Page 25 of Meduso
“Meduso, it’s time to go,” Euryale shared.
“But I thought I would get until the afternoon to say my goodbyes.”
“I’m sorry. We are in a bit of a rush and I would not want to disobey father,” she explained. “Say goodbye to your…friend, and we will be on our way.”
“Could you give us a moment?” I requested.
“Yes. I’ll just take a quick walk down this lovely beach. But when I return, we must go,” she insisted.
I nodded in agreement and off Euryale went, leaving Perseus and me alone. I grabbed his hands, pressing Perseus’s palms against my cheeks before a tear traced down them. “I’m sorry I can’t stay longer.”
Perseus sighed, trying to hold back tears. “We knew this day would eventually come. I just wish it wasn’t this soon.”
“I know. I feel the same way. But again, just hold on to that promise we made to each other. Who knows, the Fates may lead us back together sooner than years from now. It could be only months, weeks, maybe even days until I see you again.”
Truthfully, this was merely a false hope I held on to. Deep down, I had a sinking feeling it would be many years from now before I would get the chance to see Perseus again. My worst fear was that the Fates led me to the Island of Seriphos for an alternative reason and not for Perseus. In this case, it would likely mean that I would never be able to see him again.
No, that could not be an option. I was foolish to even think such terrible thoughts. I would make sure I visited Perseus somehow, in some way or another.
Perseus lowered his chin so that his forehead pressed against mine. We still caressed each other’s cheeks. “Whether it is days, weeks, months, or years, I promise to find my way back to you.” Perseus’s arms traveled to wrap around my back, squeezing me tightly, as if he never wanted to let go.
I closed my eyes, trying to engrave this moment in my memory for a lifetime. I never wanted to forget Perseus’s closeness, his touch, his warmth. His lips met mine again for one final kiss. “I love you, Meduso.” This time, Perseus was incapable of preventing his tears from immersing.
“I love you too, Perseus.”
Our embrace was soon interrupted. Euryale returned from her stroll along the beach. “Alright, Meduso. It’s time.”
I let out the heaviest sigh of my life, slowly forcing myself to release my arms from Perseus, stepping away from him. Euryale held my hand and we moved into the water together, up to our knees. I looked back at Perseus one last time, trying to muster up a smile on my face, when, in reality, I was completely disheartened.
Euryale grabbed my other hand once we were facing each other, shutting our eyes. When we opened them, we were back home again, on the ledge of the crystal, apatite grotto, overseeing the pool below. Ceto slid over to us. “Welcome home, my Meduso! I’m sure you have been dearly home-sick since you left!”
My mother hit the nail on the head. I really was home-sick, but not for our underwater palace. I was already home-sick over the Island of Seriphos, and it had only been seconds since I was just there.
Once again, I found myself cooped up in the palace with limited freedom to access the outside world. Only this time, the next few months were even worse because I was forced to listen to the Graeae for longer than usual in a given day. They taught me of the daily tasks I would need to complete at the temple and the traditions of the high priests and priestesses there. I was informed of all the potential troubles and influences that could fall upon me as a mortal exposed to other mortals in Athens.
“If you should commit any of these atrocities, you will surely be reprimanded by Athena, herself!” Enyo warned.
“Even worse, a mistake you make could jeopardize your sisters and even extend as a punishment to others in your family. Do you understand!?” Deino added.
“Yes… I understand. You’ve told me countless times,” I replied.
“And we will continue to tell you countless times, boy. Until you completely understand the importance…” Pemphredo scolded.
Serving in Athena’s temple for the rest of my life was starting to sound like a luxury compared to having to listen to these blown out of proportion lessons from the Graeae that I had to suffer through.
After tolerating them for hours a day, I had very minimal time to relax and do things on my own. It was becoming increasingly difficult to even be able to visit the grotto once a day for me to meditate, but no matter what, I made it a priority to go there even if it was only for just several minutes.
Euryale would sometimes join me. But today, she was a bit of a distraction for my liking, bombarding me with a barrage of questions I was not expecting.
“Tell me about that boy I saw you on the beach with,” she demanded.
“There’s not much to really say about him. He was just a friend,” I lied.
“You’re not telling me the truth. I didn’t walk the beach and give you privacy like I had told you. I hid in the forest nearby and watched you two,” Euryale admitted.
My mouth dropped. I could not believe Euryale did that. Sneaking around to spy on me! Well actually, I could believe it… this was Euryale we were talking about. Why would I think otherwise? She was more than capable of doing it. I should have realized this sooner.
“I can’t believe you watched us! That was supposed to be a private moment!” I yelled.
