Page 79 of Styx

I had witnessed so many nymphs

treat each other kindly only to turn on one

another when it came to receiving attention.

I had forgotten that my sisters, like I, had to survive.

When Asteria first brought Leto to the cave,

I had felt an uncomfortable well of mistrust

within my belly when I saw her.

I know now that this was both fear and jealousy.

I waited for her to betray Asteria the way

my sisters betrayed one another.

But when I watched them together,

I noticed it. Asteria and Leto

were all they each had. And they did not

see each other as competition.

Instead they saw each other as soulmates.

Instead they saw each other as friends.

I did not have this with any of my sisters.

Perhaps I could have had this with Metis.

But she only knew me as cousin.

Nothing felt lonelier.

Change Came Suddenly

When you are immortal,

you learn to take life for granted.

The nights and the days

blend together into one

when you are not marching

in the direction of death.

So little prepares you for tumult

of any kind at all.

And so it was a day when Hyperion’s