
10-09-2009, 12:13 AM
I know my story is long-ish, but input is greatly welcome.
Gorgon's Song
There is a cave deep in the mountains. A single solitary cave, high on the peak, barren except for some stubborn twisted shrubs. There lives a misfit; an abomination before the eyes of her peers. Alyssa was not what you'd expect of a gorgon. True, she was pretty, but she was too preoccupied with her defect to care. Unlike her sisters, she could not turn people to stone. Her sisters charmed men to their caves with lovely songs or honeyed words, capturing them and turning them to stone. Alyssa tried, her husky voice wavering as she sang. Occasionally a bold youth would traverse the narrow path to her cave, but once they laid eyes on her, she turned to stone. Frightened adventurers fled, only to be charmed by someone else and captured.
So many days she spent by herself, staring into a pool of water as she scrapped flecks of shale from her cheeks, wondering why she was so different. Her skin was a muted pale gold, unlike the exotic olive tones of her peers. She tied her writhing hair back from her face, rather than letting it flow in sultry coils. The only thing that brought her joy was rain.
Whenever it rained, she would sit on the ledge outside her cave, untie her hair, and feel the cool drops collect on her skin, lost in bliss. Fresh trickling pools gathered in her lap, and tiny streams slid between tendrils of her hair. Looking out on the valley beneath her, she watched the thick clusters of pines dance in the cascade of water, wondering what might lie past the misty mountains on the other side.
It was such a day that a rain-sodden traveler stumbled up the narrow crumbling path, his heavy cloak sticking to him.
"Excuse me," he called, only his nose and mouth visible beneath his hood, "this weather is dreadful, and I was wondering if I could stay the night."
Alyssa was not sure what to do. She knew that letting him stay risked him seeing her and running away, possibly injuring himself or dying in his flight. But as always, she decided to offer him shelter from the storm. "You can stay the night, but don't look at me. Tie something around your eyes, stranger, and I will lead you inside."
Without hesitating, he complied, "As you wish. May I at least know the name of my hostess?"
As he was tying the strip of cloth around his eyes, she replied, "My name is Alyssa."
"I am Reed." He held out his hand for her to take.
She led him inside, sat him down on a stool in front of the fire, and prepared some rabbit stew. All the while he was taking off his cloak and chatting with her, wringing the water from his clothes to lay steaming by the fire. Left in only his damp trousers and blindfold, she handed him a blanket, a bowl of stew and a piece of rough bread. While they ate, he told stories of his adventures, and how he came to be here. Many times that night, he asked her who she was, and she would say nothing, only reminding him to keep his eyes covered. They fell asleep in companionable silence, listening to the echoes of the rain.
In the morning, she fed him fruit and honeyed bread, handing him his cloak as she led him to the door. He turned to face her, a smile twinkling on his exposed features. "Thank you for your kindness, and your company."
"It’s no trouble. This happens often."
"May I come back some time?"
Alyssa was quiet for a moment, shocked but smiling shyly. No one ever came back here. "I would like that." She couldn't believe he had asked. "You may take off your blindfold now, but don't turn around. Continue down the trail, and be careful." She returned to her cave after he began descending the barren peak.
Many times, this stranger visited. He was always blindfolded, but they enjoyed each others company, talking and laughing. Each time he came, he asked her to tell him something about her, and each time she replied with something vague. "I have a big family with many traditions." "My sisters are much prettier than I, and get more visitors." "I have an unusual talent different from my families."
Weeks passed, and soon Reed begged to take off his blindfold and look at her.
"Reed," she pleaded, "please don't ask that. There will be consequences."
"Alyssa, someone as interesting as you must be beautiful. Please let me look at you. Please trust me."
She hesitated. Would he run away like the others? Would she turn to stone again? There was one way to find out. She sighed, "OK."
Slowly, Reed untied the blindfold. Blinking in the firelight, his gaze swept over her pale golden skin, writhing dark tresses and bare feet. Then he met her eyes. Two deep green almond eyes stared back. "You're a gorgon." He averted his gaze, obviously frightened of her.
