Page 32 of Styx

it chose not to bite me.

I stared down at the waters of the cave.

Perhaps this was a place of creation,

the pool blessed by one of the Primordials.

But as the creature stared at me, I realized

it was waiting for my command.

That I was its maker. It needed me

to give it a purpose. I laughed bitterly.

What a strange irony, for me to tell

this animal what it was here for,

when I did not know my own purpose.

But this was a gift I could give my creature,

a gift no one had given me. I touched

its oily head and I said, ‘You are an eel

and your gift is to live, just to be.’

I was about to place it in the water,

to allow it to swim away from me.

But before I did that, I had an idea.

Gently, I touched its tail and closed

my eyes as I had before,

touched the waters of the pool again,

until a spark of lightning rose

from the being’s tail. I looked it in the eye.

‘A gift of protection. From me to you.’

The thing did not speak to me,

but I sensed its thoughts, its needs. Slowly

I put it into the pool and let it swim free.

I Slept in the Cave That Night

I knew by now no one was coming to look for me.

If I listened carefully, I could hear the music,