I was sitting out by the river in the middle of the day, my bare feet sitting in the cold water as it flowed through the valley. It was strange you know, sitting here like this. A river this wide and deep for a normal human would be incredibly dangerous to cross due to its strong currents and frigid water. But for me you see it was barely a puddle that reached to my ankles, something I'm not sure I'll ever get used to. Looking around at the vast forest that spread out in every direction, filled with tall trees that barely reached my chest and few that ever made it any higher, it was enough to make me laugh at the absurdity of it all. Even if I didn't have all this magical power I would be a goddess to these humans nonetheless.

Closing my eyes I look at the prayers floating about inside my head. I can make out many prayers from the humans in the village, hearing them as faint thoughts in my mind everywhere I go. Some of them were things I could help with but others were simply impossible it seemed even with magic. It was then that one stood out to me in my mind: a little boy's voice asking for me to bring his father back to him from wherever he went to.

"My father left months ago and it made my mother very sad. Just this morning my mother got some kind of letter about father and cried again, she must miss father still as I do."

Missing persons reports were things I had successfully managed to fulfill before so I thought this might be possible. This sounds like some kind of marital breakup so it might be easy to fix.

Time to get to work I thought to myself as I pulled my feet out of the river and onto the grass. I then stood up and reached down to brush the sand and dirt off my dress from where I was sitting down. With a quick glance over the river once more I turned to walk into the village. It seemed from the prayer the boy's name was Heubert and he sounded very young.

I approach the edge of the village and put my hands on my hips looking around the buildings. "Does anyone here know where I can find a young boy named Heubert?"

This sort of thing was common these days and I usually got answers to my questions quickly. Everyone in the village understood at this point that I was here to help them and there was always someone who know whoever it was I was looking for. Thankfully this was a small village where most people knew each other, otherwise finding people praying would be more difficult. I was still learning how to link people who pray to their location on the internal map I have.

I walked through the village to the western side because the prayer was coming from this area I knew. Just pinning down the exact location was something I'd have to practice.

"Is there any Heubert around here?" I asked again.

"Over here goddess" a woman's voice said.

I turned around to see a middle aged woman and a young boy walk out of a nearby house. They both had a sort of orange-ish colored hair. The woman was obviously a mother and this child her son, her arms around the boy as she walked him towards me. I decide to walk over to them and in but a single step I was directly in front of them. I then carefully kneeled down on the ground and lowered myself down so I was hunched over my legs.

"Are you Heubert?" I asked the boy trying to sound as friendly as possible.

The boy looked up at me with his greenish eyes wide in awe and his mouth open. It was obvious that seeing me so up close looming over him was almost too much for his little mind to comprehend. With a pat on the shoulder from his mother he shut his mouth and nodded.

I smiled down at him. "I heard your prayer about your father little one. Would you mind telling me more about him?"

The mother's expression instantly became distressed and she looked away for a moment. The little Heubert however immediately began listing off all the amazing things about his father like how strong he was and so on, things you'd expect a son to say about his father. After he was finished I nodded.

"Sounds like a great dad" I said. "Do either of you have any ideas where he went off to then?"

I realized this might be a touchy subject for the mother, but there was no easy way to really ask this.

The woman looked down with great focus at her son's head as if she had found lice crawling around in it or something.

"Goddess..." she said clearly emotional, "My husband he. He went off to be a soldier in the lord's army several months ago." She paused. "We recently got notice-" she choked back a sob.

"What's wrong mother?" Heuburt asked looking up at her.

"Oh." I really was caught off guard with that.

A dead father that the mother couldn't bear to tell her son about. This just went from dicey to downright depressing. What was I supposed to do now? If this woman wasn't able to tell her son the terrible truth I guess it was my job to? It seemed like I was being expected to provide all the answers here given the look the mother was giving me. A goddess to pass all your major issues off onto sure does seem convenient, unless you're the goddess I suppose.

"So um" I said in a lower voice. "Do you want to tell him? Or should I do it?"

"Tell me what mother?" Heubert asked.

My mere suggesting to take this responsibility off her hands was enough to break this woman and she gripped her son's shoulders tightly for a moment.

"Goddess Jenna knows where your father is son" she said. "She can tell you."

She then released her son and took several steps back, covering her mouth and obviously trying to prevent having an emotional breakdown in public. I decided perhaps a more private place to speak would be in order and I lowered my hand down in front of them.

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"If you don't mind little Heubert" I said. "Climb onto my hand and I can tell you about your father alright?"

There were a few spectators now, all clearly here to see how this situation would go down. Many people probably already knew the man was dead, but given a goddess's involvement at this point it would be very juicy gossip to see it all go down to the child. Lame, but that's how humans are.

Heubert climbed into my palm without complaining and the mother didn't question this.

"Wow your hand is so huge goddess!" he exclaimed.

"Yes it is" I said smiling down at him. "Now stay sitting down while I stand up ok?" I then look down at his mother. "I'll bring him back in a moment."

She nodded as I stood up, the people around me who had come to watch quickly wandering off to their own business again. It was clear to everyone that the goddess was going to keep this private and that snoopers were discouraged. I was going to take the boy somewhere private to preserve the dignity of the poor widow.

I then carefully walked to the edge of the village and over to the rushing river once again. I actually had to hold up my other hand to cover in case the boy somehow fell off my palm. He was very active, crawling around like some sort of pale bug in my hand. It tickled and I was having trouble keeping him in my palm despite my efforts tilting my hand around to make him tumble back in.

