Chosen

My heart stopped with terror as the shark ascended to join his brothers. Their insatiable hunger and rage pulsed through the water as they slowly circled her; flicking their tails back and forth with anticipation. I pushed off of the bottom and swam toward her. As much as I appreciated Finn’s help, I couldn’t allow five great white sharks to consume her. Her body still hung limp within the tube; unaware of the danger.

“Stop!” I shouted. I experienced the sea turtles’ surprise as they followed my departure from the sand. The largest of the great whites suddenly broke the circle, creating a wider one in order to gain speed for her attack on Keto. I had to get to her! I had to stop them! With a flick of her tail, the largest shark set her sights on Keto and shot straight at her limp form. My body flew through the water and arrived at Keto seconds before the shark. I snatched Keto from her prison, just as the shark’s jaws opened and clamped down on the water where Keto had just been.

“Stop!” I yelled again with renewed conviction. I could feel their disappointment, so I sent them a dose of my own disappointment at their willingness to eat a sea goddess alive with no hesitation. I knew they were protecting me, but that was not the way. They circled us several more times before their hunger dissolved and they glided away.

I laid Keto’s body down on the sea floor and retrieved my dagger from a section of coral to my right. I swam over to her and she opened her eyes with effort.

“She chose you,” she croaked. “You are truly her child.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked. She must be delirious from the poison and shock of electricity.

“The sea,” she sighed and closed her eyes once more, her words forced and choppy. “She protected you. I should be dead. She wanted me dead. I could feel it.”

“I couldn’t let that happen,” I whispered in shock. I couldn’t argue with her words.

“You wanted to do it yourself,” she accused. “Just get it over with.” I looked down at the dagger in my hand and flipped her on her back. Her skin had become pale and discolored, while her face was sunken in with defeat. This is what I was here for. I held the dagger above her heart. She had challenged me. My hand gripped tightly around the handle. It was my destiny to be the Leader of the Tydes.

But I couldn’t end her life. I slowly lowered the dagger and tucked it into my jeans. I took her limp hand and she opened her eyes in disgust.

“What are you doing?” she shot at me. “Are you a fool! You won!”

“It’s not about winning,” I told her, as I held her hand in both of mine. I fought the conflicting emotions that were storming within me. Hatred for what she’d done to my mother.

Vehemence for what she had intended to do to me. Resentment for what she had taken from me.

Sorrow at the many lives she had taken in her quest for power. And finally, a release. I didn’t want to carry the burden of those disabling emotions anymore. This needed to end.

“I forgive you, Keto.” I met her exasperated gaze with empathy. As I gazed into her suddenly unguarded eyes, I entered her memories and gasped at what I saw.

A young girl with long dark hair and bright green eyes, as she stared at herself in the mirror.

She looked away as the sound of laughter filled the room, and six other girls bounded in with flowers entwined within their hair.

“Keto, come on!” a brown haired girl called to her. “You need flowers!”

Her heart filled with happiness and she sat very still as they twisted her hair, pinning it up with beautiful blue and yellow flowers.

“It’s perfect!” a blonde girl with bright blue eyes squealed. “We should put-“

“Keto!” boomed a deep voice from the doorway. Her heart skipped a beat and she bolted off of the chair. She walked over to a brooding, monster of a man with white hair, highlighted with blue streaks. He squeezed her arm and yanked her into the adjoining room. He ripped the flowers out of her hair and stomped on them with frustration.

“How many times must I lecture you!” She began to shake as he scolded her. “You do not belong with the rest! The only place you belong is the blackest depths of the ocean. Your calling requires poison and darkness! Not flowers and pony tails!”

“But Daddy-“ she pleaded, as tears flowed down her cheeks.

“No!” he shook her a little too harshly. “Do not make the mistake of believing that you belong with your sisters. You are the Nereid of sea monsters! Now act like it! You will spend a fortnight locked in isolation to think about what I’ve told you!”

The memory blinked away and was replaced by another. A lonely Keto was perched on the sand looking on as her sisters practiced in the ocean with an older woman. They were laughing and splashing as she watched; her resentment changing to bitter hatred.

I wrenched my gaze away, unable to feel her sadness any longer. She stared at me in defeated silence as I processed what I had seen. She cringed in pain as a spasm shot down her back and finally went limp again, as her eyes rolled back in her head.

As I stared down at her beautiful face, I couldn’t help but see the monster she’d shown me just moments before. Which one was the real Keto? Was she truly a monster who only belonged in the depths of the ocean, cursed to endure an existence without family or acceptance? To be ingrained with such powerful self-loathing at that tender age could only be heightened by the isolation from her sisters. It didn’t surprise me that she never felt like she belonged. And maybe she didn’t. Maybe it was better for everyone if she remained separate and distant.

I sighed to myself and slipped my arms under her motionless body. I stood with her in my arms and turned toward shore. As I swam with her, the ocean’s song filtered through my ears and soothed my heart. Sea creatures of every shape and size followed our path to the beach, marveling at a helpless Keto. Their energy swirled around me and filled me with so much love and acceptance, I thought I would burst. As I approached the shore, I sent out a line of energy and split the waves so that I could walk easily out of the water.

Exhausted and drained in every way possible, I barely noticed my friends running towards us as I lowered Keto onto the sand and sat down beside her with my head in my hands.

“Stasia!” Finn was at my side first, and I latched onto the warmth of his darkness as he held me in his strong arms. I looked up at him and grinned.

“You defeated her?” he asked with obvious pride.

“I guess you could say that,” I chuckled. He helped me up the beach as Elina and Natasha carried Keto to a patch of soft sand where Zara was waiting. My roommates hugged me and I did my best to describe what had transpired in the ocean.

“The sea chose you?” Phoebe gasped.

“I don’t know how it happened,” I scratched my head. “I felt the dagger go in, and then I just stopped fighting and handed my essence over to the sea.”

“It doesn’t surprise me,” Zara piped up. “It takes a strong goddess to trust the sea with her essence. That kind of sacrifice isn’t left unappreciated.”

“Wow,” Carmen shook her head in disbelief.

“Speaking of appreciation,” Zara walked up to me and pulled me up from the sand. “I have something I need to give you.” I searched her blue eyes in confusion, but was nowhere near prepared for what she did next. Her image blurred in front of me and she began to change before my eyes. Her warm auburn hair shed its dark shade, in favor of a pale blonde color with long streaks of white. Her face became more heart-shaped and her body firmed up, presenting a very tone and very strong beauty standing before me. Her ordinary clothes were replaced by a white dress, criss-crossed with golden strands of rope which held it in place. Lastly, a crown of flowers appeared on her head and my eyes almost popped out of my head.

I tried to speak, but was completely speechless as I stared at her. Gasps and cheers from behind me did nothing to force my voice box to work. With a breathtaking smile, she took my hand and placed it in her palm, face up. She closed her eyes briefly as a single sparkling bead of essence puddled in my palm and lifted into the air.

“Echete Epilexei,” she breathed, as my heart fluttered with excitement and happiness. I was finally able to force my voice to speak.

“Amphitrite.”