A Gift From Above

Part 1

Saturday mornings were supposed to be for lounging around the house, not for working five to six hours in one of the busiest restaurants in town. Mia Karr dreaded these very Saturdays for that reason. She was there from nine o’clock in the morning to 2:30 in the afternoon. She hated it. The people were snobs and gave her a hard time if the food wasn’t good enough, though it was the cooks’ fault, not hers. What she dreaded even more was going home. Every time it was the same thing from her father—asking if she got her paycheck and to hand it over. Of course she did, because the consequences weren’t worth it. Besides, he’d get it in the long run anyway.

It was eight-thirty in the morning. Mia held her lightweight jacket closed as the cool March wind blew through the streets. She had neatly put her blonde hair up in a bun, however after the wind she doubted that it was still like it. For her age, she was rather short, being only 5’1” tall. Her eyes were an emerald green, and her skin tanned to the perfect color. She was very pretty, but her life wasn’t as glamorous. Her mother died when she was ten from a drunk-driving accident. She now lived with her dad in a small apartment, having no brothers or sisters. Her dad was as lazy as they came. He’d go to work twice a week and the rest of the time he’d sit home on the couch and watch some sort of sport on TV. Mia had a job basically to support them. And she couldn’t just work a few hours a week like most kids her age did. She had to practically work full time. She would be too if she still weren’t in school. She was only 18 years old. Any friends she did have were busy searching for colleges. She couldn’t even think about that because there was no possible way she could afford college in her situation.

Finally the Queen’s Tavern Restaurant came into view. It was one of the most popular places to eat at for early lunch and dinner. Mia sighed as she opened the front door and walked into the empty room. In an hour the place would be full of hungry people. She walked into the back room and was greeted by the head cook—the only one that was nice and reasonable to her. She tied her apron around her waist and searched the table for a clean order book. She picked up a pen and checked to see if it worked, which it didn’t, so she searched for a different one. She stuck both items in her apron pocket and left to clean the tables. Two other waitresses were already out doing the same. They said their “hellos” and left it at that, barely glancing back at Mia.

Soon the doors opened and people pushed their way in. It didn’t take long for a line to start and people waiting impatiently. Mia had to take care of eleven tables during her shift. All of which were filled at the moment. She made her rounds, offering the people something to drink and if they were ready to order. She’d get the order written down and try to make it to the kitchen before someone stopped her and delayed the order from getting made.
“Excuse me!” One man yelled quite loudly towards Mia. “Can we get some service over here?”

Mia glanced over her shoulder to see a large man sitting with fellow workers. He had a hardhat on, so she figured he was some sort of construction worker. She made her way over to the table, being stopped on the way by someone asking if they could have a glass of water. “I’ll be right with you,” was Mia’s response and she continued on her way.

“Its about time,” the mad said in a gruff voice. His companions laughed.

“I’m sorry. What can I get ya?” Mia asked clicking her pen to write.

“Well, some better service is one,” said one of the others.

Mia glared at him and looked back at the first man. “I know that it takes awhile for us to get to you, but as you can see we are very busy. Now what can I get you?”

“Well, if ya put it that way toots,” the first man said. “I’ll have a steak sandwich, a bag of chips, and a beer.” Mia finished everyone else’s orders and went back to the kitchen to give the cook the list. She then returned with a glass of water for the woman that had asked before hand.

On her way however, a little kid was sitting in his highchair fooling around, his parents obviously too busy to notice the kid. He swung his arms out with a toy in each. Mia moved away to avoid being hit when she had moved right into another waitress walking by with a tray of dirty dishes. Instinct told Mia to help grab the tray before it went flying to the ground, however the glass in her hand was lost and landed on a customer’s lap. He jumped up from his chair, observing his now wet pants.

“I’m so sorry,” Mia apologized, fearing that the manager would hear about this and fire her.

“Its alright,” the man said. “It was just an accident.”

“It was all my fault,” she replied not really listening to what he said. “I should have been more careful.” She grabbed a bunch of napkins and tried to clean up the water on the table.