She let out a choked sob, her tears coating her cheeks in shale as she turned to stone. Startled, he turned his head slightly, watching transfixed out of the corner of his eye. Only when she was fully stone did he turn to look at her again. She really was beautiful. He sat and watched her until the sun went down, trying to figure out what had happened. As the last rays of sun fizzled out for the night, the shale statue cracked, and Alyssa broke free of her stone shell.
Startled, she stared at Reed. "You're... still here." She paused, wiping some shale from her face. "Why?"
Reed grinned. "Well, you didn't turn me to stone..."
Alyssa shook her head, silent.
He looked puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"This... this has never happened before. Everyone always runs away."
Reed smiled. "Now that I know you won't turn me to stone, why would I run away?"
Alyssa chuckled darkly. "So you would have run away before you knew?"
Reed was silent for a minute. "No... I turned away, didn't I? I mean, there's always the fear of being turned to stone. But I'm not stone, so what's the problem?"
Alyssa pursed her lips. "Will you still come back?"
Reed smiled. "Of course."
That night, they slept in silence, and when they awakened, ate breakfast together. Reed was packing up his things for his journey when he heard a strange sound on the breeze. A lilting tune caught his ear. A voice like bells sang a tune so haunting that he was enraptured by the sound.
"What is that?" He asked, wonder apparent in his voice.
Alyssa paused to listen. Her eyes widened as she recognized the sound. "That is one of my sisters, singing to lure another person to her cave."
"What an enchanting voice." A half smile passed on his lips.
"Don't listen. She is like the others. Follow her and you'll be captured for sure."
He nodded and gathered his things. Waving goodbye, he turned to leave, but Alyssa stopped him.
"Wait! Before you go, take these." She handed him two pieces of beeswax. "Put these in your ears. You won't be able to hear the song."
Reed complied, warming the wax between his fingers and shaping it into his ears, blocking sound. He smiled and left, continuing down the path away from Alyssa's cave. She watched him go, listening to the sound of her sister grow stronger on the breeze. At one point, he paused. He was too far away to see, but Alyssa wondered why he had stopped. Was he caught in the lure of the Gorgon's Song? He looked at the ground, looked toward her cave, then towards the sound.
Keep walking, she thought, please keep walking.
Reed continued down the path. Letting out the breath that she had held, Alyssa returned to her cave.
She spent the morning cleaning her cave, humming to herself. But she became distracted by the voice on the breeze. It was louder than ever. Alyssa walked out onto the ledge and peered down toward the sounds. She began to cry when she spotted him. Reed was nearly to the top of a path that led to another cave. He gripped the jagged rock face, hugging to it when the path got narrower. Few make it back out of a Gorgon's cave.
Turn back...
Hot tears turned her to stone as she watched him disappear into the darkness below her.
You betrayed me. Do you want to be stone? You don't know how it feels. Turn to stone, I dare you. Maybe then you'll understand.
Rain fell heavy, on the brink of being ice. Alyssa sat in her usual spot on the ledge in front of her cave. She shivered, not from cold, but from a sinking loneliness that had beset her as of late.
No one had been by to visit her in quite some time. She was afraid that her traveler friend Reed was never coming back. Blankly, she gazed over the valley, the trees battered by the unyielding torrent of wetness. The rivers banks throbbed with water, wind bullying anything above ground level. Alyssa's skin was tinged with blue, but she didn't care. There was something fascinating about the raw violence of nature, and she continued to watch in silence.
A rock clattered down the cliff face to her right, the sharp staccato nearly lost in the discordant orchestra of sound. But it was enough. Alyssa turned to see a sopping figure clinging to the slick path a few yards below her. Numb eyes watched the stranger struggle, gaining ground just to slide back down a few feet. Somewhere, deep under her frozen gaze, a memory flickered. Reed's face ghosted over this floundering stranger, and a single tear mixed with the raindrops clustered on her cheeks. She rose, treading lightly on the glassy rocks, approached the dark mass and extended her hand. Familiar fingers clutched hers. She knew these hands.
Half dragging him up the remainder of the path, Alyssa led her visitor inside and set him by the fire, as she had so many months before. Her stranger slumped on the stool, weighed down and shivering. She sat where she could see him, watching in silence.
