Page 31 of Meduso
I walked this beach every night, staring out into the endless sea, hoping for something exciting to come my way. Any type of change would be welcoming.
Months then turned into years. I was now twenty-three. I had suffered at this temple for a whole five years almost. I was dying on the inside. I honestly had no idea how much longer I could go on like this for. It was dreadful.
Euryale and Stheno coaxed me into appreciating what we had.
“You have to understand, Meduso, we should be grateful to Athena and the other Olympian gods. Our family is associated with theold godsand related to the Titans. We could have been potentially killed just for our lineage alone, yet it was Athena who was good-natured and spared our family from any curses and allowed us to live peacefully,” Stheno explained.
“I know. I get it. But I didn’t realize we would be forced to serve like this for years straight. Don’t you ever get… tired of it all?” I asked.
She nodded. “Of course. It can be uneventful at times, but I always set my sights on the future. There will come a time when we will no longer have to serve here, and when that time comes…”
“I’ll be dead!” I cut her off. “You forget that you and Euryale are immortals. The amount of years you spend here in this temple is a small fraction in your life. For me, I have an expiration. I am mortal. The years I spend here doing nothing are cutting into the hopes and dreams of my life… mylimitedlife,” I shared.
Stheno sighed. “You are still young, Med…”
“No!” I shouted, finding myself getting angrier with her. “You cannot keep using that excuse. That my feelings should be shunned because it is based on my youth or lack of experience. I am twenty-three years of age, Stheno. I am a full-fledged man now. I am no longer the young, naïve boy that was secluded in an oceanic palace from the outside world. Those days are gone!”
I started to run away from her.
“Wait, Meduso. Where are you going!?” she called out to me.
But I was out of sight, sprinting down the marble stairs and into the woods, descending the hills until I was on the beach, by the water, once again. I let my tears flow. I hadn’t cried in years, but I was so overcome with emotions right now. I began to doubt I would ever see Perseus again. It had been five years since we parted ways and even his face that I swore would be permanently engraved in my mind was starting to become a blur. Being a servant to Athena was terrible. This was not what I had signed up for.
I stepped into the chilly water, allowing my feet to absorb the coolness; a desperate attempt to numb the conundrum of sadness, anger, and the pain I was experiencing. I wanted something different for my life. I needed to escape from here but knew that me fleeing from Acropolis would be deliberately disobeying Athena. I would, for sure, be caught in less than a day and killed, or even worse, sent to the Underworld to be damned for eternity. And from the tales I’ve been told, the Underworld is full of endless tragedy and boredom. I would be jumping out of the pan and into the fire, and I couldn’t commit myself to that.
Realizing all of this, I began to sob even more, now uncontrollably. I felt weak, with no power, no fortitude, and close to giving up all hope, being trapped here in this prison with no escape, just suffocating, knowing that I would have no air of freedom to breathe.
I began thinking of Perseus. The thought of returning to him had kept me going all these years, but now I couldn’t help but feel I had been fooling myself. I would never be able to return to Perseus. I would never be seeing him again. I began to worry that Perseus may have already found another person to love. After all, he is a son of Zeus. He attracts the eyes of everyone. No demi-god would wait out their entire life for a lost love to find them again. Why would they?
My frustration led me to now yelling out loud at the sea. “I hate it here! I hate my family for putting me through this! I hate the gods for forcing me into this life! I hate it all!”
More tears fell, and I closed my eyes, wiping them. The darkness I was seeing behind my lids began to brighten. It caused me to open them to witness a sudden glimmering light in the sea that appeared. Was something emerging from the light? A monster? A sea creature? No, it was a human. A man. A strong, well-built man. I blinked several times. Could it be? Was it Perseus?
“He must have come to save me!” I softly mumbled to myself. “To take me away from this horrific place!” I sprinted into the sea, soaking my tunic. The man’s round chest was captivating. It made my insides pulsate. I gazed into his glowing cerulean eyes. His hair was wet, but its auburn color shined through the dampness; his face shaved neatly, with a light scruff around his jawline.
Upon seeing the man closer, my heart sank. This wasn’t Perseus. It was the stranger from my vision! I had no idea who this man was though, but I couldn’t deny his beauty.
Guilt soon struck me as my heart raced over the appearance of this man. Was finding him attractive a betrayal towards Perseus? What would Perseus think of me having these thoughts of physical attraction towards another human? The shame tore at me and I did my best to avoid these thoughts about this god-like man emerging from the sea, but to no avail.
I attempted to find rationale for the reasoning behind these lustful thoughts if there were any. The fact that this man was in my vision also meant he was a part of my destiny. The Fates had brought us together. They must have known I would be bitter about being in Athena’s servitude, and they sent this vision to tell me that this man would be the one to take me away from here.
Yes! That had to be it!
Lost in my thoughts, I realized I had stopped moving forward towards the man. Before I could think of what to say, the man spoke. “I’ve been watching you from afar, Meduso. I see that you are in pain and I cannot bear to witness it.”
“I’m sorry. How have you been watching me from afar? I don’t recall seeing you in Athena’s temple.”
The man let out a powerful laugh. “I have my own temples, my boy. Do you not know who I am? I am Poseidon, God of the sea.”
Chapter 8
Poseidon and I laid on the shore, the moon serving as our only light to get a glimpse of each other’s faces. My elbow rested in the sand, propping my head up with it. “So, you are really Poseidon?”
He, too, sprawled out next to me, gazing into my eyes. I refrained from staring back into those entrancing blue eyes of the sea god. “I am. Do you not believe me?”
I could not help but chuckle out of deliriousness. “I cannot lie to you. It is rather hard to believe.”
He shook his head. “I am not lying to you, Meduso. This is who I truly am.”
