacon?” There’s pure mockery in his voice.
I should just pull his intestines out but I reign it in. Something in me gets the better of me. Kimberly. I can’t be that guy. It’s not me. It’s not me anymore but I snap anyway. “You know what I want!”
Loki still has that smug look on his face, “Dude, no need to yell. You really need to let go of the past.”
I don’t think twice as I punch Loki. Naturally, I can hold back and act like a decent god but not right now. Right now, I am pissed off, and I need to exorcise it somehow. Loki looks at me. He smiles as he wipes the blood off his lip. “Feel better? Look on the bright side, I cured your little...allergy.”
“I’ll kill you!” I growl inches from his face. I don’t even remember pushing him against the wall.
I can tell that he’s stronger than me right now, especially since he’s been here the whole time. It’s going to take me a bit to figure it all out again and reign it all in. He taps my hand, wanting me to release him. “Cut it out and use the mortal side of your brain,” he says. I look at him like a fucking idiot. What does that even mean? “We don’t want the attention of the big guy, so I’ll go first. I’m sorry for the past but this is a different life. Go fall in love.”
Love… The moment he says that Kimberly’s face and smile pop up in my head. I miss her. “I’m already in love,” I confess. I’m confused as to why I would even share this with him. It’s not his business at all.
“Good.” He sounds like he’s encouraging me. Who the hell is this god and what happened to Loki? “Now make sure she feels the same way. Trust me, these humans are different.”
I laugh mirthlessly. “Trust you?” As if I would ever fucking do that again. Why would that even ever happen? He’s the reason I fucking died.
Loki shrugs, “Or learn the hard way. Either way, welcome to earth, Mr. Mistletoe.” he says.
I roll my eyes. “I don’t need your welcome, nor do I need to know if she feels the same way. She does. She always will,” I say with finality.
Loki looks at me. He says nothing at all, he just looks at me and as if understanding. He nods and disappears.
