Prologue
The three fates sat in their loom and inspected the great tapestry before them.
Each person’s life was represented by a thread. That thread was interwoven with so many other threads and these are people that we encounter in our lives. Mortals’ lives were represented by threads of various colors.
The gods’ immortal lives were composed of glowing threads of a more vibrant color.
The Fates had their eyes on two particular pieces of glowing threads which were intertwined. One was an electric blue color and the other one was a pale crimson. These two belonged to Zeus and Hera, the King and Queen of the Gods.
The two colors complemented each other very well. Their owners also did—but that was a long, long time ago. Once upon a time, Zeus fell for Hera. She was the most beautiful and she had passion that equaled no other. When Zeus was crowned King of the Gods, he made Hera his queen.
But along the way, his attentions got riveted by other beauties: goddesses, nymphs, mortal queens and princesses, mortal commoners, actresses, singers, models, etc! The Fates knew that Zeus’ attention can be grabbed by anyone wearing a skirt who is beautiful enough.
Now, the once passionate Hera turned vindictive and jealous. She was the goddess of marriage but ironically enough, she was also the woman most scorned in all of history.
Well, it was past time to change things.
The Three Fates looked at each other and smiled. Then, they set to work.
“Once woven together, threads of Fated people should not be tangled,” Clotho remarked.
“Yes. And these two have a lot of tangles and knots. The blue one is connected to so many other threads that his connection to the crimson one is fading,” Atropos agreed with a sigh.
Lachesis leaned back against her chair and ran her fingers across the knots. Interwoven threads are beautiful. It signified the bonds of soul mates, of those that were destined to be together and found each other.
It should not look like this.
“It’s time to intervene,” she told her sisters. The two others nodded.
“But what shall we do?” Clotho asked.
“I think we should untangle the two,” Atropos suggested. Her two sisters gasped.
“Once two fated threads are interwoven, we cannot remove them! It will hurt so much and they will feel as if a part of them is missing!” Lachesis gasped.
Atropos lifted her chin. “Maybe this is the only way. Maybe through this, our king will realize the error of his ways. For far too long, he has neglected what others would give their greatest treasures just to find: the love of his destined one.”
Clotho nodded. “I begin to see the wisdom in this. We will untangle their threads and that would get rid of the knots. Then we will let them find their own way back to one another. If they succeed, their colors will be brighter than ever and their ties stronger. Do I have it right, sister?” she asked.
“Yes. That is the plan.”
Still skeptical, Lachesis asked, “What if they fail?”
Atropos closed her eyes. “Then that will still be better. Look at what is happening to our queen. Her own light is fading. Before, she was the glorious one. Her beauty and grace outshone them all. But look at her now: jealous and insecure. And if Zeus is truly long gone and set in his ways, then they are truly better off without each other.”
Finally, Lachesis seemed to agree.
“This is true. Let us get started.”
The Three Fates placed their hands over their loom and their magic flared. They carefully separated the interwoven blue and crimson threads. They watched as its light flared and then faded. They knew it would cause immeasurable pain to the King and Queen of the Gods now that their fated bond is severed.
They couldn’t help but wince as they thought of experiencing that kind of pain.
“Now… They would just have to find their way back to one another amidst every challenge in the grand tapestry of life…”
