Gods, goddesses, and mortals of all kinds knew Adelle to be the goddess of cleverness. No one had ever dared to challenge or question her. Everyone went along with every word that came out of her gray-blue lips, for they did not want to anger her. Her hair fell down to her waist in calm ringlets and matched the color of the sun. Her pale skin was like a clean sheet of paper, clear and white. Her eyes were a dangerous black and gleamed like marbles. She never had any schooling or lessons; she was simply born with a manipulative mind. Her father was the god of all animals, and occasionally was in the form of a raccoon, which is the animal known for its sneaky ways. From her father, she got raccoon feet, which was her symbol. Her mother was unknown, since her father was always having affairs with other women.

But as Adelle grew to be a young adult, she found herself lonely. She watched as all her sisters and brothers got married and had beautiful children, and saw how they all looked so incredibly happy. Adelle sometimes wanted that life for herself, and dreamed of being as content as her family. Adelle wanted to stop dreaming, and start acting, so she decided to travel to the land of mortal. She walked through different towns, seeking out men who seemed worthy of her. Adelle found no man to pleasure her, for she was too cunning and tricky for everyone. Everyone cleared a path for her and stared, their jaws dropped and eyes never blinked. Some people were brave enough to come close to her. Some got down on their knees and bowed. Some chased after her, grasping onto her shoulders, holding on for their lives. All she did was stare into their eyes, and they would faint. If a man were to stay calm, they would be the man for her.

“Adelle! Adelle! Please, please just stay for a moment. I am the one who is meant to be with you! PLEASE!” Crowds and crowds of men chanted and screamed to get her attention. But they all failed to please her. She continued walking the cobblestone streets, heading nowhere. She felt a tap on her shoulder, “Excuse me, Miss…I found this over there. Does it belong to you?” A thin man with chocolate brown hair and butterscotch colored skin held out his hand, holding a necklace. She nodded as he dropped the necklace into her palm. She stared into his soft green eyes, waiting for him to drop on the ground or faint. But all he did was smile back at her, and return back to his stand a couple feet away. She was disappointed to see that he had no interest in her, but satisfied that he was not desperate like the others.

As the man took his place at his stand, she quickly blurted, “I’m Adelle.” Her voice came out squeaky and her cheeks turned red with embarrassment. He looked up at her and replied, “I know. Doesn’t everybody?” He let out with a chuckle. She couldn’t tell if that was a compliment or an insult. She looked down at her feet, waiting for him to break the silence. “Well, I’m Zeore. Pleased to meet you,” he declared confidently. Adelle had never met someone so sure of himself, someone who treated her equally and made her feel like a regular person. She felt a tickle in her stomach, and felt giggles swarming inside her. She never had those feelings before. But she was almost positive that those feelings were love.

She tucked her hair behind her ears and bit her lip, so unsure of what to say. It was almost like he could read her mind. “How about I take you out to dinner this evening? I stop working when the stars begin to come out…It would be pretty late, but if you are willing to wait, I’d be love to share dinner with you.”

“Yes! I’ll meet you right here!” She was so excited that she did not care how silly she might have sounded. She quickly walked away and squealed out of joy. Up until dinner she searched for the perfect gown to wear, and finally decided on a silvery silk dress that fell down to her ankles. She wore her hair tied up in a bun, accentuating her perfect face.
Their time arrived, just as most of the stars appeared. Returning to the same place where they had met, they laid a blanket down where they ate their meal. The entire evening was as romantic as an evening could be. Every night following that, they ate dinner together at the same place for nearly six months, and eventually became husband and wife.

One late afternoon, a few days after the wedding, Adelle was strolling through town. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Zeore with a friend. Since her father was a raccoon, she possessed some raccoon traits, such as excellent hearing. She watched as Zeore and his friend high-fived and laughed. Zeore’s acquaintance said, “Good job, man! I gotta say, six months with a goddess is pretty impressive. You definitely proved me wrong. You can get any woman in the world to fall in love with you.”
Zeore smiled a cheesy smile, and responded, “It wasn’t easy! I just don’t know when to let her down. I’ve had enough of this girl.” Adelle felt as though her heart was crushed into a thousand pieces, hollowing out her body and soul. She had let down her guard and put her cleverness aside, and this is what she got. She ended up just being a part of a bet, and the entire time she was oblivious to it all. She kicked off her shoes and threw her wedding and engagement ring on the ground, and ran off. Once again, she was heading nowhere. Adelle never wanted to see Zeore, the man she once loved, ever again. Adelle was so angry and heartbroken that she then created the concept of marriage failing and divorce. Because of the failure of marriage for Adelle and Zeore, marriage would sometimes fail for mortals too. Adelle was bitter, and she believed that if she could find no one for her to love, that some people would have to suffer the same way she did. This is how broken hearts and failure of love were created.