"Thank you...Alyssa..." His teeth chattered, voice cracking with exhaustion and pain.
Cautiously, Alyssa crept to his side. She was still hesitant and trying to keep her feelings of betrayal at bay. Kneeling in front of him, she tenderly lifted the hood of his cloak, staring into his weary eyes. "You came back."
He seemed startled by her words, eyes hunting for something in her face. He sighed, droplets of water falling from his hair. "I didn't listen, did I?"
Tears welled in her eyes. He came back, that much was evident, but something was different. She was confused, relieved and suspicious all at the same time. She paused a moment, biting her lip as she gathered her thoughts. "Why did you take out the beeswax? I warned you and you ignored me. How did you escape? A rare few make it back out of a gorgon's cave."
Reed nodded slowly, a bitter smile on his lips. "I came back, as I promised... but..." He slowly untied his cloak, shrugging the soggy mass from his shoulders. He hugged his left arm to his side, a granite skin shining beneath the torn cloth, "I... didn't quite escape. I am caught halfway, yet I had to come see you. You're my friend. I promised."
Alyssa's heart hardened. He was turning to stone. Did the other gorgon capture him? No...She did this to him. She wished he would turn to stone, and it was happening. Wait... he called her friend.
He cared. Her next words troubled her, even as they escaped her lips, "You could befriend a monster like me?"
A dry chuckle reverberated around the cave. "Monster? You? Certainly not. You have cared for me, sheltered me, given me more kindness than a mere stranger deserves. I trust you. Surely you are no more a monster than I. Perhaps less even."
It was Alyssa's turn to chuckle. "You would be surprised." With that, she turned to the fire to cook some food for the both of them, chopping carrots and mushrooms, dumping various things into the pot of water.
Reed pulled off his clothing, except his trousers, and wrung the rain out of them. He turned to watch Alyssa cook before offering a story while she worked.
"What story would you tell?"
"The tale of what befell me when I ventured to the other cave."
Alyssa's shoulders slumped; she sighed, and continued with her work. "...Reed...that is one story I would rather not hear."
"Oh... ok. Well then, I have many others."
Reed launched into a story about a man who tried to grow a money tree by burying coins in the ground.
Soon the cave was filled with laughter again, and Alyssa made herself forget the emptiness she had felt for so long. He was here with her now, and that's what mattered. They talked together long into the night, before falling asleep until morning.
When they awoke, Alyssa made breakfast, musing on the happenings of the previous night. Reed was no longer just hers, but he had called her a friend. Was she really ok with that?
She waved as she watched him go.
The days grew longer, summer's tendrils kissing the ledge in front of Alyssa's cave. The bright warmth of the sun was inviting, and Alyssa found herself spending more time near the mouth of her home. Caressing breezes lifted her writhing hair from golden shoulders, a blissful smile tugging at her lips. Alyssa was laying some blankets out to dry in the sun, when heavy panting caught her ears.
Searching the craggy paths below her, she recognized Reed struggling as he ascended. She hurried down to him, stopping short when she saw why he was struggling. A leg and part of his face were granite now also. The well of sadness in her heart deepened.
"Reed," she sighed, "what are you doing here?"
Still panting, dirt caked to his cloak, he looked up at her. "I came to visit my friend."
Alyssa closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. "Why would you drag yourself over here like this? Look at you! You're half stone already...you're practically her's. Why leave?"
Reed's eyes were a mix of guilt, shame and sadness. "You're my friend. I need you. You help me feel human."
Drops of shale began to coat Alyssa's cheeks. "Please stop coming here. It's obviously a struggle for you, and it hurts me to see you like this. Go back to her and stop visiting. It's better for the both of us."
Reed's eyes widened. "...but Alyssa, why are you doing this? I thought we could be friends! I trust you but you're abandoning me. Why?"
"Why? You are me why? You.. You abandoned me the day you climbed the path to the other cave. I warned you and you still chased after a song."
Reed's eyes filled with tears. She could tell he was hurt by her words, but she knew that he needed to understand.
