Chapter 1: Shattered Dreams

Alia-Marie Sicher

by Alia-Marie Sicher

Story
Athens

It’s another day at the Athens War Museum. Every family that walks past me covers their kid’s eyes because “they mustn’t see such satanic work.” Children have feared me ever since I looked like this. When I ran away from Olympus, I saw a hellcat attack a few children in the forest. The children were screaming for help, there was blood everywhere. I came to help them, to get them to a safe place. But they thought I belonged to that monstrous creature. They feared me even more.

I always wanted to have children. I used to think I had already found the perfect man to marry, to create a family with. I imagined sitting outside, drinking tea with nectar, reading books with my daughters about the battles their father had won. But that dream was destroyed when Poseidon did not hear me say “No.” I lost my humanity and faith that night. It was the first time I ever cried. The tears felt like acid, burning a path down my cheeks, as the reality of what had been taken from me settled in. What remained was a hollow, a void where my hopes had once flourished.

The emptiness has grown over time, filling the spaces where my dreams used to live. I remember the days when I would sit by the temple’s edge, watching the other goddesses with their children, their laughter echoing through the sacred halls. I would close my eyes and picture myself among them, holding the tiny hand of my own daughter, her eyes shining with the same light that once lived in mine. But that light is gone now, extinguished by the cruel hands of fate and betrayal.

The museum’s cold walls seem to mock me as I stand here, frozen in this grotesque form. The faces that pass by are nothing but blurs, all merging into one endless stream of judgment and fear. They see only what the myths tell them—a monster, a cursed being not worthy of their sympathy or understanding. They don’t see the woman I once was, the life that was stolen from me, the dreams that were shattered by a god’s cruel desire. I wanted to be a mother, a wife, to live a life of peace and love. But now, all I have are these serpents, their cold scales brushing against my skin as they hiss softly, reminding me of the life I’ll never have. Each time they slither and coil, I feel a pang of sorrow, as if they are mourning alongside me for the family I will never know, the daughters I will never cradle.

My thoughts often drift back to that night, the night when everything changed. I remember the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks as Poseidon approached, his voice filled with a false tenderness that made my heart ache. I was naïve, blinded by the idea of love, unable to see the darkness lurking beneath his godly exterior. When I told him “No,” I believed my words would be enough, that he would respect my wishes as any decent man—or god—should. But gods do not listen to the pleas of mortals, and in that moment, I realized how powerless I truly was.



© Alia-Marie Sicher 2024-09-01

Genres
Science Fiction & Fantasy