Shu and Tefnut

She loved him, even as her lips locked with his one last time. She loved him.

She wandered by the short lakeside. Gentle lapping sounds at the water's edge soothed her and the steady background hum of crickets belied the calmness of the area. Humans had the ability to block out danger by focusing on their television and their nowhere jobs. This was something that did not affect Leisha. Across the man-made lake to the back of her apartment complex, only a few anonymous lights remained in non-distinct windows. She walked the full length of the reservoir, her sheer grey gown moulded to the curves of her body as night breeze rustled fallen leaves in the nearby parking lot.

A drunk sat by one of the concrete streetlights, his head down, apparently sleeping. She was lonely. She walked noiselessly up to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. He jumped up, then realising that it wasn't a cop, gave her a grin. She smiled back and took his hand.

Her lair, a townhouse joined with four on a block, commanded a higher price for the small lake in the rear of her complex. A statue of Shu, the life-giving force, graced the entranceway inside her flat. God of divine chaotic air from which all life originated and returned, the statue held the likeness of a male conducting a swirling of winds and tornadoes represented in gold and black painted alabastrite.

The only light filtered in from the living room window, casting an image of the large window over the black suede sofa. She led him to her sofa and he sat back, eyes closed. From the smell of him, he hadn't bathed in a while. His jeans had stains and his flannel shirt had the pocket torn off. She would have to clean the suede, but smiled and sat next to him. Then she took him in her arms and locked her lips on his. The breath had a sour taste, but she pulled him in, breaking it only after his body went limp. She stood and wiped her mouth as she headed for the kitchen. She poured a glass of water from the tap and drank it down, staring thoughtfully at his slumped body. It would be simplest to return him to the parking lot. She went to the bedroom and dressed in sweats. Then she carried him back to the streetlight and left him as she'd found him.

She re-entered the austere homestead and bowed, acknowledging the divinity of Shu.

*

She could sense him outside, and clad only in a sheer flowing whiteness, she left her apartment and went to him. He was tall, black and pulsing with life. She needed him, needed to taste his breath. The thrill of the hunt excited her. Moisture beading on his upper lip glistened in the humidity of the southern night as he passed the lamppost in front of his flat. She stood outside just long enough to catch his attention, then slowly turned, her opaque robe blowing gracefully as she returned to her lair. He would come now and she would wait for him.

It took several days and one more late night appearance for Reginald Sharp to seek her out. She intrigued him—a beautiful woman who lived several doors down from him in a singles-only subdivision. He'd seen her only at night and only dressed provocatively, but the consciousness behind the physical trappings was what intrigued him. It certainly didn't hurt for the vessel to be so attractive, he admitted. But what possessed her to make those two evening appearances, precisely it seemed, when he was returning from his office downtown after a long day's work? She was probably lonely by the looks of it, but she didn't exhibit the posture of someone in need. She'd stood full stature, head upraised. There was no coyness about her. Reggie figured she wanted something and was pretty damned confident she'd get it. She wasn't entirely wrong, either. He had an interest, but how to make the connection without seeming trite or so obvious troubled him. He was used to taking the initiative.

Reggie knocked on her door. He held the bottle of wine behind his back. He felt that bringing wine was a clear way to break the ice. No cute-sie wreath garnished her door, nothing to give away the personality of its occupant. He shifted a little and knocked again. Maybe she wasn't home. He should've figured she had a day job like his, but he took Sundays off and assumed most people, religious or not, did so as well. After a few minutes of waiting, he left feeling sheepish for the first time in as long as he could remember. He decided to try again that night.

She cradled another's head in one arm, and bent down to draw his breathe out. He gave little struggle. His breath tasted of smoke and wine. His blonde hair felt soft on her skin. She nuzzled it afterwards. She sighed and released his limp body. She didn't worry about the remains. She was still hungry. Why didn't he come last night, she wondered. She'd heard the knock on the front door, but was busy with this other one and once the started, she could not stop the force of Shu.

*

She opened the door that Sunday night when Reginald returned. He smiled and presented a bottle of Chardonnay. She took his arm to lead him inside and felt an almost electric tingle. He was the one! She led him inside and closed the door. He sat on the black suede chair as she walked into the kitchen to open the bottle. She poured two tall glasses and carried them out to him. She needed him to be on the sofa and stood over him for a moment before handing him the glass.

"Nice apartment," he said. The décor was gold and black. He wondered if she was into the African thing.

"Thank you."

Not much on small talk, he thought. "So what do you do?"

She smiled and sipped her wine. He was the one. "We haven't been properly introduced. I am Leisha." She held out her hand and he took it. Her grip was strong, but when she held the shake and pulled him lightly to her, he felt a surge of energy. He hadn't been with someone in several months. His work took all his spare time.

She pulled him to her and he obliged. His breath was sweet and strong. She felt the power of Shu forcing her to breath him in. She felt him pull slightly, sucking back some of her. She broke off. No one had ever pulled back. For a moment she felt out-of-control. But she wanted more.

