Cupid Outbreak

It was a bright sunny day and Edison was doing what he was usually doing—lounging on his cloudy couch with his cupid bow. Edison was busy trying to mend some of the strings that broke off the other day when he was sent on a mission to earth.

“God! This stupid thing is pissing me off! It’s even harder than shooting the arrow through the targets!” Fussed Edison.
“Calm down,” Said Kenny as he walked in and sat down on the other couch.
“Hmph, easy for you to say. It’s not your bow,” Retorted Edison as he went back to mending the bow.
“Whatever. Matchmaker Steven has another mission for you.”
Edison looked up in surprise and bolted, “WHAT?! Can’t he see that my bow is messed up? Geez, I can never get a decent break here.”
“He doesn’t care about you. You better hurry up and fix that bow of yours because your mission starts tomorrow,” Said Kenny as he stood up and prepared to leave.
“Tomorrow??!! Man! That old man is crazy!”

Edison continued to fume and rant on about Matchmaker Steven being unfair, but Kenny just walked off, dismissing his friend’s distress.

“Man, I’m going to go kick his ass one day if he keeps giving me these dumb missions,” complained Edison as he slowly walked to the door to check if Kenny was close by.
“Sigh...I’m really tired of acting like this all the time. I guess breaking a couple of strings on my bow purposely doesn’t do anything. I should just fix this and get ready for tomorrow,” Said Edison as flicked back the strings on the bow.

“Bye Edison! See you in a week!” Charlene screamed while waving frantically.
Edison quickly murmured his goodbyes and jumped down to earth.

He opened up the scroll that Matchmaker Steven gave to him.
“Let’s see…Match Gillian Chung with Shawn Yu.” He scratched his head and stared at their pictures.
“Wow, she’s beautiful.” He gazed at her with awe.
“This guy looks a little mean though….Oh well...it’s my assignment and I have to do it! Time to go to work.” Edison shoved the scroll back into his pocket and got ready for landing.

When he landed, he changed into his earth clothes and walked into the village.

“Tetsuya Village….This place looks pretty nice.” He walked a little farther in and frowned when he started to see many bars and casinos. “Whoa…Never mind.”
When he was deeper into the village, he heard screams from a distance. He didn’t start worrying about it until the screams got closer and closer. Within a minute or two, he saw a beautiful girl running towards him with four men chasing her. He looked a little closer and noticed the beautiful girl was Gillian Chung.
“Crap, I have to do something!” He looked around frantically and saw his bow.
“Oh! Gillian! Follow me!” He used one of his skills so that only Gillian could hear him.
She looked up by the sound of her name and saw Edison waving his hand and running into the right corner.

“How does he know my name?” She glanced behind her and saw the approaching men. “It doesn’t matter. I have to run away from these freaks first!” She turned at the right corner. At that exact moment, Edison pulled her to the side.
“Shhh. Stand back a little.” He pointed his finger to the right side and hinted her to move there.
Edison took out a small arrow and blew at it. Almost instantly, the small arrow transformed into a huge golden arrow. He muttered a few words and shot straight to the other side.
Edison turned to Gillian and said, “Ok, they won’t be chasing you for a while. Let’s go!”

Edison grabbed Gillian’s hand, but she flung it away.

“NO! I don’t even know who you are and you just …you just shot something over there!” screamed Gillian as she slowly backed away.
‘What’s with women these days?! You play the hero and the next they think you’re one of the bad guys. That’s gratitude I tell you.’ Edison thought.
“Come on! I’ll explain later! I just saved you! I won’t do anything to harm you now!”
Edison grabbed her hand again and this time, she followed him quietly. He led her to the quiet side of town and sat down on a crate with her beside him.
“Sorry for scaring you earlier I guess.” Said Edison as he let go of Gillian’s hand and scratched his head.
“I guess it doesn’t matter now, but who are you? And what was that arrow thing that you shot?” questioned Gillian. She still felt uneasy towards this mystery man. She never did believe in magic, but somehow, she had a feeling that after meeting this strange man, she might be a believer this time.
“Well, this may sound unreal, but I’m a cupid.” Gillian raised her brow in disbelief at the mention of cupid. “That “thing” I shot earlier was called the Illusion Blow. If I shoot it straight towards anything, anyone that sees it straight ahead will be affected by it. Those guys earlier probably saw an illusion of you running straight down the street. It lasts for about 2 hours. So we’re safe for now.”
Edison looked up from his bow and saw Gillian starring at him in awe.