"Fine," he said, a grim smile on his lips, "I won't return here. Your sister is good to me, and I had no friend here." He inhaled and glared at her. "I'll go back now, I am always wanted there." He turned to crawl away, dragging his granite limbs behind him.
Alyssa watched him crawl away before returning to her cave. She stood on the ledge, shale tears coating her face. As she turned to stone again, she whispered, "It's not that you're not wanted... but that I cannot bear to see you as you are now. I can't fix this by myself."
Sun warmed Alyssa's shale coating, and she prayed that it was thick enough to hold her forever.
The shale statue didn't break at sundown, but tears leaked from its eyes. Droplets of rain spattered, echoing like gun shots through the valley. Soon the world was drowned out in a night's thunderstorm, the very vengeance of the sky tearing down upon all that lay below its underbelly. The trees swayed like drunken sailors, trying in vain to dodge the torrent. Wind screeched and bellowed, as if the very earth were screaming for release. Motionless against the chaos around her, Alyssa watched through lifeless eyes.
The sky cries with me.
She regretted sending him away, but she was torn. She still couldn't bear to see him half stone, struggling around dragging frozen limbs, but she missed his company dearly. She knew she should keep with her decision, but every time she thought of him, she remembered the stories he told and all the things she wished to say to him. She missed him and was so sure that it was too late to ask him back. She felt guilty for the pain she had caused him, but she didn't want to watch him struggle anymore. She thought she was helping by sending him away. But if this was indeed the right decision, then why was she still crying for him? Why did she still long to see him? Why did she miss the laughter that once filled his voice?
The storm took on new energy, lightning rending the sky into shattered fragments of cloud. Thunder shook the mountain in which her cave was situated. Trees broke and splintered from the wind and the piercing forks of lighting that stabbed mercilessly from above. The world seemed at its end, fit to burst into dust. For hours the storm rampaged through the valley, troops of clouds marching across the sky, dropping hail and lighting like bombs.
The valley feels our pain.
Alyssa wished she could retreat deeper into herself. She wished she could disappear into her own heart and wrench these painful feelings from within. She wished she had the answer that could fix all the pain and suffering she and Reed had felt. She wished she had the courage to stand up and face the darkness creeping into her thoughts. She wished...
Lightning struck her outer shell, reducing it to powder. Dazed, she fell to the rain-slicked ledge. She clung with bloodied fingers to the unforgiving edge as the wind and rain relentlessly grasped her frail body, tugging it away, finger by finger. Screaming in pain, she clamped her fingers tighter to the rock, slowly dragging herself to the safety of her cave. The storm outside was no less fierce than it had been, filling the valley with water like liquid ice.
Alyssa crawled, sobbing, to the pool at the back of her cave. Looking into the water, she screamed. A hideous thing looked back at her with haunted eyes. Her face was slashed in many places from debris, and several of the snakes that made up her hair lay limp, charred from the lightning. She looked at her hands, orange blood oozing from the shredded skin. Slowly, she lowered her hands into the cool water, rippling the reflection that had distressed her so. Gasping in agony, she kept her hands below the surface, biting back the sting.
"Why?" She pleaded, turning her blurred eyes skyward. "Why is this happening? Why do the great things in my life always end up hurting so much? Why must others suffer at my expense? Why am I so selfish?"
Outside, the thunder blasted like a cannon. A voice curled into her thoughts, whispering from the depths of her mind. "Because, that is how you learn."
Alyssa's eyes widened. She knew it was true. What she didn't know was how to fix the situation she was in. She was still so hurt and confused. So many things remained unclear, and she was so tired of making mistakes. She wanted things to be ok again. She didn’t want to be alone. She didn't want to lose her friend.
Lighting lit up the cave, casting misshapen shadows on the jagged walls. A curtain of water blurred everything beyond the cavern entrance. Hail bounced like crystal pebbles across the ledge, and a skyquake of thunder cracked through the heavens.
Alyssa curled up by her pool, wrapping her hands in strips of clean linen. Trembling in fear, she sang herself to sleep with a wavering voice.
Come little child.
Come, come away
to the garden of roses
where dreams come to play.
Sing little child,
a magical song,
a tune of enchantment
so soothing and long.
