Double Trouble

When she was created she was given the gift of curiosity. Her beauty was impeccable and her figure was flawless. She was the visual and physical perfection of a woman. Created by the god Zeus, he named her Pandora which means “gift to all”. She was designed to be the wife of Epimetheus, the creator of mankind.

Locked inside the box, something was hidden.

To open it up, she was forbidden.

Her gift of curiosity she couldn’t control.

What was inside? She had to know.

Around her neck hung a golden key.

She unlocked the box, to take a peek.

The spoils of mankind came out of the box.

For her transgression, we must pay the cost.

Over time mankind will learn how to cope. When their hearts are warmed by the glimmer of hope.

In the beginning:

Mankind lived in a state of purity and nirvana. Vivid were the colors when there was peace throughout the land. Content is what they would feel when the heart and mind are balanced and working as one. In the eyes of Epimetheus and his brother Prometheus, their creations of all living things were perfect. However, Prometheus wanted mankind to stand out from all the rest. He decided to gift them the element of fire. With that mankind was able to thrive and evolve faster than all the other creations. Zeus wanted mankind to make sacrifices to the gods every so often. Prometheus didn’t want his creation to be exploited in any way. He came up with a way to trick Zeus with the sacrifice of a bull. Give i good the better parts of the bull to mankind while giving the less desired parts to the gods. This angered Zeus and he took away fire from mankind. Without fire mankind could no longer dominate the other living creations. Prometheus thought Zeus’s decision was unfair. He stole an eternal flame while the gods were sleeping and returned it to mankind. Blessed with the gift of foresight Prometheus knew his action wouldn’t go unpunished. He warned his brother and told him to not accept any gifts from the gods. When Zeus realized Prometheus had given the flame back to mankind he became outraged, and so he sought retribution for both brothers. Zeus ordered Prometheus to be chained to a bolder while his liver is eaten every day by a vulture like creature for eternity. As for Epimetheus, Zeus decided to come up with a trick of his own. With the help of the other gods they created a very beautiful woman. Zeus placed a golden key around her neck and handed her a gold box with diamonds and gems embedded in it. Zeus instructed Pandora to give the box to Epimetheus, and no one else. Unfortunately by the time Pandora arrived to Epimetheus’ palace she has forgotten to hand the box to Epimetheus.

Moments later the sun rays shined brightly through dark clouds as thunder made a loud boom and crackle. There was a blackish, green mist looming in the air. It had no scent but the sensation of it washed over every human in the land. Rain began pouring down even though the sun was still shining through the dark clouds. “The gods must be feuding again” one man said as the mist began to dissipate.

Meanwhile, once the box was opened Pandora heard the sound of thunder and rain outside her window. She noticed the sunlight shining through the bedroom window despite the clouds and rain. As she stood up she closed the box and walked over to the window. Her heart snuck when she gazed down where the mankind reside. The same mist that came out of the box had polluted the air, creating a foggy haze. She immediately realized that unlocking the box was the wrong thing to do. She was sadden by this and she felt as if there was nothing she could do. She has just unleashed a curse that would plague mankind forever. As she quietly sat back down in her chair, her curiosity urged her to open the box for a second time.

To her surprise, just as it did before something floated out of the box. It was a big ball of light that had a glimmer of pure white. The ball of light felt as warm as it’s glow. This feeling made her calm and hopeful despite the consequence of her initial action. From here on out the spoils of mankind will become apart of human nature along with the feeling of hope.

Centuries later…

There’s a new generation of gods that are the descendants of the original gods. The two worlds of gods and mankind were unbalanced because the gods dabbled in the daily happenings of mankind. Two twins were apart of the newer generation of gods. Eris who is the god of discord, has the ability to stun mankind with heart shaped apples that contain more spoils of mankind. The other twin Eros, is the god of love. With his heart shaped bow and arrows with heart shaped points at the tip, he has the ability to counter whatever spoil his sister can conjure up. They are fraternal twins who are polar opposites, but the future of mankind depended on the balance from both.

In the modern era:

Although mankind has managed to flourish, they have passed down the spoils of mankind through their bloodlines. At first it was believed to get worse with each generation. For centuries Epimetheus examined mankind, hoping to figure out where they went wrong. He almost gave up. Pandora held her secret in for so long. Until finally she could no longer watch her husband stay up days on end, hoping to bring harmony back to mankind. She led him into her old bedroom within his palace.