The man wiped his pants and picked up the glass from the floor. “You dropped this,” he said smiling. Mia looked up and noticed the glass. He wasn’t what she was used to seeing everyday. He was her height, maybe a little shorter even. His skin was purple and his hair was white. However, he wore normal human clothes.

“Thank-you,” she said not quite knowing what to say to such a strange looking person.

“Mia! Get over here!” Someone called from the kitchen.

“Coming!” She said. She got one last look at the man and then left.

When she arrived home, she was exhausted and wanted nothing but to sit down and sleep. She found that her dad was sitting in front of the TV as usual. She closed the door quietly and tiptoed through the living room.

“That you Mia?” Her father asked.

“Yeah,” she replied, not that happy to be there.

“Get your paycheck yet?”

“No Dad,” she replied in a monotone voice. “I don’t get it until next Thursday. We go through this every time.”

“Well, how much money did you make in tips today?”

“Enough to pay for groceries this week.”

“Good. You better get down there soon, ‘cause there’s no snacks left in the house. I want ya to get one of those new dips they’ve been having on these commercials. Looks good. Oh, and pick up something different for dinner. I’m sick of having the same old stuff.”

“Whatever you say dear father.” Mia let him be and she went to her room. She through her purse on the floor and fell onto the bed.

The next day, Mia came into work late. She had been up all night working on a research paper that was due that coming up Monday. That manager gave her a look, but knew her family situation. “You better hurry,” he said. “You’ve got four tables that haven’t been tended to yet. One guy has been here for an hour already, so take care of him first.”

“No problem,” Mia said softly. She gathered her notebook and pen and quickly tied the apron on. To her surprise, the man at her first table was the one she spilt water on the day before.

“Hello again,” he said with a smile. There was something about that smile that Mia couldn’t get by without smiling herself.

“Hi,” she said. “What can I get for ya?”

“Just a tossed salad will do.”

“Anything to drink?”

“Iced tea, thank-you.”

Mia put the pad in her pocket and took the menu from him. “I’ve never seen you around here before, except for yesterday that is. You new in town or something? You don’t look like the construction worker type.”

“I’m visiting,” he replied. “What about you? It seems you’re here quite often.”

“Too often, actually. But it’s a long story that I don’t have time to tell right now. I’ve got to go get your order in. Besides, there are other animals waiting to get served on.” Mia smiled and walked away to the next table.

The man’s smile disappeared as he watched Mia quickly going from table to table trying to serve everyone at once. “Poor thing,” he said to himself as he sipped his drink.

Later, Mia returned to his table with the bill. “Hope you have a nice day,” she said and turned to leave.

“Wait,” the man stopped her. Mia turned around, not wanting to know what he wanted next. “What are you doing tonight?”

“What?”

“Perhaps you’d like to tell me that long story of yours.”

“I don’t know…”

The man stood up and spoke to her softly. “I can get you away from all of this for a couple of hours. I don’t mean to do any harm…I just want to help. I can see that you’re stressed out to no end.”

“Well…” Mia couldn’t refuse that cute smile. His black eyes looked so intriguing and loving. Maybe it would be fun for once. “Alright.”

“How’s seven sound?”

“Fine…meet me here though. I don’t want you to come to my house.”

“Very well. I’ll see you here at seven.” The man walked away leaving money on the table. “Oh, and Mia…” he called back. “The rest is yours.”

Mia looked down at the money. He had left her a pretty decent tip. Too bad that would have to go towards the electric bill.

Mia quickly got home to change out of her work clothes. She had to stay an hour over her shift because she had missed it from earlier. Her father had asked the same question he always did, but she was too busy to hear or even care. She quickly found a blue shirt and put on kaki pants and then ran out the door, her father yelling after her. She knew that if he knew she was meeting someone for dinner he’d have a fit and forbid it.

Mia walked quickly back to the Queen’s Tavern. She turned the corner to find no one there. She went up to the door and looked around, but the man from earlier was nowhere in sight. “Great,” she said and threw her hands in the air.

“Don’t worry, I’m here,” a voice said. Mia turned around to face the man. “I believe that I’ve yet to introduce myself.”

“That’s a good place to start,” Mia said.

