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Well, after that, I learned how to get rid of the creatures that followed me around. Mostly I just did it if I didn’t like the creature. If I did, I let them hang around until they disappeared, then had a good cry about it. By the time I turned seven, I had learned to keep my mouth shut about the creatures that visited me. By ten, I’d learned how to have an intelligent conversation with most without freaking out. So mostly I just kinda went on with my life. I never did get any creature that stuck around long enough—or at least cared enough—to explain anything to me. Not till I was fifteen, anyway.
I thought that it might, possibly, be a morning like any other. By this time, I had dyed my hair the white-with-purple-streaks that it is today, and my multiple ear-piercings. I was prepared to simply get out of bed and face another normal, small-town day. But noooo, life had other plans for me. Because sitting, or rather coiled, on the floor at the foot of my bed, was a Medusa. All right, in all honesty, I was beyond being too surprised. Of course, I hadn’t yet turned on the light, so she was really just a blob. I was used to blobs. I reached over and flicked on my lamp, then turned to get a good look at her. Her hair was, of course, snakes. But they were pulled back into a ponytail with a bit of leather, and on her looked completely normal. Don’t ask me why. Her eyes were gold, with slits for pupils. Her nails were almost claw-like. Whether naturally that way or if she sharpened them, I still don’t know. The most shocking thing I noticed was that, instead of legs, she had a very long snake tail. She had it coiled beneath her and was sitting on it, hands in her lap, watching me as though to gauge my reaction. I took a deep breath, pulled myself into a sitting position, and stared straight back at her. She was the most human-looking creature I’d seen so far, which really wasn’t saying a lot. But I certainly wasn’t scared of her, and she would know that. After a minute, she spoke. Her voice was quiet, but at least she didn’t hiss.
“You’re Aminta Strongwood, I presume?” She asked. When she opened her mouth, I could see she had two fangs, like a vampire might. I hoped she wasn’t one.
“Depends on if you’re here for my help or to kill me.” Yeah, so polite, I know. She didn’t really seem like the type to try and kill a half-asleep teenage girl, but who knew?
For some reason, this made her smile. It didn’t show her teeth, however, and I realized she was worried I might freak over her fangs. Like having snakes for hair and a snake tail for legs wasn’t something to freak over. “Neither, actually. I accidentally slipped through to your world, and thought you might like some explanations.”
Now she had me interested. “Sure. Can we first start off with who and what you are?” There it is again: My utter politeness. Oh well.
She didn’t seem to mind at all. Instead, she nodded. “Of course. I’m Medusa, a Gorgon. I would have thought that was fairly obvious.”
“Riiiight. Let’s, hypothetically, say I don’t know what that is.” Yeah, I’m fifteen and don’t know what a Gorgon is. I’ve done some research since, trust me.
“Surely you’ve heard of us?” Medusa asked. For some reason, she was staying quite still. “In Greek mythology, we are creatures who, if you look directly at us, will turn you to stone. This isn’t necessarily true, however. There are two ways we can turn a person to stone. One,” Here she paused to reach up and stroke one of the snakes stuck to her head. It really isn’t as gross as it sounds. “If one of our snakes bites you, you’ll turn to stone. It’ll spread. The speed depends on how deep and big the bite or cut is. The other way is…” She hesitated, and it was easy enough to guess.
“If you yourself bite a person, with your handy little fangs, then they’ll turn to stone, right?” I guessed.
Medusa nodded. “Yeah. And if I bite a person, it’ll be permanent.”
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and ruffled my already-messy hair. “Remind me never to get on your bad side, then.” This got a chuckle out of her. Her voice was throatier then I would have thought a woman--girl--creature—whatever she is—would have.
“What else would you like to know?”
I shrugged. “A bunch. But can you wait; I mean can you stick around? I have school.” Medusa simply nodded. She didn’t move, though, which meant I had to take my clothes and change in the bathroom after my shower.
 Faith-Hoping-Love · Sat Oct 13, 2007 @ 07:33pm · 0 Comments |
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