“What are you doing” The elegant lady simply ignored the prying gentleman and continued to hum a sweet melody. She thought for a moment, pulling multiple glowing vials and beakers from their shelves and placing them on the ancient table before her. “Aphrodite. Are you listening to me? What are you doing?” The beautiful Goddess turned to the brood shouldered man. “If you must know, Hermes, I’m making a soul. A human soul.” Aphrodite looked the world renowned messenger up and down then resumed her work. “That’s above you pay grade. You’re not supposed to do such a thing.” Fear roiled in Hermes gut, and a touch of anger. “Relax, I have a perfectly good couple in mind. They’ve been wanting a child for a while now.” Her eyes shined mischievously bright with her plan. “But if Phanes catches you, he’ll kill the child and you’ll be punished.” “Oh my dear Hermes you don’t have to worry about me —or this child—.” Her voice was like honey and her lips pulled up into a hidden smile. She knew Phanes, God of creation and life, wouldn’t harm the child or herself. She’d been worming her way into that ancient heart of his for the past 3 months in preparation for this very moment. If she were made to be undeniably enchanting —Goddess of love and all— she was going to use her feminine gift to her advantage. “Explain.” Hermes tapped his foot against the floor in a steady, inpatient rhythm. Aphrodite rolled her eyes but obliged to his request. “Do you remember the Daltons?” She walked over to her hanging tapestry and flicked it. Instantly the unnatural white screen showed a couple in a dusty, mold littered room. The apparent drunk man was up in the woman’s face. Tears streaked across her cheeks but she held her own, yelling right back. Quickly, Aphrodite went to mute out the noise. “That’s your great idea?! You’re risking all this for that couple? They’d be terrible parents! I mean look at them. They don’t even have a crying toddler and their relationship is already crashing!” Hermes eyes were wide, his breathing heavy. “Oh my dear Hermes, you’ve always had such a narrow mind. No matter. I’ll show you my intentions.” As Aphrodite spoke, the screen changed to show everything she described, as if she were giving a presentation. “Look across the street. In that lovely Victorian home, there’s a young, enchanting couple living there, the Peters. I feel their love for each other with every step I take, every breath of air that passes through my lungs. Sometimes their love is so strong it hurts.” Aphrodite sighed, almost jealous of how deeply their affections ran. “What do the Daltons have to do with any of this then?” Hermes questioned, admiring how passionately she spoke. Again Aphrodite sighed, but this time with annoyance. “Don’t you see? The lady of the house is baron. She cannot bear a child. As well as the love they posses, I also feel their terrible longing. For a babe of their own.” “I doubt the Daltons will be a willing candidate to bear their child.” Hermes pointed out, seeing the obvious error of her plan. Why would cruel people like the Daltons want to bear a child for the Peters. “That, my dear friend, is why I’m interfering. Have you forgotten my gift? The power of persuasion comes quite handy in peril times like these.” She wiggled her eyebrows at the handsome God and he chuckled at her coyness. “These vials… I’m making the Peters a perfect child. With their own reproductive cells. This baby will, in every biological way, be the Peters.” Aphrodite flicked the magical screen back off and continued pouring specific amounts of the strange liquid into a cauldron. She measured white, for purity, and yellow, for happiness, and poured them into the large cauldron. With each color, the child was given more personality, made more human by the second. The cauldron grew brighter and brighter, until it was unbearable for Hermes to even glance at it. “Aphrodite… that’s too much. I’ve seen the souls Phanes makes. They’re never that— much.” Hermes warned her, afraid that her plans would fall through, maybe become dangerous. “Hermes don’t be a worry wart. I want her to be special.” Aphrodite smiled to herself as she added the last of the soul juice, squinting at the bright, new soul herself. “Now. To put her into the host. I can’t wait to watch her grow.” The beautiful goddess switched the screen back on. This time, she reached into the cauldron and pulled out the substance formed in the blinding mass. It reminded Hermes of a small star. “Show me Mrs. Dalton.” Aphrodite said, confidence ringing through her every word. As soon as the image was trained on the woman, Aphrodite reached her hand up to the screen — then her hand slipped through it. Hermes watched in astonishment as Aphrodite placed the blast of light into the woman’s womb. When she finished the job, Aphrodite retracted her hand and pulled it back through the screen. The woman, still shown on the wall, turned slightly pale and put a hand to her abdomen. That was all Hermes saw before the goddess switched it off. “In 8 months and 22 days, a newly born baby girl will find its way onto the Peters’s doorstep. They deserve this child.” Aphrodite walked over to her old fashioned stove, like she didn’t just implant a fetus into an unknowing woman’s womb. “Tea?” The generous lady asked Hermes. He shook his head and smiled at her causalness, “You are something… else.” “I know.” The room lit alive with their light, joyous laughter.