“Well then, my name is Kaioshin.” He bowed and extended his arm to her.

“Nice to meet you,” Mia said, blushing. “No one has ever bowed to me when they’ve told me their name.”

“That’s the way I was brought up to do things. You’ll find that I’m much different than the people here.”

Mia looked at him with a confused look. Kaioshin laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not a freak or anything. I’m very trustworthy.”

Mia smiled. “I hope so. I don’t get to go out much, especially not with someone that asks me while I’m working. I mean I’ve never met you before. I know that there’s risks in doing stuff like that, but I wanted to get away from my life for at least a few hours.”

“I completely understand,” Kaioshin said and they walked on.

They had had dinner at a fairly nice restaurant, an upgrade from the Queen’s Tavern. Mia was convinced this guy was loaded. She hadn’t found out that much from him, but she was determined too. She liked him. He was different looking, but cute nonetheless. He had a superb sense of humor and actually listened to what she said, though none of it was important.

They walked down the sidewalk, arm in arm. Mia couldn’t believe on how much of a gentleman he was. “I thank you very much for what you’ve done for me tonight,” she said not looking at him.

“You’re welcome. You don’t have to go home if you don’t want to. I have all the time in the world.” He smiled and looked down at her. “Anywhere you’d like to go?”

“I really don’t care where we go. As long as I don’t have to go home right away.”

“Alright,” Kaioshin said. They stopped in front of a small sports car.

“What are you doing?” Mia asked, looking at the car.

“Hop in,” Kaioshin said holding the door open for her.

“There’s no way that’s your car…”

“It is. Now get in. Don’t worry, its safe,” he laughed.

Mia sat down and admired the car. She had never sat in such an expensive car before. Her dad’s car was an old piece of junk. She couldn’t believe what was happening to her.

Kaioshin sat down and turned the key in the ignition. “Any idea where we can go?”

“Uhh…well, I haven’t been there in years. Not since my mother died.”

“Say the word and we’re there.”

Mia hesitated. “Well, in the park there’s this little area on top of a hill where you can sit…can we go there?”

“Absolutely.” Kaioshin buckled up and the car took off. Mia was impressed with his driving. She was loving every bit of the moment. It wasn’t long before they reached their destination. “Hold on,” Kaioshin said as he got out. He ran around to the other side, opened the door for her, and offered her his hand. She took it and got out. To her surprise, he took out a red rose from behind his back.

“Thank you,” Mia said shyly. She took it and brought it to her nose. She had never smelt such a fragrance from a single flower.

“Now,” Kaioshin said. “Where is this place you want to sit?”

Mia led the way, holding his hand. They walked up a cracked cement path that was covered in weeds. At the top was an old stone bench that had been there for years. “This is it,” Mia said. “It’s not as wonderful as your car…but I like it here.”

Kaioshin raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you with the car. I just thought you’d like to ride in something like that.”

“Oh, I loved it. Don’t get me wrong on it. Its just…” She sat down and turned away.

“Its just what?” Kaioshin sat down next to her.

Mia sniffed and took a deep breath. “Ever since my mother died I haven’t had such a happy life. I mean I know she had a slight drinking problem, but she was still so good to me. She worked so hard to please my father, and he gave her nothing in return. And once she died…I’ve had to do all the work. I walk to school rain or shine, I do everything around the house from laundry to the grocery shopping, and I have to work to help support us because my father refuses to work more than a few days a week.”

Kaioshin sat and listened to her. He didn’t quite know what to say, but he thought it best if she’d got it all out before he interrupted her thoughts. The whole time he was looking at her golden hair that sparkled in the moonlight.

“All my friends are going to college next year. I can’t even think about it because I can’t just pick up and leave my father. He couldn’t survive without me. I know school is important if I want to do good in life, but how can I commit myself to it and work and everything else?” She turned her head and looked at the purple man sitting next to her. Her cheeks stained with tears that escaped her eyes against her will. “I’m sorry,” she said catching a runaway tear. “I shouldn’t be telling you this. Its not my place to tell a stranger my problems.”

