He was beautiful, a golden child. But then, so was she. They were destined for each other.

That’s what her mother told her, before she was even old enough to understand what it meant, to be destined for someone.

She was told that one day she was going to marry Apollo, so she could never marry anyone else, or have her own children. She had to wait for him. Looking back now, it was terribly unfair, but at the time she hadn’t understood; it didn’t matter to her when she was a small child that she could never have children of her own. It didn’t matter to her that she couldn't love someone else.

And back in those days, when she and Apollo were young, it was perfectly normal that a woman should wait, that she shouldn't act on her own.

They lived across the street from each other, and they’d always end up playing in each other’s yards. He had a giant sandbox in his backyard, and she had a pool in hers. Depending on the weather, and their moods, they would spend the day in one or the other. When they went to bed, they would shine a light across the street at each other’s windows, a secret code they made up. She loved that boy across the street with the energy and innocence of childhood. She expected him to always be there.

But he started to grow up, and he stopped coming over to play in her backyard, and whenever she went to play in his sandbox she felt like a nuisance. His parents still welcomed her, and gave her iced tea, but he never wanted to play anymore. “I have homework.” He told her. The dreaded homework. Someday, when she was older, she would have homework too.

By the time he was in college she had been at school for a few years. When she heard he had gotten in to Olympus, the college for all those planning to work in the human world, she ran across the street to congratulate him. When he opened the door he smiled and invited her in for cake.

His friends were all there, and she felt out of place. She felt too young; she wasn't sophisticated or mature enough for this group. All the girls were wearing makeup, and the guys were starting to grow facial hair. She swallowed her cake and left as quickly as she could.

Later that night she was sitting at her desk doing homework when a light flashed on her window. She looked up, wondering if she was losing it, but sure enough, it flashed again. She went to the window and opened it to look across the way at his window, and there he was, grinning and waving. He opened his window and yelled, “Meet me outside!” And then disappeared.

She ran down the stairs and tiptoed past her parents out the door. He was there, waiting for her, and when she came out he took her hand and they started to walk.

“I’ll be leaving this place soon.” He told her.

“I know.”

He smiled and ruffled her hair. “I’m going to miss you kid.” He said. “What will I do without you across the street from me all the time, so I can talk to you whenever I like? Eventually, once I pass my exams, then we’ll be worlds apart.”

“That’s fine.” She told him. “I’ll just do the same ting as you. I’ll meet you there.” She said it with the earnestness of youth, when anything was possible, when the future was still something to look forward to.

He laughed, but she was serious. When he left she spent all her time studying, and she was top of her class all through school, so by the time it came to college she could take her pick. Her parents wanted her to become a doctor, or a lawyer, but she had made her decision long ago. She was going to Earth.

She went through school and she passed all her exams, and soon she was on her way. She was a little scared to go; she had heard all sorts of terrible things about Earth, but she was determined. She packed her bags and away she went.

She had expected a tearful reunion. She had hoped to surprise him with how grown up she had become. Instead when she got to Earth she heard about him and a woman. A human. She went to see the woman, her name was Althea, and was crushed to see she had children. He loved her.

She would wait. Her mother had told her, he would go out in the world, and have children of his own, but all she had to do was wait and they would come to her. So she stayed on Earth and bided her time, waiting for him to come for her. She didn’t tell him she was there; she had this stupid idea that if they were really meant for her then he would know she was waiting for him. He would come for her.

They met during the Trojan war. A war fought for her sake, according to some. Really, it was fought because men were never satisfied with what they had. She did a swift business during that time, trading the souls of heroes to fight a war. It was in the city that she met him again. He looked surprised to see her, and asked how she was, but she felt his heart was elsewhere. He hadn't come to Troy for her; he was there on a job. He didn't really care what happened to her, not when he had that human woman to love. After the war she asked to be transferred elsewhere.

She was in China when she heard Althea had died. She thought this would finally be her time, but he never came for her, even then. She didn’t understand. Her mother had told her he would come for her, but she was still alone. He never came.

She waited and waited, until one day he finally did come for her. Or at least, her mother did, and told her it was time. She smiled and prepared herself and went to his home.

It wasn’t right. It wasn’t the destiny she had looked for all this time. She soon realized he still loved the dead human woman. All along, her mother had been wrong. There was no such thing as destiny. Her life until now had been one big joke, with everyone laughing at her.

It was the children she stayed for. She loved the children so much she didn’t know what to do with herself. He just kept shutting himself further and further away, and he didn’t see how he was hurting his children. She wanted to go into his room and slap some sense into him. She wanted him to see what was right in front of him for once, instead of seeing only the past.

She wanted him to see her, but he never came for her.

“Hey Helena, do you know what destiny means?”

She looked up at him, squinting into the sun behind his head. He was standing at the edge of the pool and she was holding on to the edge. They had been playing a game where one of them would jump over the other and cannonball into the pool, until he stopped and stood over her.

“My mom talks about that a lot.” She told him.

He knelt down beside and put his hands on hers and said. “It means we’ll be together, forever and ever, even after we die.”

Helena pouted. “I’m not going to die.”

“Yes you are.” He argued. “Everyone dies someday.”

“But I want to play in the pool more!” She cried. “I want to build the biggest sandcastle ever!”

He grinned at her. “Yeah. That’s what destiny is all about. It means that even if we die, we’ll still be able to do those things.”

She smiled, beginning to warm up to the idea of destiny. “Ok! Let’s build the biggest sandcastle ever together.” She said, and held out her little finger. “Pinkie swear.”

“Pinkie swear.” He agreed and they locked fingers. And you never break a pinkie swear.