#lost objects

His body ached and he sat up slowly, careful to let the cat move down to his lap.  It began to knead his thighs, its claws extended in an attempt to fluff up the thick muscle in Thor’s legs.  The god stretched, popping his joints as he did.  The couch was not comfortable but even still he was thankful that he was here.

There was a clatter and you appeared from behind a wall of books stacked one on top of each other.  You were in what Thor could only describe as pajamas, but that was a loose description.  The pants fit your waist but the legs were too short and frayed at the edges.  You had mismatched socks and a singlet top that looked far too formal to sleep in.  On your head was a beanie that appeared to be both homemade and well-loved as the stitching was a little wonky and there was a hole in the side.  “You’re up,” you said.  “Who’s your friend?”

Thor shook his head.  “He woke me up,” he said.  “I thought he must be yours.”

You came over and picked the cat up.  “Don’t normally get animals,” you said as you looked him over.  Your eyes started to glow a deep gold color.  “Not unless they want to be lost.”  You paused, closing your eyes and tilting your head.  “Barnaby,” you said finally, pulling the cat in against your body.  “He’s got a kid that loves him, but the parents took him to the forest and let him go.  Probably not safe to send him back.  Shame.  That kid is devastated.”

Thor frowned and stood, scratching the cat behind the ears.  “What do you do with the animals that show up?”  Thor asked.

“I give them a home,” you said, patting his cheek.  “I house all the lost things that come to me, Thor.  You’re evidence of that.”

He chuckled.  “I guess I am.”

“Alright, I guess we need to see what kind of food I have available,” you said.  “Come on.”

Thor followed you through the rabbit warren of items into the small, quaint kitchen.  It was cluttered, much like the rest of your home, but not nearly as badly.  There seemed to be multiples of many items.  Several different kettles and Mokas.  Mismatched pots, pans, and dinner wear (that were all chipped or cracked).  More silverware than Thor had seen in his life, including at large banquets.  Yet there were things he was used to seeing that were completely absent, such as coffee pots and glasses and a fridge were missing.

You placed the cat onto a chair and opened some cupboards and began looking around.  “Oh, nice… eggs,” you said, pulling out a carton.  You took out a couple of broken ones and tipped them onto a saucer and placed them on the floor.

“How exactly do your powers work?”  Thor asked.  “How did this cat come to you when others don’t?  And why not buy the things you need that you don’t find?”

“I could buy things,” you agreed, as you went through the bag that contained the eggs and pulled out some other items.  “Money comes to me all the time.  I have billions of dollars in missing currency.  But I am very far from anything.  That is my burden.  I must be in the last place you would look for me.  Still, sometimes I might.  The problem with larger items, the kinds I would need installed or delivered -” you waved your hand around “- how would I even allow a mortal in here?  I have had other small gods help me.  There is one god, he is new and just all about having a decent shower - ” you started laughing  “- do you know him?  He set mine up in exchange for some things.”

Thor chuckled.  “I do not believe I have made his acquaintance, but I certainly have inadvertently prayed to him since coming to Midgard.”

You laughed even harder.  “I was praying to him before he existed I think.  I might have prayed him into existence with how much I wanted plumbing.”

You shook your head and added some sardines to the plate for the cat.  “As for your other questions, there is a difference between things being lost and people not knowing where they are.  Something that is stolen is not lost and it won’t matter how hard the original owner prays to me, it will not come to me, because there is someone that knows where it is.  That is the case for living objects usually.  You might not know where a person is, but they will likely know where they are.  And if they don’t someone else will.  And if truly they are completely lost, they don’t pray to me to find themselves, they prey to find their way out.  This cat fell into a very rare exception, he didn’t know where he was, and once he was released, nobody else did either.  That’s not enough on its own.  If only the cat wished to be found, his prayers would go to someone else.  I’m not the god of direction.  It was only that his child missed him too.  That doesn’t happen often.  Usually, there’s death or theft or just being taken to the local pound involved.  For the items, they need to be wished for and they need to have been misplaced.  That’s it.  These groceries were left beside a bus bench on the way home and when they realized they were gone they wished for their return and prayed they just left them at the store.”

“Why don’t you return them?”  Thor asked.

You shook your head and began cooking.  “I return much more than I keep, but if I am only one god and my powers aren’t that great.”

“So how will you find all the pieces of Mjolnir?”  Thor asked.