“Don’t think anything of it. I told you…I’m here to help. I wish I could do something to make your life happier…but it would be to complicated for me to go to that extreme,” he told her.

Mia stood up and faced him. “I thank you for listening, but I don’t want any sympathy from anyone. I’ve managed for eight years…I can keep going.” She moved over a little from where she stood and looked up at the sky. “Kaioshin, look at the stars. Aren’t they absolutely stunning?”

“They are,” he said as he watched her. She tried so hard not to show her inner pain. But he could see that her mind was full of hurt and betrayal.

“You know what I haven’t done in years?” Mia piped up after a brief silence.

“What would that be?” Kaioshin asked with an intriguing smile.

“Tag…and you’re it!” She said. She ran away from him like a child would. Kaioshin laughed and ran after her. He knew that he had to be careful, for his incredible speed could get the better of him and reveal his true powers to her, something that he didn’t want to do just yet. Mia ran around dodging his arms as he reached out to grab her. The two laughed as they ran around the hill. Kaioshin slipped and fell on the grass as he turned to catch her.

However, as she ran by, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. She grabbed his shoulders out of instinct. They stared into each other’s eyes for some time. Mia didn’t know what to think. She smiled, as their faces seemed to have gotten closer and closer. Then she realized the time.

“What time is it?” She asked.

“Uh, nine o’clock I think,” Kaioshin replied, almost shocked at the question.

“Nine? Oh my God!! I must be going! I’m going to get it for sure…” Mia started running down the hill.

“Wait Mia!” Kaioshin called after her. “I’ll give you a ride or something!”

“No that’s okay! I can run just fine! Thank you for tonight!” She yelled as she ran past the car and out of sight.

Kaioshin stood there in disbelief. He couldn’t imagine what was so important that she had to leave so quickly. He started to walk back to the car when he noticed the rose he had given her sitting on the bench. He picked it up and stared at it for a while. “There’s something else besides working her life away. There must be and I must find out what that is. I just hope that I’m not getting carried away with this…”

Mia returned home, dead tired from running who knows how many miles. She tried as silently as she could to open and close the door and make it to her room unnoticed. She took her shoes off, hoping not to make any noise as she stepped across the tile floor.

“Its about damn time you came home,” a stern voice said from the living room. The TV was off and there weren’t any lights on. The only light that was visible was that from the moon and streetlights outside.

“I’m sorry I’m so late,” Mia said, knowing that she was in a lot of trouble and she was going to regret having such a wonderful time.

“You’re damn right you’re sorry! You didn’t leave me any kind of dinner to eat. And since you didn’t even go shopping for damn food…you’re lucky that they serve cheap burgers down at Al’s.”

“I’m sorry…but I…”

“So where the hell were you anyway? You took off like a bat out of hell. Not even telling me where you were going.”

“I…I…”

“Spit it out!” Her father yelled. He made her so tense she didn’t know what to do. If there was anything she feared…it was her father. “Damn it girl!”

“I went out with a friend of mine…” she said at last.

“Who?”

“This guy I met at work,” she said softly, trying not to make him any angrier.

“You went out with some guy!? I never gave you my permission to do so! How dare you go out with some jerk behind my back! After all I do for you! I’ve spent the last ten years raising you by myself-providing you with everything you need, and this is how you repay me!?”

“Daddy…please…I’m sorry. I won’t do it again…”

“You’re damn right!” Then it happened. He swung his arm and struck her to the ground. She fell, afraid to look back up.

“I’m sorry,” she told the floor.

“Stand up when I’m talking to you!” He yelled even louder. Mia couldn’t wait until this was over. She knew going out with that guy was a bad idea. It was just enough to get him started after a night at the bar.

“Daddy, please don’t…” He hit her again. She tried not to show her crying. The tears blinded her eyes and she started to panic.

“If you ever…ever do that to me again! I swear to God that you’ll regret coming home! Get the hell out of here.” Mia did as she was told. She stumbled to her feet and ran out of the room. She ran down the stairs of the apartment complex and out onto the sidewalk. She kept going until she got to the corner of the block. She looked back, crying to herself, scared half to death.