Holding him securely to her breast and stroking his cheek lightly with the back of her fingers. She loved him. He tasted moist and full, his breath heavy in her frigid apartment. She had taken only part of him, but wanted all. He twisted a little in her hold and looked at her. He could only breath; no words to explain his feelings would be sufficient. He rose up to meet her again and their lips locked. She pulled deeply, savouring the heady breath he gave.

Reginald abruptly pulled away when she made a strange gurgling noise. He thought maybe she was coughing. She growled and pulled him back to her, breathing in his essence, and leaving him dazed. He managed to pull away once more when she bit his lip. The sharp pain surprised him and he left her apartment, mumbling about having to get up early for work in the morning. He nearly ran into the large statue as he left.

Once back at his home, he felt silly. A beautiful, strong woman wanted him. He was a fool to leave. Still, something inside told him to go. He went with his instincts. They were rarely wrong. He sat in front of his wide screen television and turned on the news.

"The homeless man found dead outside Moroccan Villa Apartments was identified as James Fern of North Carolina," the news anchor said.

Reggie turned up the sound. This was his apartment complex. It was a relatively safe area. They even had a blonde-haired punker as a security guard. He went to the front door and locked it.

Reginald called in to the office for the first time ever. He simply felt too drained to listen to the neuroses of his patients, besides he deserved a break. He logged on to his PC and looked online for an answer, anything to explain the strange encounter he'd had at Leisha’s apartment last night. They hadn't engaged in sex, but felt the happy tired of just getting laid. That strange statue in her flat gave him the creeps, though. It was somewhat nondescript, but he felt like it was watching him. He'd have to ask her about it. Reggie liked statues as well. He'd bought a beautiful lioness statue that came with a glass tabletop and placed in front of his black suede loveseat. But this statue was bizarre. It looked like a demon in swirls.

That night, Reggie stopped by Leisha's. She opened the door wearing an incredible gown that looked like it was spun gold. The colour complemented her bronzy skin tone. She looked like a princess. He decided that they needed to learn more about each other. That it was necessary for him, actually surprised him. He'd bedded a few women and never even needed to know their names. This was different somehow. He needed to know what he was so attracted to with her. Sure she was dressed seductively, but why did he feel like there was a connection with her?

He looked over at the statue. It was commanding. "Where did you get the statue? It is really interesting."

"It is Shu."

"Never heard of him. Local artist?"

"He is Shu," Leisha indicated the statue itself. "I found him in my travels."

"I collect statues as well. I'm really drawn to lions. The lioness in particular."

Leisha stared at him. He was strong. He was her mate. She walked over to the chair and took his hand. She wanted him on the sofa, but he resisted, taking her hand and patting it.

"I thought we might get to know each other a bit first. I know we, well, last night, we had something." He wasn’t sure what to call it.

"I understand. You need more. I need more as well."

He wasn't certain that she really knew what he meant, but couldn't explain it any better than that.

"Yeah."

She leant over and kissed his cheek. The energy pulse he felt made him want her. He stood up instead. She stood and walked him to the door. "Tomorrow you will come back and then we will talk more."

"I hope you don't think I am weird. I just think this is a good thing and I want to start it off right, you know?"

"Yes. I want that as well. Until tomorrow then," she said and licked his neck slowly until she reached his jaw, then she nipped him and smiled.

It took all his reserve to leave. When he made it back to his apartment, he decided to look up that statue on the Internet. He tried the keywords shoo, shou, and shu. But pulled up Chinese websites for Wu Shu. He was certain the statue was not oriental. The black and gold reminded him of Egypt.

It wasn't until he tried Egyptian and shu together that he found what he was looking for. Shu, apparently was the Egyptian god of the atmosphere and of dry winds, brother and husband of Tefnut. He was represented in hieroglyphics as an ostrich feather. It was said that if he ever ceased to interpose himself between earth and sky, life would cease to be on our world—an accurate assessment, it would seem. There needed to be room for air.

Tefnut was Shu's mate. They were two halves of one soul. Sounded like soul mates to Reggie. That was pretty heavy. Was Leisha into all that occult stuff? The psyche of those type of people could really weird you out. He'd once had a patient who believed he was Saint Sebastian and would ritually pierce his body with everything from toothpicks to safety pins. Reggie continued to search for Tefnut. She was the goddess of moisture and clouds, sister and wife of Shu. Tefnet was depicted as Usually depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness. Now that was really strange. He had a lion statue and she had a strange statue of a man surrounded by what looked like tornadoes.

The striking similarities were a classic set-up. He needed to clear his mind, he knew. Else, he would fall into her delusion. This was starting to be too much of a mind trip; maybe what he felt wasn’t that this was right, but that it was powerful? He knew he would need to break it off with her. He couldn't bring himself to date someone he believed wasn’t mentally clear, and she must really be into this Egyptian thing. He thought back over last night. He’d told her that he collected lion statues. He's already been playing the game and didn't realise it. He cursed himself. Now he’d really have to be careful to explain himself. He had to tell her that he was a psychiatrist. Hopefully she'd take it well. He could feel this backfiring on him in a lawsuit. He decided to break it to her tonight.

She took him in. He was wasting precious air, so she joined with him to calm him. He would feed her tonight and she would cherish him always. She loved him, even as her lips locked with his one last time. She loved him.

Written by: Tom Begley

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