Sheer Cupidity

300-word story: After millennia of hard work, the god of love makes a surprising discovery.

It was a pleasant afternoon and Cupid was doing his rounds. He no longer distributed sexual desire, as humans had worked that out for themselves long ago. Some even fell in love of their own accord, yet many still required an encouraging nudge from an unseen wingman.

Gliding over a park, Cupid spotted a man on a bench playing a game on his phone, and next to him was a woman reading a book. With divine grace, he grabbed an arrow and thwinged it through the air, hitting the latter between the eyes.

For a moment the woman looked confused but then her gaze settled on the man. As she initiated a conversation, another arrow lodged itself into the guy’s ear. Satisfied, the god of love was about to leave when he noticed that something was wrong. The man simply refused to look up, whereas the poor lady, understandably embarrassed at being snubbed, hurriedly vacated the bench.

Cupid was aghast! Was the arrow a dud? Had he lost his power? There didn't seem to be any logic to the situation. It was then that the man let out a whoop, moved the screen to his face and kissed it.

“By the thunderbolts of Jupiter,” muttered the hovering youth, “have I made a man fall in love with a phone?” Surely it was impossible for an adult to feel such affection toward an inanimate object; the very notion was absurd.

He fretted and fussed until suddenly realising that everyone in the park, despite such beautiful surroundings, had their eyes glued to devices. Apparently the humans were doing fine without his intervention. Providing the battery was full, they seemed perfectly content with their pocket-sized soulmates.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Cupid decided to take a long-overdue holiday and drifted into the clouds.

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Copyright © 2021 Rich Sutherland
​Image: Fran

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