The tears rolled down her face. He only threw her out of the house once before. She was so scared that she slept on a park bench, afraid what he might do if she went back. But when she returned home late the next morning, he sat her on a chair and made her breakfast, though he never apologized for what had happened the night before.

Mia sat down on the cement and wrapped her arms around her legs, letting her head rest on her knees. She sobbed gently to herself, trying to calm herself down and not think about what happened. Her arm ached from her father hitting it.

Mia didn’t know how long she had been sitting there when a figure blocked the light from the street lamp. She looked up, almost waiting for her father to be there and hit her again for running off.

He kneeled down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Its alright. You’re safe now.”

“…Kaioshin…” Mia said with relief. She couldn’t hold back. She jumped into his arms and cried into his chest.

“Its alright,” Kaioshin soothed. “I won’t let him get you.” He put his hand on her arm, not knowing the pain he’d cause her. She winced when he did this and pulled it away. “What else did he do to you?” He asked, upset that he didn’t see this coming.

“Its okay…he gets like that sometimes. I was wrong not to tell him where I was going…I should’ve stayed home…this wouldn’t have happened,” Mia said, almost hyperventilating.

“No, no, don’t blame yourself. You didn’t do anything. Its not your fault at all.” Kaioshin let her cry as he made his decision. Soon he felt Mia grow limp in his arms. She had cried herself to sleep. He picked her up and looked down at her closed eyes, tears stuck to her cheeks. Now he wished he hadn’t let her go.

Mia opened her eyes slowly. It was morning out; the sun peeked through the curtains and birds could be heard singing outside the window. She shifted her position and found that she was lying on silk sheets. She sat up quickly and found that she wasn’t even in her own room.

“Where am I?” She said not knowing what happened. She looked around a little more. The bed was large and fancy, made out of black iron. There were two nightstands on both sides of the bed, each having a small, but fancy lamp on each. There was a large light in the center of the room, and a dresser directly in front of the bed. A full sized mirror was off to the side, being held by a dark wood stand. “This definitely isn’t my room…”

A knock on the door scared her half to death. “Mia?” Someone said as the door slowly opened. She looked up to see Kaioshin peeking his head through the door.

“Kaioshin? Where am I? What did I do?” Mia flooded him with questions. As she moved to face him, she noticed that she was in silk pajamas.

“You didn’t do anything. I brought you to my place after what happened last night. I couldn’t let you go home after what your father did,” he said walking over to the bedside and sitting down.

“You shouldn’t have…he’ll be so mad at me…” Mia said looking down.

“When you do go home, I will be going with you.” Mia looked up. “I will not let anything like that happen to you again. I wish you told me that your father was abusive towards you.”

“I…I was scared to. I didn’t want to go to a foster home when I was little, so I never told anyone. And I really didn’t want to lose him…he’s all I have left now.”

“I understand that, Mia. But you should have told me. I can get him help so he doesn’t get like that.”

“Kaioshin, I barely know you. You’re just a nice guy that I waited on in the restaurant. And I was foolish when…”

“When what?” Kaioshin asked, though he already knew the answer.

“I feel so stupid.”

“Tell me.”

She looked up at him. The first thing she noticed was his different outfit. It was none like she had ever seen on anyone. “When…I started to fall in love with you. No one has ever showed me that sort of kindness. And I was afraid of falling in love because I didn’t want my heart to break when I came to the reality that I can’t because of my dad.”

Kaioshin smiled and put his hand to her cheek. “I brought you here, Mia, because I care for you. I totally went against the rules, but I did this anyway.”

“Rules?”

“It’s a very long story that I doubt you’ll believe when I tell it to you.”

“Does it have something to do with that outfit?”

Kaioshin laughed. “As a matter of fact, yes. But before I tell you, perhaps you’d like to get dressed and have breakfast.”

“That’d be nice.”

“I left you some clean clothes on the chair over there. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

Mia blinked and he was gone. She looked around, but he wasn’t anywhere in the room. She saw the clothes on the chair. The shirt was similar to the one she wore the night before, only it was green instead of blue. The pants were practically the same, but she noticed there wasn’t a brand name on the back like hers had. She found that her own sneakers were sitting next to the chair. She put them on and went to the door. She turned the gold handle and peered out. She expected to see a hallway, but not one that went on for what looked like miles.

