A Conversation between Friends

naughty or nice

A Conversation between Friends (698 words) (minor language warning)

 

Lachesis chuckled as Chronos laid a wet kiss on her hand.  “I only bring you the ones on your damned naughty list,” Lachesis said, “It always amazes me how creative you are on your methods of torment. They’re deliciously malevolent, but I fear for poor Simon. If you leave him too long in that time loop of yours, he’ll go mad. His fate has been decreed, my sisters and I will not tolerate any deviations from his ultimate fate. His being mad will not only upset his outcome but that of countless others as well. I’ll allow you to send him to the brink of madness, but that is as far as I’ll let it go.”

 

Chronos let out a hearty “Ho! Ho! Ho!”  He was bemused by the implied threat in Lachesis’s words, “Have no fear my dear child of the Night, I have no intention of sending him into the precipice of chaos. I only mean to toy with him until he understands what the meaning of Christmas, truly is. Yuletide cheer is not about indiscriminate partying, it’s about spending time with family, and enjoying hearth and home. It seems he’d rather spend it in a bar getting drunk with friends than reconciling with his mother-in law and accepting her into his heart. He was always a shallow lad and now it’s time to put some meat on his bones. After a hundred or so party cycles, I’ll pull him out of that supernatural Christmas bar-fest; hopefully he’ll see the error of his ways, and by doing so, open his heart to love.”

 

“My, my,” whispered Lachesis, still disguised as a lovely and voluptuous bar maiden, “I believe your Santa Claus and Krampus personas are getting the best of you. You care for mortals now much more than you did in the past. You only cared about the flow of time, but now you seem to care about the mortals that swim in it. You’ve become quite involved in the affairs of Man. Don’t get me wrong, I think that’s a good thing. Man’s fates become richer with your involvement. Our weaves have become much more colorful of late.”

 

“Thank you, my dear,” cackled Chronos, “You were always my favorite Fate, not as impetuous as your younger sister, Clotho, or dour like the oldest, Atropos. You see things with a keen eye and appreciate life’s turning tides. We work well together. Ah! Here comes Simon to thank me, for the near hundredth time, for letting him relive the party. He’s almost ready to be plucked out, but not yet. He still sees me as Krampus, in my toothless and spooky splendor.”

 

……………

 

Simon was sick and tired of this endless party. He couldn’t imagine why he ever enjoyed it. It seemed that he was here forever. Anything would be better than this. He wished he was with his family. He even realized that his mother-in-law wasn’t as bad as he made her out to be. He swore if he ever got out of this that he would change. He would embrace his family rather than distance himself from them.  

 

 Everything here was always the same; he was powerless to change anything. The only thing that changed was the appearance of the old devil that granted his foolish wish. The last few times when he went to thank him for the party, his appearance slightly changed. The last time was the biggest change.  His beard seemed fuller and he now had a full set of hair. He also had teeth. The son of a b***h looked like Santa Claus.

 

……………

 

“It’s done!” said Chronos. “The lad is now off my naughty list. Here he comes with wonder in his eyes. The Yuletide spirit is now in his heart. The coal in his stocking will now turn to diamonds.”

 

Lachesis jumped over the bar and gave Chronos one juicy kiss on the lips with a little bit of tongue. They both laughed and hugged each other tight, and everyone who was still in the bar screamed with delight as they disappeared back again into the Netherlands from whence they came…

 

 

 

The End