A long time ago, all over the world, feelings could let be shown at all, except in word form. There was no crying, smiling, or frowning. At that time there was a beautiful girl. She was gorgeous inside and out but she was alone in the world. She has no one. Hope was her name. She had long curly brown hair, fair skin, and a pure heart. She had so many horrible things happen to her that her beauty had hidden.
Sitting on the ragged edge of beige rocks, a girl sat under a mess of curls. Deep blue waves framed ripples of clear water around her. He had felt her pull even before she arrived. He watched her from beneath the tide.
“Oh Poseidon, my life has been cursed. It’s been full of death, hidden beauty that no one can see, and treacherous, empty loneliness. I have no one to love me. I’ve been hurt so many times. Please take me as your own. I desperately want to have someone to talk to. I need to show my feelings in my ways than words. Please, Poseidon, please!” She screamed in vain.
He wasn’t Poseidon, just another one of his many children. But still, perhaps he could help. As he reached up toward the surface he felt a ripple in the water behind him. He turned as a fluttering pair of winged shoes kicked at him. Turning around he followed the feet around the bend of a large jutted rock. His head had just broken the surface when a grating voice accosted his ears. “Your father wants you. Now,” Hermes spat. T rolled his eyes. He could still feel her. That girl, her power pulling him in. Before he could protest Hermes bopped him on the head with his staff and zoomed away. T fell back into the water and made his way toward his father’s kingdom.
Just then a voice answered, “Hope, I will accept you. Make you immortal, but first you must complete a task. Find a way to make some form of liquid come from your eyes.” The voice bellowed in a loud, booming voice.
“Poseidon?”
“Don’t question. Complete the task or don’t come back.”
Startled, Hope scrambled to her feet. She was scared, but ready for her fate. No one came or appeared. Feeling more hopeless than before, Hope left the rock and headed back to her home. On her way she ran into a man. Keeping her head tilted down she apologized and began walking away, but the man called her back. Expecting the worst Hope turned around. Holding her chin up, she kept her focused on the ground near his feet. Their exchange was simple. There was a lightheartedness to the man’s voice. It was something she was not used to. She waited for his cruelty and mockery to begin. Instead, she saw his hand reach toward her face, and with one finger he lifted her chin. No longer able to keep her eyes downward, they locked into his. She was taken aback by their golden brown color. Mostly everyone in her village, whose eyes she had seen, were a dark brown. Her jaw hung loose as he smiled at her. Realizing herself, she closed her mouth. He asked her if he could walk her home. Hope nodded and waited until the man started walking, keeping a distance between them. When he stopped, she too and stopped. Turning around, he opened his arm to her. She did as he instructed and walked beside him. By the time they reached her dwelling, Hope was sure that even though Poseidon hadn’t wanted her enough to take her then, he had sent her this man to fill her life with love. Her heart swelled as they stopped in front of her door.
Suddenly a ripple danced across the man’s face. The purity Hope had seen was gone. She felt the air leaving her body. A harsh laugh had encompassed her. “You silly cow. You are hideous and pathetic. No mortal man would take you, let alone a god. Poseidon couldn’t have been bothered to hear your pleas.” The man spit on her as he rose into the sky, his winged shoes talking him away.
Hope, in fear of being alone and sorrowful forever, fell onto the ground. Liquid from eyes! How could she have been so stupid. She would quicker get blood from a stone. Picking up the nearest rocks until she found one sharp enough, Hope began slashing her eyes. Streams of blood and water started to come down her ice cold, pale cheeks. Her breath was wet and ragged. Beneath her huge, puddles of water muddied with red swirls grew. Hope lay crumpled in the shallow pond of water she had created. A pressure in her finally broken loose.
From the depths of his cave he felt the pull through his anger. He was sure it was the girl from earlier. The one Hermes had clearly not wanted him to pursue. Before he could swim to her, T looked up. Through a swirling whirlpool of water tainted by blood he saw her. Her face was the source of the water, and the blood. He reached forward into the pool.
As the ground rumbled in front of her, Hope began wiping her face with her robe. Unloved and alone, the rest of the villagers would have her slaughtered like lamb if they saw the mess had come from her face. Unable to see much through the streaks of blood in front of her she strained her eyes. Before her was the upper body of a man. Not as old as the one from earlier, but even more stunning. Hope folded her body further toward the ground.
Before she could scurry away, T reached down and stroked her hair. Years of dirt and poverty fell off each strand leaving it brighter and bouncier than before. “Are you okay?”
She said nothing. He could hear her fighting to catch her breath.
“You’re going to be okay,” he said, slowly forcing her body to sit up right.
Still the girl said nothing.
T took the corner of the robe from her hand and wiped the blood and tears from her eyes. Like her hair, they lightened. The deep red blood clashed with the almost yellow green. Her skin had a soft glow.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.
“It’s all lies. Just spit on me now or delivery me to death,” she said sternly.
Confused, T sat down on the ground in front of her. As their eyes met she saw him. Truly saw him, and only him. He wasn’t just of this world.
“A son of Poseidon,” she said.
He shrugged. It was true. Not that he counted. Not like his brothers.
“A daughter of a curse,” he matched.
She too shrugged.
“You made tears,” he continued. “You are connected to the water. To me. I saw you earlier on the rocks. I wanted to come to you but a terrible trickster,” his voice trailed off. “If want I can bring you to my home. Take care of your wounds. Allow you to be the brightness I see when I look at you.”
Hope felt a flutter in her chest. Her stoicism left in the mud of her tears, with the villagers who outcast her years before. On a whim, she took the man’s hand, without knowing his name, yet somehow knowing him. Together they feel through the small pond into the depths of the ocean. Hand in hand they entered his dwellings where they had the rest of eternity to know each other.