There was a time when there was no such thing as empathy. Sympathy and compassion were nonexistent, and generosity was no where. People did what they had to do to survive, and nothing more. There was no thought, we were like animals. We had no remorse for what we did or how we acted. Until one day when I was called upon by the young goddess Myrda, the goddess of the rain and the wind. She was the daughter of the great god Cramius. Cramius was like the Greek god Zeus in all his power. I did not know why I was called upon, for I was just a simple girl. I never thought I was much of anything.

The day I was called by Myrda was a fine day in the land of Apsaras. The large rolling hills in the distance seemed to touch the sapphire sky. The weather was temperate, and the suns rays warmed my arms and face as I stepped outside from my small home nestled against the trees of a tiny forest. I looked up into the blue sky and saw a glow coming towards me. The glow came closer and I squinted into the bright light to see Myrda’s face. She told me that I was chosen to receive a new gift for the mortals.

“To get your gift, you must travel to the sky,” she said.

“How do I get to the sky?” I asked.

“To get to the heavens you must travel across the land to the highest Emerald Hill, then, you wait till night comes,” she explained. “When night is here and the stars are out, you have to catch one and jump on it, then it will take you to the heavens, where you will meet me, and receive your gift,”

“What is the gift?” I asked her.

“You will find out soon enough,” she said smiling. Her long brown hair was in ringlets around her face, and her bright green eyes twinkled in the golden light enveloping her.

“Why was I chosen?” I asked, full of curiosity.

“Why? Because you are the most worthy of course,” she said laughing. Her voice was smooth as honey and her words flowed off her tongue like a beautiful stream.

Before I could ask her anymore questions, she disappeared in a flash of gold light. I knew I had to obey the gods, but I was frightened of traveling to the Emerald Hills. I had never been past the Woodland Forest and I did not know what to expect. I was honored to be selected to receive a new gift, so I decided to go.

I packed a small canvas bag filled with rubies and emeralds for payment, some bread and cheese, and a set of clothes. I set off towards the hills with Myrda’s instructions running through my head. I traveled by sight, I could see the Emerald Hills in the distance, but no matter how far I traveled, they never seemed to get any closer. This journey was going to take much longer than I thought.

I eventually came to the Woodland Forest after about 3 hours of traveling. Inside the forest, I could no longer see the hills. It would take days to travel around the forest, so I climbed a tree and traveled above the green forest floor. My nimble feet had the ability to grip branches, making it easier to jump from branch to branch. I covered the length of the forest in about 5 hours. When I reached the clearing, I could see the Emerald Hills clearly again, they were a little closer than before.

Dusk was coming and I had to find a place to sleep soon. I walked through fields of tall grass, looking for a sign of some people, or houses. I had been fearful of what was beyond the forest, but now I saw that there was nothing. The grass finally turned to a gravel path, which I followed for some time.

After a while I came to an inn off the side of the path. I walked in the front door of the inn and saw a small and plump woman at the front table. She had curly red hair that was sticking out in every direction. She had small eyes that scanned me as I walked toward her.

“I need a room for the night,” I said

“Room forty-two, that will be three rubies,” she replied.

I gave her the gems and trudged up the creaking steps to a room that had a forty-two written in chalk on the door. I opened up the door and observed my surroundings. The room had a single mat for sleeping, and small desk in the back corner. It was dusty, and smelled as if no one had occupied it for years. I settled onto the mat and using my bag for a crude pillow, I soon found myself in a deep slumber.

I woke up to a loud crash. I listened for a few moments and heard yelling in the lobby. Robbers, I thought. I grabbed my belongings and opened the door quietly. I looked down the stairs to see the bandits leaving out the door with sacks of food and gems. I padded softly down the stairs to see the red-headed woman sitting on the floor. She was crying, but trying not to show it, and there was a bad bruise beginning to show on her forehead. I looked at her for a minute, I knew I should just go back to my room, but something stopped me. I felt something for her. It wasn’t pity; it was something else, something bigger. It burned in my chest. I could not describe it; I wanted to ask the woman if she was hurt badly, and I wanted to give her some of my riches, I wanted to end her sorrow.

“Excuse me?” I asked, kneeling down to the floor a few feet from her.

“What?” she asked bitterly.

“What is your name?” I asked, my voice soft. She looked confused for a moment.

“Rayna,” she finally said.

“Well, Rayna, are you hurt?” I pushed on.

“Why do you want to know?” she looked irritated, like I was playing some cruel joke on her. “Just go back to your room, you paid for a night, bandits won’t change that,”

I sighed and retreated to my room. I once again lay down on the mat, but I could not sleep. I wanted to know what that sensation was that I had felt earlier. It was like a puzzle that needed to be solved, but I was not able to come up with the solution.

When morning came, I awoke and gathered my canvas bag. I went down the old inn’s steps and stopped at the front table. Rayna wasn’t awake yet. I stared at that table for a long while. I left three rubies, two emeralds, and a small loaf of honey bread, before going on my way.

When I got to the Emerald Hills, it was early afternoon. I began climbing hills, and going back down them. I repeated this multiple times until I reached the highest hill. This hill towered over all the other hills. By this time, it was late afternoon. The hill was beautiful. It was lush and green, unlike anything I had ever seen before. The dark green colors surrounded me from every angle, the wind whispered in my ears, its chilly fingers playing with my hair. I lay down in the grass, and its dewy feel made my skin crawl with goose-bumps. The crisp smell was so sweet, and it stung my nose as I took deep breaths, soaking in the hills beauty. The air was cold, but refreshing, the late afternoon sun hid behind storm clouds.

