Page 54 of Styx

up the flowers we had brought back with us.

I lifted one crimson bloom

and studied it carefully,

then ran back with it to Styx.

She handed me the ruby sea glass.

I closed my eyes and murmured softly

that the piece of sea glass

was now a scarlet flower.

A strange sensation filled

both my hands. Warm and kind,

full of awe and wonder.

I opened my eyes and looked down

At the piece of glass in my hands.

Except it was no longer sea glass.

My cupped hands held crimson flowers.

Styx clapped her hands in delight,

the happiest I had ever seen her.

‘Asteria,’ she breathed,

‘look at what you can do.

You took a piece of sea glass

and made it into something living.’

And whilst this was small

compared to Styx’s creations,

the fact that I had managed to create

without waiting for permission

from a dream or a calling

felt like powerful in a way

I had never felt before.

And the voices in my head sang.

As Well as Triumphs, There Were Mistakes Too