“Um, hello, ma- uh… Kyr Elkay…”
“Hello, Litvir, please, come in!”
For reasons Elkay couldn’t quite work out, Litvir seemed somewhat uneasy today, as they entered Elkay’s office. Elkay noticed that Litvir was clutching their gun-staff very tightly, and there were specks of gold blood all over them.
Litvir glanced around, then did as they were told. Elkay returned to his desk, and Litvir sat on the small stool on the other side.
“Why am I here?” Litvir asked. “Have I done something wrong?”
Elkay shook his head. “No, no! You’ve been a very good kid. So good, in fact, that we’ve decided to reward you!”
“Reward? Me?”
“Indeed. You’ve been working so very hard. Literally your entire life. But we are coming up to your 6th month anniversary, and Dalosisaar suggested that we treat you a little bit. After all, the rest of us got to be children, but you have always been as you are, working hard, every single day.”
Litvir half-heartedly shrugged. “It is my job. Was born to protect. So that is what I do.”
“Yes, you were made by Epani to protect the universe, but at the same time, we don’t want you working your way into an early grave.”
“We are immortal though? Or something?” Litvir was still clearly confused. “I need to do my job. It is my duty.”
“You can’t do your duty all the time. Everyone takes breaks. Even Epani and Kairos take breaks. But because you are so… locked in to your duties, you don’t really know when to say “I need a break” and actually make time for yourself.”
“So you are telling me?”
Elkay nodded. “Indeed. You’re going to have a bit of a holiday.”
“But…” Litvir hesitated. “But… I… I have school. I cannot take time off school!”
“Yes, I know. Because of your educational needs, we’re setting a few things up. The first thing is that you will go to school as usual. But we will make it so you don’t need to leave for any reason. So you can go to that Thursday after-school art class you’ve wanted to go to for ages.”
Litvir smiled. “Really? I can do art class?”
“Yep! Not just art class, but you can also join the sports lessons on Tuesday and the cooking class on Wednesday too.” Elkay smiled back. “We do have a bit of a plan for you, but for the next couple of days, outside of school, you won’t have any work at all, and you can relax at the Junior Stratos grounds and do any extra fun school things if you want. The weekend though is all up to you. We can either arrange for you to do something you like, or I can call the High Advisor and ask them if you can stay with them for the weekend. The week after, each of us fellow Spirits will take it in turns to take you to nice places. You’ll get to experience some nice, cultural traditions and have a bit of fun learning new things. And the weekend after that, you can do whatever you want.”
Litvir smiled some more, but then suddenly paused. “What about my work though? Two weeks is a very long time!”
Elkay blinked. Two weeks isn’t very long at all.”
“Yes it is! It is half a month! I cannot take two weeks off work!”
Elkay blinked some more, then fell silent. “Oh. Alright. I can see why you’d think two weeks is a long time. You’ve only been alive for 24 weeks. This makes you see time scales differently, because you haven’t been alive long enough to properly see time the same way we all do.”
“So… two weeks… is not long?”
“No, not at all. The rest of us will cover for you over the two weeks.”
Litvir settled down a bit. “Oh. Will you do this for Kohra too?”
“Oh, yes, of course. Dalosisaar wants everyone to have some time off, but he suggested that you take time off first, because you’re the youngest.”
“I… feel like that is not the only reason…” Litvir muttered. “Oh. I did the mind thing again.”
Elkay shrugged. “It’s alright, you can’t help it. But yes, you are right. Dalosisaar has been worrying a lot about you. In his own words, you have worked every day of your life almost. You need to experience some freedom, you need a chance to relax, and Dalosisaar doesn’t want you snapping under pressure, or hurting yourself because you are too stressed.”
“You are giving me a special treatment though…” Litvir frowned. “I do not want to be special. I just want to finish my school and go back to my duties.”
“Litvir, darling, you don’t have much choice here. You’re a god. You’ll always be special. But you also, well, just don’t understand these things.”
“You are calling me stupid baby. I know I am stupid baby.”
“No, no, not at all!” Elkay could tell Litvir was getting more annoyed than anything else. “You’re not stupid. You’re just a baby.”
“Yes, I AM stupid baby, and everyone treats me differently!” Litvir stood up, leaning over Elkay. “It feels bad! It IS bad! And I HATE it!”
Elkay remained calm, looking up at Litvir. He didn’t say anything though. He didn’t need to. Litvir took a couple of deep breaths, then sat back down.
“I am sorry. I am not just a stupid baby. I am an angry baby too. Bad baby. Should not be angry. Very bad.”
“You are stressed. You have worked almost every day of your life. And if you don’t take regular breaks, you get sad and angry,” Elkay explained. “Yes, we are deities, beings with a lot of power, but we are not perfect, and we need time to sit down, calm down and do things for ourselves. You don’t know how to do this though, because, frankly, you’ve barely had the time to. Dalosisaar is absolutely right in insisting that you take a break, because getting upset and angry, and working all the time, none of that is good for you.”
Litvir sighed to themselves, then wiped their eyes. “I… I do not like being alive… It is very hard…”
Elkay got up and made his way to Litvir’s side, giving them a hug. “This is all very new and confusing for you. But that is why we want you to take this time off. So you can experience the universe and get to see all the things you have been diligently protecting. To give yourself a reason to live, outside of your godly servitude.”
“I… I guess…” Litvir sniffed, then hugged Elkay back. “I am sorry, mama. I did not mean to get angry.”
“It’s fine, little one. I forgive you. Now, Litvir, go back home, and have a good sleep. Spend a few days being an actual kid. Alright?”
Litvir nodded. “Yes. I will.”
Elkay smiled, then patted Litvir on the shoulder. “Good kid. Go on. Get some rest. You deserve it.”
Litvir sighed, then got up and left the office. Once they were gone, Elkay picked up his communicator and called someone.
“Hey, Aster?”
“Hi, Elkay, is something wrong?”
“Somewhat. Litvir is upset. Do you mind keeping an eye on them for a bit?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you. Have a good day, Aster.”
“Same to you too, Elkay.”