The corner of your mouth twitched and you looked at him out of the corner of your eye.  “Why, that’s up to you and how badly you want it.  The pieces will come if you beg for their return,” you said.  “Of course, I have heard there are many ways to worship a god.”

Thor chuckled.  “Do you wish for me to create a shrine?”

You laughed.  “Imagine that?  Thor building a shrine to me?  What would you put in it?  One of your socks and your cell phone?”

“Perhaps,” he said.  “While we work out the fine details, I can offer my services to you.  I can go into the town and pick up supplies if you wish?  Or help get some order to the chaos of your home?”

“That is a kind offer,” you said.  “If you wander too far from the cottage you may lose it, but I will take you up on the offer to reorganize.  Not today though.  Today, we meditate.”

Thor looked you over and nodded.  He wasn’t completely sure about any of this, the way your divine powers worked were so different to any he’d come across, though it was clear that they did work, and if that meant he could have just one thing back that he’d lost, he’d take it.

After breakfast, you took a shower, and while you dressed Thor took one too.  He had to give credit to this new god, he knew how to make a decent shower.  He came out with his towel wrapped around his waist and another wrapped around his hair.  You had laid out some clothes for him on your bed, unsurprisingly, they seemed a random selection that had little to do with style, but Thor wasn’t fussy.  He’d been living in his boxers and a bathrobe for the best part of five years, he could handle a pair of sweats with a dress shirt if that’s what was on offer.

“I think they should fit you,” you said.  “But you do not want to know how that shirt was lost.”

He chuckled.  “Saying things like that only piqued my interest.  I am grateful for the change of clothes.”

He began to dress as you cleared a space on the floor and laid down a rug.  You sat down and watched him button up his shirt.  They pulled a little tight over his stomach, but he was not too concerned.  His physique was only one of the things he’d lost in the past ten years, and it was the one he was least concerned with.

He sat down opposite you and you took his hands.  “I just want you to know that I have never done anything like this before,” you said.  “It just feels like it will help.  I apologize in advance if it comes to nothing.  I guess at least it might help us both relax.”

“If there is a chance it will bring me closer to holding Mjolnir again, I’ll do it,” Thor said.

You took a deep breath and nodded.  “Close your eyes.  Focus on your breathing.  The way it feels when the air fills your lungs…”

The two of you spent the morning meditating.  Throughout the meditation, you continued to tell him to focus on what he wished to find and while he did try to focus on Mjolnir, his mind kept flicking to the friends and family he’s lost too.  People and death lay far outside your realm and he knew thinking of them would bring him nothing but pain, but if he could trade everything in for any of them to be back in his life, he’d do it in a heartbeat.

After lunch you went to see to some of your duties, sending back items into the world to be found in places the searcher swore they’d looked in several times already.  Thor spent the afternoon rearrange things to give you more space, and when that became overly repetitive he went outside to get some air.  He kept thinking about Mjolnir and wishing her back, but even with his knowledge of the universe, he felt that his thoughts were useless on their own.  While he knew you had your own magic, he also knew that wishing was not enough to make things happen.

He also wondered about your place here.  The small gods were often easily confused with mortals.  They blended into the crowd and lingered in places where they could feel their magic the strongest.

Your magic was strongest away from everyone, and he wondered when the last time you’d had contact with another sentient being.

After dinner, the two of you made the trek down into the bowels of your home to assess Mjolnir.  Barnaby the cat followed after, rubbing his face on every stack of items he passed.

You lifted the cloth that covered the shattered fragments of his former hammer and looked them over.  “Still missing a good portion,” you said and touched a few pieces.  “These are new.  So it is working.”

Thor nodded.  “I would be lying if I said I do not wish there was a way that we could expedite this.”

“I’m sorry,” you replied.  “There is a lot of magic involved.  It could be impeding it.”

“Back to your uncomfortable couch, I suppose,” he said stretching.

You laughed.  “You’re welcome to share my bed.  It is big enough for two.”

He turned his head a little, to see the intent in your offer.  There was nothing extra in your face indicating you were doing anything other than offering him a more comfortable place to lie his head.  He gave a nod. “That would be appreciated,” he said.  “I wish there was more that I could do to thank you for what you’re doing for me.”

“It has been a long time since I’ve had company,” you said.  “It is not a burden that you’re here.”

As he followed you and the cat up to your chambers, Thor couldn’t help but wonder how lonely you must get and how you could even deal with it, when even with people still in his life the loneliness he felt had nearly destroyed him.