As I lay there in the cool grass, it started to rain. Ice cold drops of water fell on my face and body. I opened my mouth and let the water gather on my tongue before swallowing the icy liquid. The cold feeling stayed in my throat as I laughed. I didn’t know why I was laughing. Perhaps I was laughing at myself. Laughing at how silly it was that I had been afraid to come here. Everything was so clear and attractive, why hadn’t I ever traveled here before? Surely it was a lot safer here than in my home, or the woods. Then I thought, but here, there’s no where to hide. I couldn’t run if I had to. Everything is open for everyone to see. In the forest you can hide. Hide in the dark shadows of the forest, underneath the protective roof that the trees provide. Before, I could drown in my sorrows, and in my fears. Not here, here you were torn open, raw, for anyone to see you.
So why was I so happy? Here in the rain, on top of a monstrous hill that overlooked the lands. I felt I had power. I had a purpose. Back at the inn, I had a reason to give my things to Rayna, I didn’t have a word for my feeling, but I knew that my realization of self-worth drove me to put myself aside, and do those things. That was greater than any gift the gods could ever give me, because I found it by myself.
Night soon came and stars began to appear. I stood up and gasped. I was in the stars. They were all around me, their bright light warmed me and dried my rained on clothes. I felt like one of them, pulling in all their energy and reflecting it back. I was a star, there on top of the hill. I reached for one, but it flashed away. I reached for another, and it did the same thing. It soon turned into a game of chase. I ran around the top of the hill, trying to grab on to the stars, they were so fast and bright, it was hard to see. I finally caught onto one, pulling it down with all my strength. I had to close my eyes as I pulled myself onto the star, for it shined so bright.
I settled onto the star and it shot off into the deep night sky. I opened my eyes and saw the universe around me. The feeling of being guided by the star is one I cannot describe. The air pressures changed constantly and billions of other stars were all around me. They all had different colors and sizes, but they were all more beautiful than the last.
The star stopped above cottony white clouds and evaporated. I fell softly onto the clouds, and it was suddenly light as day. A large pair of golden doors stood a few feet from me. I got up and walked to the doors. They opened slowly as if they had been expecting a visitor. The doors opened to a large marble hallway with gold walls. Everything was white and gold, it was an extravagant sight. I walked softly down the marble hallway, my feet making soft thudding noises as I walked. The cold marble nipped at my feet.
At the end of the long hallway there was another set of tall golden doors, they opened readily, just as the others had done. These doors led to a large marble room, furnished with gold couches and chairs. Glass tables stood on the sides of the room and there was a massive circular gold rug in the middle of the room. The whole room had a gold sheen to it.
“Hello,” said mellifluous voice from behind me. I whirled around to find Myrda standing behind me. Her long brown hair was in perfect ringlets and was pulled back by a gold band. Her long white gown reached the floor, and glowed with a bright gold light. Her tiny face had smile on it, and her teeth flashed in the light.
“Hello,” I said back.
“Did you have a pleasurable journey?” she asked.
“Yes, it was fine,” I replied. I didn’t want to seem too overcome with the beauty of this new land, it seemed silly to act that way in front of a goddess.
“Fantastic,” she said, her smile growing wider.
“So, how do I receive the gift?” I asked her.
She laughed, “You have already received the gift,”
I was utterly confused. I looked down to see my body unchanged, I looked across the room into a mirror to find the same lanky brown hair and forest green eyes I had when I left. Myrda must have sensed my confusion.
“It’s not on the outside, it’s on the inside,” she told me.
“Well what is it?” I asked.
“You know the feeling, but you need a word to describe it, can you think of a time when something over came you?” she asked me.
I thought about what I felt in the inn, when I gave Rayna some gems and food. “I stayed in an inn, and robbers came, the woman had everything taken from her, when I left in the morning I left her some gems and a loaf of bread,” I explained. “I don’t know why I did that, nobody does those things, and I felt like I had to,”
“That was empathy, you could also call it compassion or sympathy,” said Myrda. “People need to care for each other, that’s what the gods have decided, the mortals will never succeed in being powerful without help, love, and compassion,”
“So, I am the first person to have felt empathy?” I asked.
“Yes, now you must go across the land and spread the word,” she said warmly.
“How can I do that?” I asked. “How will I get people to listen to me?” the old fears were creeping back, I tried to fight them off.
“You are brave now, you can accept the fact that you provide use, and worth, people will listen to you because they will see the light you now hold,” she said.
I thought about her words carefully. I knew this would be a challenge, but I had to do it. I needed to distribute this new gift to all the people of the world.
“Now go,” Myrda said, disrupting my thoughts. “Go share your words, and the words of the gods,” she disappeared in a flash and a sensation of falling came over me.
I landed with a soft thud on the soft green grass of the highest Emerald Hill. It was morning and the dew seeped through my clothes and chilled my skin. I got up off the ground and looked around. I saw the world in a new light, and with this new vision I would travel across the universe. I would make people listen to my words, and they would understand. I would be a star, shining, for everyone to see.