"This is so high up goddess!" he cried.

"I'm aware of that" I said with a huff. "That's why I want you to stay still. Ok?"

Thankfully at my size walking to the river took less than a minute, and crossing it was as simple as a couple steps with a splash. Once on the other side of the river I sat down in the trees, right at the edge of the clearing. I then sighed and lifted my hand closer to in front of my face so we could look each other in the eyes. This wasn't going to be easy.

I gulped and looked right at my passenger, the boy looking right back at me, into my left eye if I could guess.

"So little one" I said. "About your father."

"Do you know where he went?" Heubert asked excitedly. "Do you know when he'll be back?"

I sighed. "You're father you see, he went off to protect your land from bad people. He was working for the lord of this province. He was a soldier. You know what that is right?"

"Yeah they get swords and armor and fight monsters and bad guys!" Heubert said imitating swinging a sword.

That took care of the reason he father left, now hopefully this boy knew about the concept of death. Perhaps a comparison would help here.

"Well you know about how sometimes dogs that go out with the hunters in the forest" I said trying to ease into this. "They don't come back at the end of the day. You know what happens to them right?"

Heubert was thinking for a moment. "You mean the dogs that get killed by bears and stuff?"

I nodded. "Yes those dogs get killed. They go out with the hunters to find food for their families and the village, but in doing this noble thing they end up dying. They never come home." I pause for a moment. "You're father... Well he was a soldier and he was killed fighting to protect you."

I want to close my eyes so badly, to look away and pretend I wasn't here. Heubert deserved better than that and I was a goddess for goddess sake. I looked right at that little boy and accepted the consequences to being the one to give this bad news. I hoped this went well.

"My father is dead?" Heubert said calmly, as if it wasn't sinking it yet.

It would.

"Yes I'm afraid so" I replied. "That's why your mother was crying."

"It can't be true!" Heubert said upset. "He was too strong! He's coming back!"

Denial. I expect that.

I let out a long sigh and lower my hand closer to my chest, leaning back and supporting myself with my other hand behind me. I looked up at the sky above me, wondering why tragedy had to exist. I died myself once but I can't remember what happened after, only waking up in this world as I am now.

"I died once I believe" I said finally, the boy crying in my hand. "But I'm special. As a goddess I can't die forever you see."

I look down at Heubert in my hand and smile gently. He was looking up to my face, no look of doubt in his face but one of confusion.

"You see when I died I got to see what happens on the other side" I continued. "Its a very good thing for those with goods hearts." I looked back up at the sky. "That much I can tell you for certain. Those with good hearts like your father end up someplace that's so much better than anything you can imagine. I know he regrets leaving you and your mother behind, but however he died left him no choice. If he could choose to he would come back to you today, but death isn't fond of releasing you once it takes it upon itself to whisk you away to the good place you go."

The sniffling in my hand continued and I looked back down at Heubert. He was sitting in my palm and wiping his eyes and nose. He had been crying pretty heavily. If he had heard this from his mother it would surely have been traumatic, but perhaps hearing it from a goddess like me made it more bearable for him. That's what I hoped at least. I was a figure of absolute authority. Even though I don't remember being dead all that well I do have a feeling of peace and euphoria thinking about it so it had to have been a good place.

"S-So father is someplace better than here?" Heubert asked. "What w-will happen to m-mother and me?"

That was something I didn't know, but knowing how small communities acted it would be likely they would end up alright. I gave a smile and lifted my hand back up to my face.

"The people in the village" I said. "Lots of people here care about you and your mother. They'll surely be helping you out. It will all be ok."

Heubert seemed to understand and calmed down greatly after hearing this from me. Its not like I was lying or anything, but hearing these words from some huge giantess who the adults worship certainly makes them sink in and be better believed by a young mind.

"Thank you goddess" he said wiping his face once again. "I-I think I understand."

"Are you ready to go back to your mother?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes goddess."

"Very good then!" I said sitting upright and standing up with a grunt. "Now lets see you stay still in my hand while I walk hmm? I don't want you falling off my hand."

"Yes goddess" he said clearly disappointed.

It was a very quick walk back to the village of course, re-finding his house being the only tricky thing once I got back to the western side of the village. I had heard his mother praying for her son to be understanding and safe actually which did help me quite a bit. Like with her son before it allowed me to at least pinpoint the general area and the same house was found once again quickly.

"Here we are" I said crouching down and lowering my hand to the ground.

His mother emerged from the house and ran over to my hand to help her son climb down. Once he was on the ground she embraced him in a desperate embrace, as if he would cease to exist the moment she finished her hug. They both then looked up at me while I lifted my hand into the air again.

"Goddess told me all about what happened to father" Heubert said looking up at his mother and then at me. "I know now that its going to be alright even though he went someplace forever."

His mother looked slightly shocked at how well her son was taking all of this and she looked up to me in amazement. There were tears in her eyes again but I could tell these were tears of joy.

"Thank you goddess" she said, holding her son close. "Thank you."

There wasn't really anything more for me to do or say here so I stood up with a smile.

"No problemo! Now if you'll excuse me I have to go help out some other people."

There were a couple other prayers bouncing around inside my head that seemed pretty easy to help solve. That was kind of what I did most of the day anymore, go around and help people with their problems with or without magic. Thankfully my magic had been getting better and more developed, something I was very proud of.

With one last look down at the mother and son I turned on my heels and walked off to find my next person in need. I'm definitely a super hero now.