Her curly hair bounced and swayed as she lightly walked down a path full of pink blossom trees. Her eyes sparkled and glistened, complimenting the bright sun. Rosy cheeks and red tinted lips contrasted to her fair skin and her pearl earrings stood out from her chocolatey brown hair. A young man, possibly the same age, followed distantly behind, admiring her beauty up and down. His eyes pondered at her petite figure and thought many things. 

Unaware of her surroundings, she skipped down the path joyfully and the sunny season of spring caused a smile to spread on her face. The pearl on her ear fell and caught the young man’s attention. He picked it up, analyzing it closely then shifted his gaze back to the young attractive woman. 

“Excuse me, my lady”. His hands reached out for her.

“Oh, hello”. She said, confused but still smiled at him.

“You dropped this, a fine lady like you cannot lose a gem”

“Ah, thank you”. She giggled, there was no lie that she found the young man attractive.

“No problem, may I know what your name is?”

“Medusa”

“Medusa, a beautiful name, I am Poseidon”

Before she knew it, he was accompanying her to a grand and most certainly a fine temple. At the entrance were two ladies playing the harp, water fountains shot out and gold patterns were carved around the whole temple. It was a magnificent and beautiful place to be in, so it lured her in. She found herself walking in with Poseidon, a man she began or thought to have feelings for. His tall body and brown locks stole her eyes and his smile? His smile was dreamy, it made her stomach and heart flutter. 

Time flew by quickly and there she laid on a king-sized bed, stripped. Clothes were thrown across the floor and she laid there motionless, quiet and couldn’t comprehend what happened. By the door, a young female stood still, her hands turned to fists and jealousy was written all over her face. Athena. She envied Medusa a lot and thought only cruel things about her. An idea popped into Athena’s head, so she cursed the innocent girl in front of her. 

In the room, Medusa felt uneasy. Something was irritating her on the head and everywhere else on her body. The sound of snakes could be heard, slowly emerging out of her head. Her teeth rotted away, and her nails turned into a dirty yellow color. She looked at her hands and her eyes widened. She ran to a mirror and screamed as if she saw a monster. 

Athena left with a smile on her face, leaving Medusa crying. She touched her face delicately and turned away from the mirror in fear when suddenly she came in contact with a fly. It dropped to the floor leaving a small sound. Crouching down, she analyzed the poor bug and realized it had turned solid and stone-like. 

“Poseidon, Poseidon, what have you done? I am deteriorating and you have left me numb”.

By Nusrat Begum