Page 43 of Meduso
“Never! You’re trying to trick me with your sorcery!” he stated.
“I am not trying to trick anyone. I swear!”
“Lies! You want me to believe you and then when I open my eyes, you will turn me to stone!”
“The only reason I can turn people to stone is because of Athena. She placed the curse on me.”
“Liar! The goddess has spoken. She has warned many of your cursed spell with your gaze.” He continued to relentlessly swing at the air.
“I’m telling you, I mean no harm! You must believe me!”
“Lies! Your deceit knows no bounds, gorgon. I do not believe you,” he replied.
I was now becoming agitated by him. I saw no way of reasoning with this man. Trying to convince him to leave peacefully wasn’t going to work.
I knew that only one of us would walk away from this fight. As I watched the man slash wildly with his sword, I silently asked the gods to forgive me for what I was about to do.
I used my inhuman speed to dart around the hunter and deliver a swift elbow to his side. Caught by surprise, the man released his sword. He dropped to his knees and felt around the ground, looking for the fallen weapon. It reminded me of the Graeae, blindly searching the floor for their missing eyeball that Euryale and I would toss around to each other. But this time, I wasn’t laughing.
I flicked my tail, wrapping it around the warrior’s arms and chest. Trapped, the man struggled furiously as I pulled him in close. I placed my hands on the man’s cheeks and, with a heavy heart, told him, “You fought well. I commend you for your bravery. I didn’t want it to come to this.”
I lifted the man’s eyelids with my thumbs. Despite the tears forming, I forced myself to look the man in his terror-filled eyes. It took mere seconds for the man’s body to turn to cold stone. I released my tail’s grip and backed up. I stared at the face of the man, now frozen forever in horror.
When I finally allowed myself to turn around, I saw my sisters standing several yards away. I slowly began to move past them.
Quietly, Euryale addressed me, “Meduso, dear brother, are you okay?”
I was too upset to respond. I feared that if I even attempted to open my mouth, I would begin sobbing, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop. So, I moved away from my sisters without saying a word.
Later that day, I reconvened with meeting my sisters. We sat in the dining cave together.
“Meduso, I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Euryale sincerely said.
“It’s hard to believe that we have the ability to turn people to stone, but Athena was absolutely serious about it,” Stheno added.
I shook my head. “It was bound to happen at some point or another. At least we got that out of our systems. I’m sure the first one will always be the worst. I know there will be more to come in the future. I just hope the lake is big enough to hold all of them.”
Stheno and Euryale both laughed at my twisted comment. “Well, I’m glad to see you are in higher spirits,” Stheno shared.
“Yes. I cannot even imagine what must have been going through your mind,” Euryale empathized with me.
“I will get used to it. Now, I have my wits about me. But I have to thank you both for being so willing to protect me. I am so lucky to have sisters like you who care for me the way you do,” I mentioned.
“Come. Let us not get all sappy on one another,” Stheno declared. “We should return to the beach and that forest where we saw that man at. We should keep his sword and retrieve any other materials he may have brought with him. Then we need to dispose of the raft.”
“Surely, there should be something of use to us,” Euryale hoped.
It was agreed. We all swiftly moved across the island, picking up our pace the further we went, knowing it was only a matter of time before the sun would set. I collected the finely forged sword the warrior had used against me. “Not bad at all,” I said to myself as I cleanly felt the blade with my palm.
Euryale and Stheno glided ahead of me towards the shore. I trailed behind them to see that they were already emptying the containments of the bag the man had brought. There was a clay pot we could use for cooking. We also found fishing lines which I could easily make into a pole to bait the fish as Dictys and Perseus had once shown me.
There were other materials and equipment we figured we could make use out of as cooking utensils and tools for Euryale’s garden. This was not a bad find at all. Each of us was pleased.
“Would it be terrible for me to admit that I hope more men come here to bring us goods like this?” Euryale giggled as she suggested this.
“I would rather not risk the chance of being killed, but yes, I would not mind getting more supplies,” I answered.
“We must get rid of the raft now. We have no use for it, and I would not want to draw attention to this island for those that are merely passing by it,” Stheno commanded.
