she’d never admit it. “I have morals.”
I roll my eyes, looking away, and mutter, “Right.”
“I have a surprise for you,” mom pipes up.
“A surprise? What kind of surprise?”
Mom beams. “I invited Charis and Chloe.”
“Really?” I stare into the crowd of party guests. “Where are they?”
“Where else would they be? They’re outside.”
Charis and Chloe are twins, a pair of identical wood nymphs. Back in ancient Greece they were my best friends. They were immortal like me, and centuries ago they left Greece too.
“Ugh. Wood nymph’s,” Hera scoffs.
For a second, I think about giving Hera a piece of my mind. Isn’t there anybody that she likes? Isn’t there anybody that she doesn’t look down upon? She thinks that because she’s married to Zeus, she can treat people how she wants to, with disrespect. Maybe that was okay five thousand years ago, but this is the 21st century. Times have changed. Instead, I remain tight-lipped, dashing through the sliding back door.
Chapter X
Persephone
“C haris! Chloe!” I shout, hopping down the cement steps of the back porch. “I know you guys are out here!” Cautiously, I march toward the edge of the forest that encircles our house, eyes darting across a sea of evergreen and brown. I stop, squinting, trying to get a clearer view of the carved out muddy path, fenced in by the trees the size of skyscrapers.
Two heads covered in a mass of thick black curls emerge from the trees, excitement sparkling in their chocolate brown eyes as they sprint toward me. “Persephone!” They squeal in unison.
I open my arms and the twins’ crash into me, hard, so hard that I stumble backwards and almost tumble to the ground. “Whoa! Easy!” Regaining my balance I begin to back away and Chloe pulls away first, followed by Charis.
Charis steps to her left, her olive skin shimmering like droplets of molten gold in the sunlight. A stranger would never be able to tell which twin was which. Through the years Charis and Chloe had always thought it was comical to play the switcheroo game with people they didn’t know. But they’ve never been able to fool me.
Chloe has a nervous tick. Whenever she feels uneasy or worried, she rolls her thumbs and Charis has a small speckle of a beauty-mark just below her right eye. Chloe has one too, but Charis’s is just a little bit bigger.
“The last time we saw you was—,” Charis reminisces.
“Two hundred years ago,” I say finishing her sentence.
“It’s so good to see you,” Chloe pipes up. “We’ve missed you.”
“I missed you guys too.”
The last time I saw the twins we were living in London. Well, I was living in London. They lived in some cottage, set deep in the English Countryside. Wood Nymphs could never live in the city. They belonged outdoors, amongst rolling green hills, trees, and wildflowers galore. I’d also longed for that life. I’d longed to suck in fresh, clean air in place of smog and smoke. I’d longed to pick wildflowers all day without a care in the world, instead of being cooped in a London flat. I’d longed to lie in the long grass on one of those rolling green hills, feeling a brush as a gentle breeze swept through the field and the grass tickled my skin.
I hated the fact that mom kept me hidden away from the beauty of the earth. The same earth that she’d taught me to love and appreciate. I stare off, trance-like caught up in my past memories. Chairs and Chloe’s feet rustle against the grass, but I’m not paying attention. Then I lift my head slowly, and the most beautiful flower catches my eye. “What is that?”
Sunlight peaks through the trees and at the edge of my yard, and the flower glimmers a glowing white with pink splotches slathered along the inside of it. I know every flower that grows on every continent. I can name every plant and I know their purposes. But this flower…
I’ve never seen and flower like it, and I don’t know what it
I roll my eyes, looking away, and mutter, “Right.”
“I have a surprise for you,” mom pipes up.
“A surprise? What kind of surprise?”
Mom beams. “I invited Charis and Chloe.”
“Really?” I stare into the crowd of party guests. “Where are they?”
“Where else would they be? They’re outside.”
Charis and Chloe are twins, a pair of identical wood nymphs. Back in ancient Greece they were my best friends. They were immortal like me, and centuries ago they left Greece too.
“Ugh. Wood nymph’s,” Hera scoffs.
For a second, I think about giving Hera a piece of my mind. Isn’t there anybody that she likes? Isn’t there anybody that she doesn’t look down upon? She thinks that because she’s married to Zeus, she can treat people how she wants to, with disrespect. Maybe that was okay five thousand years ago, but this is the 21st century. Times have changed. Instead, I remain tight-lipped, dashing through the sliding back door.
Chapter X
Persephone
“C haris! Chloe!” I shout, hopping down the cement steps of the back porch. “I know you guys are out here!” Cautiously, I march toward the edge of the forest that encircles our house, eyes darting across a sea of evergreen and brown. I stop, squinting, trying to get a clearer view of the carved out muddy path, fenced in by the trees the size of skyscrapers.
Two heads covered in a mass of thick black curls emerge from the trees, excitement sparkling in their chocolate brown eyes as they sprint toward me. “Persephone!” They squeal in unison.
I open my arms and the twins’ crash into me, hard, so hard that I stumble backwards and almost tumble to the ground. “Whoa! Easy!” Regaining my balance I begin to back away and Chloe pulls away first, followed by Charis.
Charis steps to her left, her olive skin shimmering like droplets of molten gold in the sunlight. A stranger would never be able to tell which twin was which. Through the years Charis and Chloe had always thought it was comical to play the switcheroo game with people they didn’t know. But they’ve never been able to fool me.
Chloe has a nervous tick. Whenever she feels uneasy or worried, she rolls her thumbs and Charis has a small speckle of a beauty-mark just below her right eye. Chloe has one too, but Charis’s is just a little bit bigger.
“The last time we saw you was—,” Charis reminisces.
“Two hundred years ago,” I say finishing her sentence.
“It’s so good to see you,” Chloe pipes up. “We’ve missed you.”
“I missed you guys too.”
The last time I saw the twins we were living in London. Well, I was living in London. They lived in some cottage, set deep in the English Countryside. Wood Nymphs could never live in the city. They belonged outdoors, amongst rolling green hills, trees, and wildflowers galore. I’d also longed for that life. I’d longed to suck in fresh, clean air in place of smog and smoke. I’d longed to pick wildflowers all day without a care in the world, instead of being cooped in a London flat. I’d longed to lie in the long grass on one of those rolling green hills, feeling a brush as a gentle breeze swept through the field and the grass tickled my skin.
I hated the fact that mom kept me hidden away from the beauty of the earth. The same earth that she’d taught me to love and appreciate. I stare off, trance-like caught up in my past memories. Chairs and Chloe’s feet rustle against the grass, but I’m not paying attention. Then I lift my head slowly, and the most beautiful flower catches my eye. “What is that?”
Sunlight peaks through the trees and at the edge of my yard, and the flower glimmers a glowing white with pink splotches slathered along the inside of it. I know every flower that grows on every continent. I can name every plant and I know their purposes. But this flower…
I’ve never seen and flower like it, and I don’t know what it
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