A Nightmare's Reach

Seven moons and seven suns felt like a thousand years. Merry voices should be tempting. Enticing the goddess into pleasure—but it failed. Unforeseen nightmares seemed to toggle around her feet, nipping through her skin until her insides burbled in madness.

The fourth day.

Warm, golden, and streaking in grace, Helios did his best to share a piece of happiness. The air was crisp, the sky was bluer than blue, and the clouds looked like fluffed pillows that floated along the backs of Zephyr's children. Athena curved a little smile on her lips as she sat on the harbour's long line of a stone seawall.

"Soft as the gentle winds,

Airy as the dancing of the swans—

Two lovers walked around the harbor,

In tight hold,

In warm stares,

With both mouths smiling those sweet Ambrosia

Endearments.

By the harbor where the sun set in beauty,

Love, peace, and sincere wishes all pranced

Like fireflies at night."

Athena sang—singing along to the melody that the birds conducted and harmonizing with the whistles of the trees and grass. Color and warmth now rose to her cheeks, painting crimson that ran across her nose. Although hooded in disguise—of robes in grey and hair unkept—Athena's beauty still rose like a budding flower.

She continued to sit alone, having only the company of nature to talk to—but she dared not complain. If one's life balanced on a string line, she would choose the part of being alone rather than pursuing the opposite end where a bunch of companions bore no good tidings.

Music from the feast resonated along with the waves. Athena closed her eyes, absorbing the clearness and wiping away the memories of the nightmare. Breathing in, breathing out, the goddess permitted Mother Earth to possess her soul. She hoped that it could be possible. Imagine being on cloud nine, letting the spirit of Gaia take over for a day. Her distress would be a shattered clay pot, dusted until the earth devoured it again.

Yet, here she was—Alone on the harbor. Just sitting, patiently waiting for something she knew nothing of.

Athena stayed there for half the day—walking in peace, throwing pebbles to the water, and sometimes singing along to a sonnet formed in her head. She was feeling the current fortuity of the desolate harbor.

Not until—

A howl broke into the tranquility.

"Huh?" Goosebumps tingled her skin. "Is that—" And as she turned around—from a distance, her wolf friend stood, patiently waiting for her to go closer. "Wolf!" She greeted, matched with a smile that highlighted her perfect pearly teeth and bambi eyes.

The goddess was elated to know she could finally share the peace with someone special. She walked towards him, but instead of his usual greeting of panting in excitement, the wolf just stayed there like a marbled sphynx at an entrance.

So much confidence Athena had showcased, not a warning bell even ringing to her ears at that point.

Midway to him, the wolf suddenly pranced and bolted towards her, swooping her off her feet and leaving the fair goddess bemused. "Wha-what?" She struggled as her hand held onto his thick coat.

The unceremonious act flabbergasted the goddess, trying to find the reason behind this behavior. "What are you doing, Wolf? She demanded while dangling for dear life on his back.

But her beast kept running—in haste as if some urgency required her attention.

Athena felt lightheaded with the repetitive motion and her vision running along the speed. Lungs labored in breaths, pupils dilating—to the point it orbits backward until the white remained, lips of rose red turned snowy because of the sickness she could not halt.

She pleaded for him to slow down, but her cry fell on deaf ears.

Her pulse was everywhere, now beating onto her ears until all turned to nothingness. She faded to black, and her eyes closed unconsciously.

The smoke was petrifying. There was fire all over. The screams from the recent nightmare came back, banging painfully in her ears. Athena felt defeated and drained.

"No." She wailed. "No, no—" To some degree of uncertain ending, Athena awoke—sensing the speed had slowed.

Once she opened her eyes, blurry images slowly showcased vivid scenes. They were back in the forest. However, the leaves had gone dry, and everything else seemed dead and already had lost its heart. It was never the same beautiful and lush greens. The earth below was dried and bore the image of despair. The air was brutally chilly and could cut through her skin. With every step of the wolf, crackling leaves toggled along, omitting the melody of depression and blues.

She could not believe it. How come the once beautiful paradise turned into a graveyard of dying trees? There were no more of the birds' beautiful singing, no dainty flowers to smile upon, and the woodland creatures were nowhere to be found as if they had never existed. Mouth gaped from the combined emotion of shock and incredulousness.

"Please do not confirm that the heart was no longer beating." In a small voice, Athena vented.

After more steps, the wolf finally stopped at the feet of a small mount. A lone olive tree stood tall and trying despite the rapid death ailing on its roots. And under it were two figures, one lying and one crouched to its side. Athena could not identify who the strangers were.

Not until she went down from the wolf's back, walked towards them, and realized, "Apollo!" She gasped.

Athena rushed immediately to his side, took his hand, and let him feel her face. "Oh dear! What happened?"

Artemis was inconsolable, bitterly crying that she could almost rip her eyes out.

The god of the sun's light was dwindling. Weak and in dread, Apollo lay on the ground, leaning his head on the root of the olive tree with one hand tightly gripping his chest.

There was blood on Apollo's tunic—a great amount of it.

"Please, Apollo, tell me what happened?"

"I am happy you have graced me with your presence, oh wise goddess." Apollo weakly smiled. "I just knew that this day would come. I have been seeing it—been feeling it."

Athena's lip trembled. "Feeling what? Oh, do be clear with your words, Apollo."

Artemis's cries grew louder, pleading for death not to come for her brother.

"Athena," Apollo softly called, trying to ease the pain in his chest. "My dear, Athena—you have carried a Trojan a horse here. I already predicted his move, his plan—all of it. Instead of stopping him, I chose to keep my mouth shut.

But even if I did manage to do so—it would not make any difference. The Moirai accepted it. Even Hades understood the incoming doom. There is nothing we could do but to let it all be." The god held her hands and continued, "One thing I can change from this prophecy is my pathway to the afterlife. To be killed from the hands of greed and pride is quite distasteful to me—I would rather have my life ended by my hands."

The goddess of wisdom understood him. Yet, she could not decipher the talk of a traitor. Who could it be? As she looked around, no one was there except for her, the wounded god, the weeping Artemis, and her dear Wolf.

"I could not—who? Who is the traitor, Apollo?" She wondered as she felt her heart beating slowly and anxiously.

"Ask the beast who carried you here." Hoarsely, the god replied.

Hers was a beautiful crystal that shimmered under the ray of sunshine. It was a genuine prism that reflected the lovely rainbow. From tongues of old, that was Athena's heart. And like a crystal, it turned fragile under a fiery heat—a pressure that breaks even the bravest of souls.

Shattered pieces flew inside her chest once she got hold of the word.

Her wolf. Her tamed beast. Who was he?

"What do you mean?" Athena asked again.

Apollo eyed the beast, who was silently observing them at a distance. "Come on now, the masquerade is done." He commanded,

With that, the beast moved closer and morphed back into his original self right before them.

The jig was, indeed, finished.