Page 25 of Hekate: The Witch
he was already making his leave.
Charon paused, his back to me,
long coiled hair looking like the river.
‘To become a Goddess,
you must first find what
nourishes you forever.’
Styx’s Visit
Styx was as strange as her river. She finally returned two days after Charon’s gift of nectar. It had made me feel stronger than I had felt in days, weeks, months, but I craved more, much more than a small chalice. When Styx arrived she rose from the spirit-filled water. Her long green hair lay soaked to her waist and when the ghostly hands tried to pull her back, a snake-like hiss escaped her lips, causing them to disperse quickly in fright. I wished to be so terrifying one day that monsters and ghosts were afraid of me. Her fangs glittered as she smiled at me. It was a cold smile, but I had been alone long enough that any interaction with another one of my kind felt like a blessing. She put her hands forward and from the air, it seemed, a silver bowl and a chalice appeared, and she handed both to me.
I Took What Was Offered
recognizing the honeyed notes of nectar, the delicious aroma of ambrosia, food of the Gods themselves. Towards the end Mother was not able to get enough ambrosia, so she began to give all her share to me. As I grew stronger, she weakened. I stared now at the food and drink and wondered where she was and if she had found safety. Styx gestured to the food, as if to saydrink, eat. I devoured the nectar and ambrosia she gave me without so much as a word. Hungry children eat anything you give them. An ounce of kindness. The most broken love. Even a crumb is enough when you are hungry. You take what is given and saythank you. When I finished I could see my skin glowing the way it once did, before Mother and I had to run. Styx, I noticed, was sitting on a small pile of skulls, watching me intently. Clearing my throat, I asked softly, ‘Do you… do you know where my mother is?’
Styx Was Very Still
It was as though the river went quiet too.
For a second, nothing could be heard,
no rush of water on the rocks.
No haunting voices from beyond.
Not even the stir of the bats
over our heads.
‘Hekate,’ she spoke,
her voice barely above a whisper.
‘The truth is, your mother…’
She hesitated.
My heart raced.
What happened to my mother?
Styx Looked into My Eyes
and for the first time
I saw kindness there,
but it was edged with sadness.
A devastating sort of paradox.
‘I looked for her.
The truth is your mother…