Dance little child
your laughter so light,
gather the star shine
and sleep through the night.
Sunlight crept through the cave entrance, reaching as far into the darkness as it dared. Alyssa blinked, rubbing her eyes on the strip of linen. The storm was over. Slinking towards the entrance, she stooped to push some pine branches off of the ledge before sweeping her gaze over the survivors of the sky's vengeance. Many trees lay broken and twisted, their defeated branches floating in the dirty lake that had engulfed the underbrush of the forest. She could no longer tell where the rivers were, because the banks had burst during the downpour. The whole valley was flooded in muddied water, crowded with broken branches and all manner of dead things. So many animals had died that night, drowned in the water they could not escape.
Alyssa stared miserably down at the scene of nature's carnage beneath her gaze. Before she could stop herself, she looked towards the cave she had watched Reed enter so long ago. The waters stopped just a few feet below the entrance to the cave, and the way was blocked with a log and several branches. He was trapped. Her heart dropped as she realized that there was no way she could help him right now, as much as she would like to. She could not get to him, marooned as she was by the waters that barred her way. She sat on the ledge, dangling her feet over the edge, and prayed.
"Ye gods of Earth and Sky, I beg you to help me. I was abandoned and betrayed, and in my misery, I cursed another. Help me lift him of his curse. Let him be free again. Even if he hates me, and never sees me again, let him be free. Save him, please."
The voice entered her mind again, an old voice that pierced her core. "As you wish child. Sing; sing out with your very soul. Your music will reach his ears. He will be healed."
Alyssa stood slowly, closing her eyes, and clearing her mind of all doubt. She could do this. She must do this.
Alyssa, its time to sing.
Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth and began. At first, her voice wavered with a husky tune. She kept going, letting it build within her. Soon, the valley echoed with her voice. She pushed herself harder, singing with everything she had. She lost herself in the song. The music of her heart spoke of anguish, heartache, love, guilt, loneliness, and hope. She sang and sang, weaving her soul into the sound. Her tears streaked down her face, but she continued to sing. She wanted so much to fix this.
Alyssa sang until her throat was raw, and her body was stone from the waist down. Her will kept her going with a tune so full of emotion and beauty that bards would weep in envy. She had no words to speak. No poetry could accompany this sound. Its haunting lilt carried the weight of a monster's existence on the breeze. But would it really be enough?
As the last notes of her song left her throat, and the stone crept towards her lips, Alyssa
whispered, "I'm sorry Reed. I hope this is enough. Be free."
Darkness filled her sight.
Please let this be over... Please let me not hurt anymore.
Alyssa felt dizzy. Cracking the stone shell, she rubbed her eyes, looking about. She was back in her cave, by the fire. Confused, she walked to her pool, rubbing dust from her arms. Looking into the water, she screamed again. Her hair was no longer a mass of writhing tresses. The cuts on her face and hands were gone. Her eyes looked human.
“What…am…I?” She whispered.
“You’re human.”
Alyssa whipped around, staring at the circle of women surrounding her. “Who…what…”
One of the taller girls stepped closer, kneeling by Alyssa. “You’re no longer a gorgon dear. You gave up your song to save that… human man.” The last words she spit with disdain. “You never were one of us, and you certainly aren’t now. You were meant for something else. Only the gods know.”
Alyssa held her face in her hands, trying not to cry as she stared at the foreign girl in her pool’s reflection. This is me? Am I really that different now? Who am I?
The tall girl tried to smile, her snake-like eyes narrowing to slits. “Since you are no longer a gorgon, you must leave. Pack up your things and leave this place. You are no longer safe here.”
The circle of women left Alyssa, quietly filing out of her cave. Alyssa solemnly went about, gathering her things and packing them away in a satchel. She didn’t have much, so it did not take long. Draping a cloak across her shoulders, she left her barren cave. A single tear ran down her cheek. It was time to go.
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" Friends are like the musicians in your life soundtrack. Whether you have a duet or a full-blown orchestra, each instrument affects the sound of your music. And, as the conductor/composer, its up to me to determine who plays what notes, and how often they play." -- My own quote
Last edited by kitsuneneo; 10-10-2009 at 03:22 PM..
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