The Future Maker (Story Excerpt)

“Not long ago a girl was born in a city called Midgard. Her parents named her Inga. The day Inga was born, a shooting star gave her a gift, as it did to all children. But this was an unusual offering. The newborn was bestowed with the gift of knowing the future.

When babies are born in Midgard, a goddess wearing a cloak made of discarded falcon feathers and crying joyful tears of gold would visit them. This goddess, Freyja, would come from Asgard, the world of divine beings. Freyja loved visiting babies born amongst humans and whispering special messages just for them into their delicate ears.

‘What an amazing gift you have received,’ Freyja gushed over the newborn Inga. ‘Use it wisely. Use this knowledge to help create good futures and prevent the bad. And don’t forget, be bold, and be daring!’ Happy with her sermon, Freyja blew a kiss in Inga’s direction, as if to seal what she had just said. She then rode off in a chariot pulled by two mighty cats across a rainbow bridge which connected the realms of humans and divine beings.”

“Everyone thought the gift Inga received was a blessing. Alas, the blessing turned into a curse.

Once, and only once in all of eternity, Midgard was visited by a fiery giant from a fiery world. The giant’s name was Surtr, and the fiery world was called Muspell. The giant cast a powerful curse. He was angry at the humans, who created enormous fires that should have only existed in the fiery world he was guarding. He came to punish them and burn the human settlement to the ground with his mighty sword. But a passing shooting star distracted him and he dropped his sword. The goddess Freyja picked up the sword and took it with her to Asgard. So the giant took revenge on Inga, a newborn human child who was given the gift of knowing the future.

Inga grew up having many prophetic visions, but hardly anyone believed her: such was Surtr’s curse.”