Chessa, Goddess of Mirrors, descended upon the land of mortals, summoned by the sad sound of someone who couldn’t see their own true beauty.

A young giraffe, gangly and awkward, wept by a watering hole. The light that glimmered from Chessa’s glass wings caught her eyes however.

“Do not weep, young one,” Chessa said in a warm voice. Standing against the sun, she was but a silhouette to the giraffe who stared wide-eyed in awe.

“Who, who are you?” the giraffe sniffled.

“I am Chessa, Goddess of Mirrors. I am here to show you your true beauty.”

“My…beauty? But, but everyone is always making fun of the way I look…”

Chessa gave the young giraffe a warm smile before stepping off the rock she’d landed upon and walking closer, until she came to sit beside the giraffe.

“Beauty is not all dependant upon the exterior. One could be the most beautiful thing to the eye, but even that can be made ugly by a mean heart. Come, tell me more about yourself.”


And so for the next long while the two talked. Chessa distilled her knowledge, and tried her best to help the young giraffe to find her true beauty.

“Thank you, Goddess, Chessa,” Said the young giraffe, “and I will spread your word about beauty.”

“You are welcome. And yes, please do. It is not too late to erase the ugliness from the hearts of those who cannot see the beauty within.” Again, that ever-present warm smile was upon the Goddess of Mirrors’ face.


Confident that her work was done, and pleased with herself, Chessa ascended to the sky, the sun-set glistening on her glass wings, casting light on the ground below like the sun through a stained-glass window.

“Farewell!” She called.

The young giraffe watched the goddess rise to the sky, and stood there watching until Chessa was but a memory in the clouds.

This was the work Chessa did, her reason for being - to be the mirror to other’s souls, to show them their beauty, inside and out. It wasn’t always an easy job. Sometimes it was hard to see the beauty in some of those she visited. However, she was a persistent and patient, kind, caring, goddess. She wouldn’t give up so easily. Other times it was easy. Some people just needed a reminder - a little light shined on them on a particularly dark time in their lives. Chessa was glad to give it.

Fluttering up in the skies above, Chessa looked fondly down at the landscape below. So many lives, so many definitions of beauty… Chessa thought it all beautiful. She also knew someone else who knew beauty just as well as she. She thought of Luci. Although he seemed most concerned with external beauty, Chessa appreciated her fellow God none the less. ‘Vanity’ had a bad connotation. Well, for that matter, a bad denotation, too, but that didn’t make Luci bad. At least, Chessa didn’t think so.

Oh, but now why was she thinking of him? Chessa shook her head, and if lions could blush, she likely would have been.

Did she like him - in that…more than friends sort of way? Well,…she wasn’t sure. Maybe she did? Poor Chessa didn’t really know. Love was one form of beauty she wasn’t entirely familiar with. Oh, but a part of her longed so to know! She knew it wasn’t something she could force. She would have to let it find her. And then she could marvel at the most beautiful thing in the world - love. Love, love, love. Yes, it was said to be the most beautiful thing in the world.

Would one day her mirrors come to reflect the holy light of love? Was if perhaps starting to glimmer light the lighting of stars upon her glass wings as the sky drew darker? Chessa liked to think so. She hadn’t met anyone that had ever made her feel so content. She didn’t feel like she had to work when she was with him. Because Luci knew beauty. He had that confidence in himself. It was refreshing, to say the least. She always felt like she had to solve any problem some one might have with their appearance, heart, or soul. And she always wanted to bring peace of mind and happiness to them. It was harrowing work. To not feel like she had to do that… There were no words.

Soon Chessa was back in the Realm of the Gods. Home. She couldn’t stay in the mortal realm too long. There was so much strife down there calling to her. Up here the feeling like she was needed could at least be ignored - as much as she hated to say she was doing so…

She wondered when she would see him again? Just how did one go about finding the God of Vanity? Being the Goddess of Mirrors, could she not draw him to her? Ah well. She was being a silly little kitten anyway, she decided.

Walking till she came to the place she called hers, Chessa lay and took to cleaning herself. She wasn’t vain, but she liked to look pretty. She knew her heart was good and beautiful, she knew it didn’t matter what she looked like on the outside, but she still wanted to at least appear presentable. Even if she wasn’t likely to see anyone for the rest of the evening, or even till past dawn. She didn’t have many friends or associates up in the Realm of the Gods, after all. However, she didn’t feel lonely. She felt warm. Happy. She helped others when they needed her the most. It didn’t matter if she had mountains of friends, she decided a long time ago. It didn’t matter how hard the ‘job’ was at times. She was still happy. The only bit of discontent she had lately… was her growing yearning for the beauty of love. That knowledge, that experience… She could only dream and ponder what such a beautiful thing must feel like. And that, coupled with how few her associations were, was it any wonder that Luci came to mind most often? Silly thoughts. She was a silly goddess indeed.