“He placed a key around my neck and I was given this box, to give to you.” She began recalling the day she was created. “I forgot to hand it over to you, so while I was in this room on that very day, I got curious to see what was inside. The box itself was so beautiful. I knew there had to be something good or beautiful inside.” Pandora explained as she showed Epimetheus the box and key. “When I opened the box the most horrible things flew out of it. I glanced out the window to see where it had gone. That’s when I noticed it polluted the air where the humans lived.” Pandora said as she moved away from the window to face her husband.

“Who gave you the box and key?” Epimetheus asked Pandora while holding up the golden key. “Zeus” Pandora said with a reluctant frown.

His eyes widened as he gasped. “My brother warned me, but I failed to take heed. You were the gift I was never suppose to accept, but you were so beautiful and perfect.” He said with an undertone.

“Since I unleashed the curse I felt it was my duty to make things right. While you would examine mankind, I would visit where they lived, and I did this for years until I finally noticed her, Eris. I followed her one day just to spy on her.”

It was a hot summer morning. As the sun continued to rise high in the sky, Mankind had created a city with tall stone and brick buildings. Their population has grown tremendously. There were sirens blaring throughout the city coupled with the sounds of everyday hustle and bustle. You could even hear people arguing from a distance, and some gunshots would ring out here and there. The spoils of mankind has corrupted humanity to the brink of self destruction. Although there was chaos all around, some people weren’t affected by the spoils of mankind. These certain people tried to live normal lives, but they became targets for Eris. She was standing in the shadow behind a stone building watching her next victim. A handsome young man was stretching his limbs outside his doorstep. Eris was holding a heart shaped apple that had a black-ish purple glow. She took a step forward and then quickly stepped back with a gasp. His lover walked out the front door. “Did you bring the house key?” The young man asked his lady. “Oh no I almost forgot.” She gasped as she quickly turned around and walked back into the house. Eris took this moment to quickly run out of the shadow to throw the apple at the young man stunning him with the spoil of lust. She quickly runs away as his lady comes back out the house with the key to lock the door. The young man was dazed for moment but regained his composure as his lady asked “are you ok?” “Yes I think I just did too much while I was stretching.” He responded. “Ok are you ready to go?” She asked holding out her hand to him. “Yes let’s go.” He said as he held her hand and they began walking.

“I noticed how she could conjure up heart shaped apples with more spoils of mankind to manipulate the humans. I witnessed how the spoils affected mankind’s behavior towards each other.” Pandora explained. “That’s why they have gotten worse over time.” Epimetheus said as he stood up from the chair he was sitting in. “Do you think there is a cure for mankind?” Pandora asked as she gazed into his eyes. “Knowing Zeus, there most likely is no cure.” He said with a huff as he sat back down quietly thinking as he rubbed his chin. Epimetheus remembered that Eris had a twin brother, Eros.

“Come with me, let’s go find Iris.” He said as they quickly left the room. Later on the two of them found Iris on her way back from sending a message to the other gods. “I’m so happy we found you. We need your help. Mankind has been tainted ever since Pandora unleashed the curse from Zeus. My brother sacrificed himself in order for our creation to thrive. If we can restore some balance among mankind would Zeus take away the guilt Pandora has felt for so long? She was just a pawn in his dirty game.” Epimetheus asked.

“Wait here, I will ask Zeus for you.” Iris said. She turned and conjured up a rainbow arc that she glided on to get from place to place. Pandora and Epimetheus watched as she drifted away. Moments later she came back and said “it took some coaxing but he agreed to present Pandora with the gold, heart shaped locket of redemption that only she will be able to unlock.” “One more thing, could you find Eros and ask him if he could find his twin sister and put an end to her continuous corruption of mankind?” Epimetheus asked Iris.

“I believe he is with his wife Psyche, but I will try to convince him. I’ll be right back.” Iris said as she quickly glided away. A few moments passed and Iris was back with a response from Eros.

“He has agreed to the task but all we can do now is wait until he returns. Iris said, and with that Epimetheus was pleased.

Before Eros could commenced his meditation in order to prep for his journey, Psyche tried to talk him out of it. “I don’t want you to go” she said in a whimpered voice. “You know that I have to go” Eros said with a sigh. “It’s too dangerous” Psyche said in a worried tone. Eros gathered his bow and lots of arrows. He placed them on his back and set off to stop his twin sister and restore balance to mankind. Before he left his home he knelt down on one knee and began meditating. Once he was done, he got up and began walking.

Will he stop his sister in time? Will he be able to save mankind?

TO BE CONTINUED…