“…What?”
“You’re a… cupid?” She asked.
“I know it sounds unreal, but yes.”
“But if you’re a cupid, then where’s the diaper and the short curly hair?” She searched around him.
His brow furrowed. “That’s a lie!” He was offended by such imaginary appearances. “When you say cupid, they usually think of small babies with diapers with an arrow. Truth be told, cupids don’t wear such ugly things.”
“Okay, okay. You don’t have to be that serious.” Gillian bit her bottom lip, thinking.
“What?”
“Nothing…So if you really were a cupid, what are you doing down here in earth?”
Edison took out a couple of his small arrows and started to polish them. “Well, I’m set on a mission to make two people fall in love.”
“Really? Who is it?” Her eyes started to shine in excitement.
“I’m not supposed to say, but…” He continued to polish as he smirked inwardly.
“I won’t tell anyone, so who’s the lucky couple?”
“Well if you insist.” He glanced up at her before going back to the task at hand. “It’s you and a guy named Shawn Yu.”
“WHAT! YOU’RE HERE TO MATCH ME UP WITH THAT GUY?!” revolted Gillian.
Edison was so startled the he dropped the batch of arrows on the ground.
“What’s wrong with that? You don’t like him?”
“Of course I don’t! He has 12 wives already. Shawn Yu is nothing but a perverted pig with some money. He forces all of those women to marry him.”
He solemnly asked, “Did he force you?”
“Yes. That’s why I was running earlier. Those were his henchmen.”
“Wow, I never knew humans could have more than one wife.” said Edison in disbelief.
“Are you still going to match me with him then?” questioned Gillian.
Edison doesn’t know if he should still do his mission or not because of what he just heard. He doesn’t like the fact that this Shawn Yu guy is forcing women to marry him. He finally decided not to match Gillian and Shawn together.
Edison stalled for a second before answering. He liked to pause for a dramatic effect.
“Most likely not. I don’t like guys that force girls to marry him. Besides….”
Before Edison could even finish his sentence, Gillian was so happy that she jumped on him and gave him a hug. It was pretty much one-sided since Edison was too shocked to do anything about it.
“YES! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I OWE YOU ONE!”
He could feel his face turning red. His heart is racing. He can even hear his own heart thumping faster and faster every second. Edison didn’t know what this feeling was, but he knew he likes it.

“Can I stay with you for three months?” asked Edison.
“Of course you can! You just helped me!” squealed Gillian.
“Thanks a lot. After three months, I’ll have to go back to heaven and report.”
“Okay! Come on! Let’s not waste any more time. I’ll take you to where I live.”

Before Edison could say anything, Gillian already ran off.

“She’s so carefree. I wish I could be like her.” said Edison as he ran after her.

After running for about five minutes, they arrived at a small little house with a little forest near by. They both stopped near the front porch.
“Wow. Nice place.” said Edison.
“My mom left it for me,” replied Gillian as she went inside.
“I’ll help you do your daily chores while I’m here.”
“No. You’re a guest here. Just sit tight and relax.” ordered Gillian.
“But I want to do something. I can’t just sit here and do nothing while you work your butt off.” retorted Edison.
“But…”
“No buts.” He waved his index finger at her and smiled.
Somehow, that smile caused butterflies in her stomach and by the increasing temperature on her cheek, she knew that she was blushing.
Not noticing her blush, Edison turned around and tidied up the place by just using his magic power. Being a cupid does have some benefits.

Two Months later…

Gillian and Edison were both sitting at the table eating lunch.

“So Edison, how come you can only stay here for three months? Is there a time limit for when you’re supposed to go back or something?” asked Gillian.
Edison abruptly answered, “No, I’m just here because of you.”
Gillian dropped her spoon and bread.

“What?”

Edison finally realized what he said and tried to change the subject.

He tried to sound casual, but it ended up sounding weak. “So…is it your turn to do the dishes today?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“What are you talking about? Anyways, I’m done eating. I’m going to take a walk outside.”

He started to leave but Gillian stood up and pulled him to a stop. She stared at his eyes and he stared back. Strangely, their lips were just a couple of centimeters away. Gillian slowly started to inch towards Edison.
‘This is not good! Stop this Edison before it’s too late!’ His mind screamed, but yet his body wasn’t willingly to obey their command. In fact, he couldn’t think straight any more. All he could think about was ‘How soft is her lip?’
Finally, Gillian locked her lips with Edison’s. The kiss started out slow but started to become passionate.

“Can you tell me what you said earlier again?” questioned Gillian softly.
Edison gazed into her eyes again and whispered, “I’m just here because of you.”

They both fall into a warm embrace.
Edison was no guardian angel, no chivalrous cupid, and love had taken hold of him like it did with many others.
Love was a beautiful and awful notion, and the most awful yet sweetest thing of all about it was that no one has any control over it, even for cupids like himself.
“What are you going to do about the heaven Edison?” She asked softly as she moved a strand of his hair away from his eyes.
“We’ll deal with it when they come.”

