Enki stroked his long gray beard, it had grown so long that he had begun to braid it to keep it out of the way, but no amount of knotting could prevent the dreadful itch that it caused. Once again, he felt older. With a weary sigh, Enki replied, “Child, I laid my Father to rest, I committed a murder, by making a sieve of his body while taking refuge in his heart. Any further detail would go well beyond the limits of your comprehension and if you had one, stomach. As for this river, while I did not create it, I am its creator. The blood of the primeval sea is as tumultuous as it is endless, and for these seven years, it has ceaselessly flowed, creating the great flood you see here today. While this flood has come at the cost of many lives, if it ever settles, it will bring only benefits to this plane. The air, sea, and land will overflow with chi and chakra, and this plane’s connection to the existential laws will strengthen. This place will become a paradise where all the life that remains can prosper and thrive. Gaia, the great earth mother who carries us all, will enjoy a time of abundance, prosperity, and peace. Perhaps my greatest sin will one day come to be known as the greatest of blessings.” A small smile played across Enki’s face as he let out a light chuckle. “As for my direction, I can only tell you that I will follow this river of death beneath the underworld known as Kur, to the lowest ninth plane. There I will find a place where day and night never meet. A place where darkness, sleep, and death are ever-present behind the curtain of Nyx. Doesn't it sound wonderful?" Enki's eyes lost any sparkle of joy and he turned them towards the river as if he wanted to hide his despair from his newfound confidant. Taking a deep breath to settle his emotions, he masked himself in a smile that looked more pained than genuine and continued. "Some call the place Tartarus, some call it exile, but I will call it home. At least, until I atone for my sins." The raft descended into a gloomy silence. Nothing was said between the two until a comforting breeze swayed the sapling's branches and tousled Enki's silvery mane. It was as if Gaia herself was encouraging the two to carry on with the conversation.
The sapling asked, "Is there no other way?"
Enki replied, " There is not."
"Why not," the sapling probed.
Enki looked up at the sky and closed his eyes in thought for a moment before he turned his eyes back on the sapling with a heavy gaze. " I have things I must do in the great void. There is something I must hide and only Tartarus is a capable enough den for me to store it in. Also, this is something of a trial for me. I have caused mass death and destruction in a plane that was once teaming with life," Enki motioned to the endless sea that surrounded the raft to emphasize his point, "due to this, my karma is no longer in balance. I can only rectify this by bringing life to a plane devoid of it. If I fail, there is little chance that I will survive the tribulation, but If I succeed..." Enki hesitated, "If I succeed, I will free myself from that prison. I will return triumphantly, as a celestial." Enki shook his head, skeptical of his own words before he continued, "Finally, did I not answer your last question seven years ago?” A small smirk tugged at the corners of Enki’s lips, “I am Enki, bringer of wisdom and murder of truth. Are my words, no, am I so easily forgotten?”
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After that statement, Enki dramatically sulked. However, his evasiveness only irritated the sapling. As if mere words could somehow wound his invulnerable pride. As if any question could ever shake his confidence. The sapling had no idea why Enki had been so direct with his first two answers, but so enigmatic with the last. Nonetheless, now was not the time for his inapt sense of humor. The man had just said that he was traveling to a different plane for heaven's sake! What type of being was capable of such a feat? The sapling's mind churned with questions that needed to be answered. Now was the time for truth, the whole truth.
The sapling huffed in exasperation, “Father you know well that I was not asking for your name. What are you? How do you never age, tire, thirst, or hunger? And what in the name of the gods is a celestial?”
Enki erupted in uproarious laughter, “It seems the young lady’s determination has finally come to match her perception! However…” Enki’s demeanor turned serious, “some truths are better kept hidden. The answers you seek will lead you to a future you may come to regret. It’s best if I keep them to myself.”
There was a pause. The sapling wanted to choose her next words carefully. In her mind, she fumbled through platitudes that could not properly articulate her thoughts, and sophistries that would never trick the old man across from her. Nothing seemed to fit the message she wanted to convey, and nothing seemed likely to sway the old man. In the end, she grew tired of contemplating. For the first time, the sapling decided, it was okay to let her words precede her thoughts. She decided, that if she couldn’t change the old man’s mind, then she would at least let him have a piece of hers. So, for the first time, the sapling spoke earnestly, “Ever since I can remember I have been directionless. Swept up in the great river I was guided by its flow. I did not have the strength to determine my direction." The sapling paused again to organize her thoughts before continuing, "I am not the driver of this raft. The river’s course cannot be altered, but you have guided this craft and in turn, you have guided me. You gave me direction, but I remain directionless. I have neither the wisdom nor the capability to alter the flow of my destiny, and I do not dare to say that I have the strength to change its course. However, I do not wish to drown in its current either. If the answers I seek today will, finally, allow me to guide myself. If they will, finally, allow me to choose my direction, and float safely upon my destiny's surface, then I must have them, and you, in good conscience, should not wish to stand in my way. Do not condemn me to drown, as you have done so many others. Please, I beg you, teach me to sail.”