“I am Laneira, Nereid and goddess of Healing,” she stated quietly. All of my anxiety mysteriously disappeared, confirming what I already knew - Willow was descended from Laneira. I placed my hand on top of hers and warmth spread rapidly throughout my body; energizing and uplifting me. “Willow has found a true friend and leader in you, Anastasia.”
After going through the same steps as her sisters, she whispered “Echete Epilexei,” and then took her spot at the edge of the courtyard. One after another, the Nereids introduced themselves and
‘Chose’ me. Their names ran together no matter how hard I tried to remember them; Actaea, Halia, Glauke, Clymene and many, many more. Several stuck out in my mind by their eclectic show of abilities. One in particular left my mind reeling from her kaleidoscope eyes.
Her dizzying fragrance wrapped around me before she had even made her way into the courtyard. A vast meadow of flowers wouldn’t have smelled as rich as the wave of aroma that overtook my senses in that moment. Once she stepped into view, I understood. She wore the same traditional dress with a coral colored swathe over her shoulder; however I failed to notice those all-too-mundane details due to the fact that I was so captivated by her other, more riveting features. Her long blonde hair was highlighted by flowing strands of flower blossoms in every color and size. Her eyes were a swirling mirage of blues, pinks, yellows, and purple hues. Beautiful designs of vines and blossoms wove around her arms and neck; taking your eyes captive and sending them on a journey.
As she stepped in front of me, the rich smell of flowers became intoxicating. When she smiled, I was reminded of a blossoming rose. It lit up her face and warmed the world right along with it.
“I am Thalia,” she crooned, and I could have sworn that the sunlight brightened in response.
“Nereid, and goddess of the blooming sea.” Her hand was as soft as a flower petal, and instead of tingling, my hand glowed a warm yellow. The sparkling liquid that collected in my palm resembled a ray of sunshine and smelled of a summer’s day.
The entire experience was both exhilarating and humbling, all at once. As they each took their spot around the courtyard, I felt a part of something much larger than anything I’d ever experienced before. I was also completely caught up in the amount of power, wisdom, and love that I felt from them all. My heart was filled with so much joy and acceptance, I thought it might burst.
Once the last Nereid had entered the courtyard, I counted a total of thirty-seven. Thirty-seven beautiful and unique women surrounding me as a whole entity, representing every facet of the sea.
They closed the circle, held their arms in the air and began to chant:
“Echete epilexei, me ta podia to monopati.
Echete epilexei, me ta podia to monopati.”
The world around me completely faded away, and the only thing visible were these magnificent little lights above me. Or were they bubbles? It was the liquid! Each droplet danced to its own tune, eventually finding the others to create a large puddle above my head.
“Echete epilexei, me ta podia to monopati.
Echete epilexei, me ta podia to monopati.”
The Nereids seemed to be spinning around me somehow, a whirl of color and voices as they chanted the same words over and over. As they said it one last time, the puddle above my head came crashing down on me, the world pitched violently to the side and everything went black.
Chapter 11
The throbbing pain in my side was nothing compared to the blood-soaked gash running down my right leg. As I ran, the humid air stung the ragged flesh and caused the blood to pour down into my shoe and saturate my sock even quicker. The numbness I held onto when it happened had faded, replaced with a burning sensation that was quickly crawling up my leg and making my whole body hurt. I wouldn’t be able to run much farther. I had a find a place to sit down.
As I rounded the seventh block from our house, I spotted the neighborhood playground and made a beeline for the jungle gym. I climbed the wooden ladder, crossed the chain bridge and climbed into a plastic tunnel. The world turned watery and numb as I allowed myself to cry. For several minutes the pain in my leg was trumped by the pain inside my heart. That type of pain was worse than any physical pain. Physical pain healed eventually; it closed up and stopped bleeding. But the emotional pain could bleed for years. No amount of band-aids could stop the hemorrhaging of a little girl’s heart.
I almost got away from him. I almost slipped away unharmed. But I wasn’t quite fast enough. I pulled my leg back one second too late and the knife had dragged across my calf before I was able to make it out the back door and into the neighbor’s yard. That’s when I started running. I couldn’t go back there right away. Not until he passed out. I’d give it an hour or so, and then I could sneak back in and crawl in bed. Having a plan helped me feel a little bit safer. It wasn’t much, but if all I had was a tiny thread to hold onto, I’d hold on as tight as I could. I wiped my nose on my sleeve and decided to take a good look at my wound.
The knife hadn’t gone in too far except where it had started; the rest was just one long slit. I didn’t think I needed stitches, but it sure needed something. In a mountain of agony, I climbed out of the tunnel and scooted down the slide. I limped over to the communal water fountain and did my best to throw my leg on top of it and under the water pouring out, failing miserably and scraping the underside of my leg in the process. I turned on the water again and used my hand to collect and pour it over the gash. I gritted my teeth as the burning intensified from mildly hot to erupting volcano.
“You’ll need to stop the bleeding,” an endearing voice instructed. I looked up into the eyes of a stunning woman with curly brown hair and bright blue eyes that were lined with unmistakable kindness. As my eyes flitted back down, I remembered thinking how familiar those eyes seemed, but I dismissed the thought just as quickly as it had come.
“Thanks,” I muttered and did my best to limp away as fast as possible. I didn’t get far.
“What kind of knife was it?” she asked conversationally. I spun around and inspected her further with guarded eyes. She wore a simple light yellow sundress and a beautiful yellow stone pendant around her neck. She waited for me to size her up and decide if I wanted to trust her. “The sharp ones are usually not as bad, they cut clean through. It’s those butter knives you have to watch out for.” She grinned and raised an eyebrow. Her casual confidence blew over me like a fresh breeze, and the mischief in her eyes reeled me in. She still gave me an odd feeling of déjà vu, although I couldn’t figure out why that would be. I had no reason to run into grown-ups as put together as she was.
“I think it was a steak knife,” I admitted quietly. “It had ridges on it. It really hurt.”
“I happen to have something we can wrap it up with, if you’d like?” she asked, holding up something white in her hand while still keeping her distance. She held out her hand and waited. I shifted to my working leg and considered my options. I could either let her help me or bleed to death.