Nine months have now passed and the couple has finally given birth to a baby boy. They named him Jerico.

“We finally have our own child now Edison!” squealed Gillian.
Edison laughed and said, “Yes Gillian, we have finally given birth to our first child with your hard work.”
Before Gillian could say anything, the couple heard a loud bang outside.

“What was that Edison?” questioned Gillian.
“I don’t know…I’ll go check it out.” said Edison as he went out the door.

When he went outside, he saw Kenny in his cupid uniform waiting for him.

“Kenny?” said Edison in disbelief.
“Yes Edison. I’ve come to pick you up since you’ve been doing everything else except getting your mission done.” answered Kenny.
“I can’t go with you Kenny. Sorry, I have a family here to take care of.”
“That is not for you to decide Edison. I have orders to bring you back whether you like it or not. You’ll just have to talk it out with Steven.”
“No Kenny. You’ll have to use force if you want me to go back with you.”
He rose up his bow and said, “Then force it is.”

Edison was getting ready to fight but Matchmaker Steven suddenly showed up.

“Stop it now.” ordered Steven.

Kenny and Edison both stopped.

“Edison, you cannot do this. Now come with me.”

“Wait Steven! Is there no other way that I can stay down here with her?”

Steven thought for a moment before answering, “Yes, there is. You both have a child now, correct?”
“Yes.” Answered Edison.
“When he is able to fly, send him up here and I will take him and let you go. After he has worked for me for about two years, I’ll send him back to you guys. There is a special way to help him fly. Your wife must be there with him and they both must be naked. Your wife must sit next to him while he attempts to fly. She must support him by praying that he will fly safe and high.”

Edison wasn’t sure if he wanted to do that. Giving Jerico to him seemed dangerous. He was not sure about what he wanted to do.
“Well, its time to go now.”

With that, he waved his arrow and swiped both Edison and Kenny with him up to heaven. Just before Edison flew too high, he scribbled everything Steven said on a piece of paper and threw it down on the ground.

“What’s taking Edison so long? Maybe I should go check on him.”

She put down Jerico and went outside and saw nothing but her front porch.

“Edison? Edison? Where are you!?”

She felt the sense of intenseness running through her veins. She knew that Edison had been taken away from her. She knew that the people from heaven must have taken him away. She knew that this would come someday, but she didn’t think it would happen so fast. She walked around and stepped on something sharp.

“Ow!” yelped Gillian.

She looked below her feet and saw a sharp golden arrow with a letter attached to it. She quickly opened it and read the letter quietly.

After she was done reading the letter, she screamed, “I’ll do it Edison! I’ll do it so we can all reunite as a family again!”

About two years later, Jerico is finally two years old and Gillian brings him to the little forest. She looked around just to make sure that no one was near. When she was assured that no one was around, she slowly took off her and Jerico’s clothes.

“Jerico, try to fly for Mommy and Daddy ok. If you can fly, then you’ll be able to see daddy again.”
“Ok mommy.”

With that, Jerico closed his eyes and Gillian started to pray. As she was praying, she could feel a sense of happiness flowing through her. She stopped praying when she heard Jerico screaming.
“Mommy! I’m flying! I’m flying!” screamed Jerico with joy.
“Yes! My son! Fly! Fly as high as you can!”

While Gillian was watching Jerico fly, she could see something approaching him. She didn’t now what it was and she was afraid that it will harm Jerico.

“WATCH OUT JERICO! THERE’S SOMETHING COMING TOWARDS YOU! COME DOWN NOW!” Screamed Gillian with all her might.

When Jerico heard her, he quickly tried to fly down but he felt something clutched onto his back.

“No! Get away from me!” squealed Jerico.

The figure slowly came down and landed next to Gillian. When he landed, Gillian was awe-struck. It was Edison!

“Edison!” She was so happy that she flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
“Edison? Is that daddy?” questioned Jerico.
“Is this my little boy?”
“Yes it is honey. I’m so glad your back.” Answered Gillian.
“I am too honey. Let’s go back now. Waiting for two years can actually be really tiring! Let’s go all home!”
The three of them all screamed in unison. “Okay!”
“Um… honey.” He gazed at her, realizing that the woman that captured his heart away was naked in front of him. Somehow, those two years were worth the wait if it meant seeing the love of his life like this.
She blushed at the lust in his eyes. “Turn around you pervert!” She shouted.
Edison turned around with his son in his arms. “Son when you grow up, I will teach you a thing or two about a woman.”
The son only frowned in bewilderment.
While they were walking back, Steven said only a few words that Edison could hear. Those few words were: “Edison, go live happily with your family.”