Page 42 of Styx

Styx did not reply. She simply sat there,

her dress sodden and her green hair damp,

until finally she began to chuckle.

I stared at her as she threw back her head,

eyes closed as her shoulders shook,

the whole cave filled with peals of laughter.

Her mirth was infectious,

because I too began to laugh

and soon the cavern resonated with

the sound, the freest of moments

that I had had in years. When we stopped,

our eyes filled with gleeful tears,

I said to Styx, ‘The cave is yours.

You can keep it. With my gratitude.’

But to my surprise, she shook her head.

‘You found it first. It is yours by right.’

The voices in my head whispered again

and their suggestion gave me pause.

I tilted my head as I looked around the cave.

‘Perhaps there is another way.’

She nodded, reading my thoughts.

‘Perhaps we should share it.’

An Interruption

‘Asteria!’ I heard a voice call.

I turned around and saw her,

my little sister, Leto.

Standing at the cavern’s mouth,

her silhouette

was taller than I remembered it.

And I had just seen her this morning.