Mia stepped out of the room and closed the door. Kaioshin had said to meet him downstairs. “Yeah right…” Mia said. Then she noticed a staircase to her other side. She gingerly walked over to it and was amazed at what she saw. The staircase was huge, to say anything. They were made of what looked like white marble, with a blue and gold carpet covering the center and going down to the front doors. They themselves were large, white, and had fancy woodwork all over. The crystal chandelier that hung above the doorway fascinated Mia.

Kaioshin looked up at her with a smile on his face. “Its big,” he said to her as she made her way down the thirty steps.

“Its huge!” She said in awe. “I knew you were loaded…but not this loaded. Where on Earth is this place?”

“Its not on Earth,” Kaioshin replied. He got the reaction he expected.

“What? That’s funny,” Mia said laughing to herself.

“It is to you. But I’m serious.”

“You are?” Mia said, no longer laughing, but thinking this was all a dream.

“This is known as the Kaioshin Mansion. It is situated on a planet in a place very far away from the galaxy Earth is in. In fact, its not even in your universe.”

“Huh?”

Kaioshin chuckled to himself. “Come with me Mia.” Kaioshin led her to a large patio outside the main house. A table and two chairs sat in the middle. The table was set with a complete breakfast, with a vase of red roses in the center. “Sit down,” Kaioshin motioned.

“Thank you…” Mia couldn’t believe all of this. She looked around. The land looked enough like that of Earth, but the sky was purple. “Kaioshin…where am I? Really?”

“As you can see, this isn’t Earth at all. This planet is called Kaioshinkai. It was home to all the Kaioshins of the universe.”

“What’s a Kaioshin? I thought that was your name…”

“It is. Partly. My whole name is Kaioshin of the East, or East Kaioshin. A Kaioshin is a god that watches over the entire universe. I am one of those gods.” He could see Mia was speechless. “I know this must be hard for you to believe. But its true. I am the last Kaioshin now. Many centuries ago the others were lost in a terrible battle that took place on this planet. I was the only survivor.”

“Centuries?”

“Yes…I’m much older than you think I am.”

“Like what? Five hundred years old?”

“No…more like 3,489 years old.”

Mia’s mouth dropped. “3,000…that’s impossible!”

“You might think that because the people of Earth are mortals. Not many live beyond 100. But I am what I say. I’m not lying to you at all.”

“So you’re…a god. And this is your very own planet somewhere other than the universe. And you were around me because???”

“Because I was visiting Earth again. There was just a battle that took place there a few years ago. I was just checking up on it to see how things were going since I left. I met you by accident, but the first time I met you-when you spilled the water on me-I could see that there was something bothering you. Something locked away in your heart that frightened you.”

“My father…”

“Yes.”

“You saw all of that? But how…”

“Its one of my many abilities that I have being a god.” Kaioshin laughed.

“Wow,” Mia said sitting back in her chair. “I’m actually in the presence of a god. But what I still don’t understand is why you chose to help me?”

Kaioshin sat back and looked at her. “Because I liked you for some reason when I met you. And then I grew curious about the anger and fear I felt within you. I wanted to know what it was. And when I found out about what your father did to you that night, I became determined to help you. I didn’t want you to get hurt again.”

“You did all of that because of me? I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. Now eat before you make yourself sick. You had a busy night and now a busy morning. Its not good to go on with an empty stomach.”

Kaioshin stood up. “Kaioshin…” Mia said. He turned to her. She got up and went up to him, not knowing if she wanted to do this or not. She leaned over and gently kissed his lips. “Thank you,” she said when she pulled away.

Kaioshin smiled. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He left her to eat and returned to the house. His crystal ball appeared before him and he commanded an image of Mia to appear in it. She sat there peacefully eating the food that was before her. “I can’t believe this is happening to me. And so quickly…I barely know her. But I can’t help…but want to be around her all the time. I’m not experienced with this love thing…I don’t know what to do…”