Page 48 of Meduso
I returned to the pile of loose items and then grabbed the fishing line I had. “What if we melt the ends of the glass and place the fishing line in them? Once the glass hardens, the string will be stuck to it and you can tie or wrap it around your head.”
“Do you think we could do that?”
“I don’t see why not,” I optimistically replied.
After several trials and hours of waiting for the glass to melt over the fire and then harden with the fishing line in it, we came up with the final product. We had invented a prototype of what would be known asgogglesin the future. Not that we would get credit for this invention.
Perseus tied the fishing line around his head and the glass rested on the arch of his nose and bones of his cheeks. He opened his eyes and stared directly at me. Nothing happened, which was the best result possible. They worked!
I now was able to kiss him on the lips and able to look at him as I did so. I held no reservation with the opportunity to do so. I pulled him into me and our mouths collided.
“Now, let’s talk,” he said. “I want to know everything that happened. As I mentioned yesterday, I heard the rumors about everything that happened to you, but I needed to fully see it to believe it.”
It was a torment to have to retell this dreadful tale once again, but I would do it for Perseus. “When I left Seriphos, I spent a little more time at our underwater palace, getting prepared to serve Athena at her temple. Soon enough, when I was ready, my sisters and I traveled to the Acropolis. We became Athena’s servants and worked in her temple for five years straight. It was the same routine every single day. Scrubbing floors, washing the limestone columns, cleaning and folding the temple cloths. Can you imagine? This same intensive labor for five years straight? I felt trapped and was losing all hope. My life was passing me by and here I was, realizing I would continue to age while practically being a slave to this goddess. I had no freedom, and I longed for some change and to experience some adventure in the world. And that’s when he came…”
I paused before proceeding into this next part of the story. I knew it would pain me to see Perseus’s reaction when I would have to tell him about my affair with Poseidon. That I broke the promise Perseus and I made to each other. However, I completely forgot that Perseus already knew this part of the story as did a majority of the world at this point.
“Poseidon?” He filled in the blanks that I did not finish.
“Yes. Perseus, I am so sorry. It had been five years and I had no clue if I would ever see you again. The Fates provided me a vision that I would run into the sea and Poseidon would passionately hold me in his arms. They foretold my affair with Poseidon and led me to predict it. With five years of not being able to see you and having to endure the daily servant tasks, I fell into a deep depression. I walked the beaches of Athens at night to calm my nerves and stress. That’s when Poseidon showed up for the first time, at the most opportunistic moment. I was weak and vulnerable and he came out of the water as if he were my savior. He promised to love me and said he would take me away from Athena’s clutches,” I admitted.
Perseus remained silent for a moment, which caused me anguish. I just watched him, trying to get a read on his face and what he was thinking, but he gave me nothing. Eventually, he let me know his thoughts on the subject.
“Meduso, I cannot lie and tell you that it does not make my stomach turn at the thought of you naked with another man. But I do forgive you. Now, I ask that you forgive me too. I had the same feelings as you when I was on Seriphos. I was lonely when you left. A village girl, named Johakis, comforted and supported me when I was down. She informed me that she would do anything for me. With my sexual thirst still lingering, I did make love to her. But, in the back of my mind, I knew this was just a physical attraction. We had no emotional connection like you and I do. So, I hope you can forgive me as well.”
I smiled at Perseus. The thought of him making love to another mortal was unsettling, but I had to get over it. After all, I did the same exact thing as he did. Not being able to forgive him and holding a grudge would only make me hypocritical.
“Of course. I forgive you, Perseus. Let us not remember those minor affairs. We have each other now. That’s all I want to focus on,” I shared.
“I agree. But I do want to learn a little more about Poseidon. What was he like?”
I exhaled deeply before I described him to Perseus. “He is a god who takes on many shapes. The human form he took for me was that of a large, brawny man. Similar in size to you, but slightly bigger. We did make love, and he took me on as his lover. As I mentioned, he offered to take me into his care and rescue me, giving me the freedom I’ve always wanted. However, we made love in Athena’s temple one night.”
I could see the startled expression on Perseus’s face when I revealed this, but decided to continue with my story. “I know. Now that I look back, it was a foolish thing to do. Anyway, after that moment, I’m not exactly sure of the facts as to what happened next. Athena summoned my sisters and me to her shrine room. She informed me Poseidon had told her about our affair and that he used me to seek revenge on her. She also shared that he had multiple lovers across the world and was already moving on to his next target.”
I let out a deep sigh before continuing. “Athena couldn’t just let me solely take the blame for all that I had done. She also faulted my sisters for my lone actions. Thus, she then transformed my sisters and I into this…” I waved my hands across my scales. “Athena informed us that, to add to our punishment, she would cast a curse so that no other mortal would ever be able to look us in the eyes again, for if they did, they would turn to stone. The goddess then declared that she would have hunters and warriors track me down to see which of them was most worthy of killing me. My sisters and I had no choice but to move about in the night and travel as far away as we could from any human life. Eventually, we landed here on this island. And so, there have been many men who have come to this land, all of which were no match for my sisters and me. We were forced to kill every single one of them.”
I found myself saying this so matter-of-factly, that I did not even empathize that the thought of me being able to kill so many men could make Perseus feel uncomfortable. However, he showed no signs of it as I informed him of this. “It was a life or death situation I faced, Perseus. There was no reasoning with them as hard as I tried to. I had a mission, and if I wanted to survive and not be murdered by these warriors, I needed to best them or be bested. Yes, I feel shameful about having to do it, but what other choice did I have?”
“I understand, Meduso. You do not need to feel bad on my behalf. I do not fault you. Please, continue,” he requested.
I smirked in his direction before going on. “So, after what seemed like countless visitors, my sisters and I have accumulated quite the collection of stone bodies at the bottom of the lake on this island.” My dark humor managed to get a chuckle out of Perseus.
“But lately, it’s rare that we have any men come to this island now…” I trailed off.
“And why is that?”
“Poseidon made another appearance not long ago. He was displeased of my affairs with some of the men on this island. So, he placed a curse on the surrounding sea. For any ships or boats that now approach this island, he assembles tidal waves and the most dangerous of storms their way, so that they are unable to make it to our shores,” I confessed. “Which leads me to the biggest mystery of all that I have to ask about. How did you manage to get here, Perseus? I saw no boat, nor ship arrive. And yet, you were somehow able to avoid Poseidon’s wrath and curse. How is that possible?”
“Well, there is much that has happened to lead up to this point and I want to share every detail of it with you. Would you like to hear it?”
“Of course!” I exclaimed.
“Well then, brace yourself. Because some of the events that have happened up until this very moment in time you may not believe, even when I tell you.”
Chapter 15
I studied Perseus closely as he began to tell me how he ended up here at Sarpedon. “I never left Seriphos since your last days there, Meduso. Things went on as they normally had for years. The only thing that had changed was me. I was growing stronger and faster. The Seriphos Island Games came around four years later, and King Polydectes noticed that my strength and skills were even greater than they were during the first set of games. He offered me a position as his head bodyguard, but I refused. I had no interest in serving the king for the rest of my life. Later, he became more acquainted with my mother. Eventually, he commanded that she attend some of the dinners and parties he hosted at his fortress. My mother had no choice but to accept his invitations in fear of his power.”
