Always A Way Forward

As they finished eating a hearty stew for lunch in Erasmus’ home, Theio put a hand to his chin. “I just realized, you haven’t talked with Sylvia yet, have you?”

Damos spoke with the final spoonful of food still in his mouth. “Who’f vat?”

“Right.” Theio stood up, taking his wooden bowl to a stone basin sink in the kitchen. “She’s the goddess of the land. The land people’s version of Tethys, basically.”

Lynn pushed her chair back, bringing her bowl to the basin, as well. “Tethys mentioned a sister yesterday, didn’t she?”

“Yes,” Theio pointed towards the window, away from the sea. “Her temple is in the center of town. We should go.” He gestured to the home around him, “You all need to receive your champion’s housing.”

“Champion’s housing?” Damos asked.

“One of your rewards for completing the trials. You didn’t think you’d just be sleeping on the streets up here, did you?” Theio laughed.

Camellia stared into her bowl of stew, uneaten, as this conversation happened. Everything was numb. She couldn’t think of anything but her mother and Phoebe.

Phoebe’s death hit her especially hard now. Internally, Camellia berated herself over and over again for failing to mention the creatures’ absence in the water. Even just asking to confirm if they had killed them would have done it. It’s my fault.

She was so wrapped up in her own train of thought that she didn’t even notice as Theio and Erasmus left for a short walk.

“Camellia?” Lynn leaned forward over the table. “Do you want to talk?”

She stared vacantly into nothingness. “It’s my fault she’s gone,” she muttered.

“What? No!” Lynn shook her. “Camellia!”

“I always fail. Rejected from the Institute, never said goodbye to Mom, let Phoebe die…” she murmured, in a trance.

“Camellia, what are you even talking about?” Damos asked.

“My old life. That failure I told you about. It was my life’s work, the only thing I even had. All I wanted was a place at the Institute,” Camellia spilled the soup of emotions that had sat un-dealt with since she arrived in this world. “As… Scarlett, the old me. When I got rejected, I ran away from everything, including my parents. I thought they hated me. But talking with you, Damos,” she gazed at him sadly, “helped me realize that they didn’t. At all. And right before I died, I found out my mom passed away, without me being there for her. She probably died thinking I hated her,” Camellia closed her eyes at her final admission, tears trickling down her cheek.

“I’m sorry, Camellia. That’s a lot to bear,” Lynn tried to comfort her.

Camellia fell back into the trance, eyes glued to the table. “Right. It’s my fault. And thanks to me, Phoebe’s gone. Another mistake on my record.”

“Snap out of it, Camellia,” Damos pleaded.

Lynn, on the other hand slammed her fist on the table. The noise jolted Camellia to attention. Lynn spoke in a low, hushed tone, enunciating every word, “This isn’t just another thing on a list, Camellia. Phoebe died,” she sniffled.

“But… when we charged in, I noticed. That the crocodiles weren’t there. I thought you guys had killed them, but one clearly survived, and got to her.” Camellia hung her head. “I should’ve said something.”

“Then we’re all at fault!” The shrill scream snapped Camellia to attention once more. “Damos and I missed them, too. We all forgot. Does that make you feel better?” Lynn lowered her voice. “Don’t just blame yourself. That’s selfish. She’s gone, and here you are making it about you.”

Pain shot through Camellia’s chest. “It’s more than that, Lynn.”

Lynn blinked back tears. “Is it? She’s gone, Camellia. Gone. Sitting here moping isn’t going to change that.”

Damos spoke up, his voice small and reserved. “What would she say?”

“Huh?”

“What would Phoebe say if she were here? If it was someone else in her place?” he asked. Pushing himself off the table, he answered, “What she always says. ‘There’s always a way forward. It might not be how you expect, but there’s always a way forward.’ That’s what she would say.” He rubbed his eyes, clearing the salty tears from his face.

The conversation stopped. All three of them stared at the table, lost in thought.

“He’s right,” Lynn said softly, “There’s always a way forward.” She put her hand over top of Camellia’s. “We’re all devastated. But we have to be honest with ourselves, not guilty.”

Be honest with myself?

“It… was an accident.” Camellia slowly admitted.

“Yeah,” Damos joined.

“It’s… not my fault,” she choked out.

Lynn squeezed her hand. “Yes.”

Camellia looked up at Damos and Lynn. “Does that… apply to Scarlett, too?”

Lynn nodded. “We can’t always get up and try again. You won’t ever get a second chance at the Institute place. But that doesn’t mean we can’t go on in spite of that.”

“You know, Phoebe once told me,” Damos began with a sniffle, “after my parents got really mad at me for messing something up. She said that I wasn’t defined by falling short. But I was defined by what I did after.”

A long, long silence blanketed the room.

After a few minutes, Camellia spoke. “We have to keep going,” she stood up, “That’s what she would want.”

Lynn took a deep breath, and joined her. “Yes. It is.”

Camellia grabbed Lynn and Damos’ hands. “Then will you two help me find out why I’m here? What Tethys meant?”

Clenching his fist, Damos huffed, “Absolutely. What the hell is ‘up’ supposed to mean, anyway?”

~~~~~~

After Erasmus and Theio returned, Theio took the trio out into the town to visit the goddess of the land. Camellia had been expecting a grand temple atop a hill, much like the one in The Bed, but as the buildings around them grew denser she saw no magnificent temple-looking place amongst them. The streets up here were just as densely packed, as busy and chaotic as the ones under the sea.

Damos tapped Theio on the shoulder. “Um, Theio, what is this city called?”

A nearby couple heard this, looked the group up and down, and rolled their eyes with an audible “ugh.” What’s their problem?

Theio kept his voice down. “Sylvios. Though I’ve heard it was called something different once, long ago.”

Sylvios was a pleasant city, at least in appearance. The sandstone brick supported gorgeous houses of wood, cream stucco, and volcanic rock, and vibrant green decorated the trims. In fact, that color was everywhere, as the streets were dotted with greenery, some even bearing fruit.

Lynn nudged Camellia. “I’ve heard about those. ‘Trees,’ I think they’re called. Weird, right? They’re like algae, but stronger.”

Holding back a quiet laugh, Camellia looked at Lynn. “You might not believe it, but we had those in—” She realized the bustling streets around her might not appreciate her candor about being from an alternate world. “Uh… where I used to live.”

They ventured further into Sylvios. Damos and Lynn, especially, kept their heads on a swivel, looking at every new thing with wonder.

The people, however, were not as inviting as the scenery. Passers-by looked upon the group with disdain, and people carved a wide arc to avoid walking near them.

Something else tugged at Camellia. The nagging feeling she had when living underwater was still there, like she didn’t belong. Less intense, yes, but there nonetheless. She was a human who had lived on land all of her life prior to a month ago. Why was being on land still so weird?

Finally, they reached a large, central plaza. Theio led them toward a giant rectangular hole that opened into a wide set of stairs descending into the earth. It reminded Camellia of a dungeon, or catacombs. A tomb, maybe. Not any place she wanted to be, that was for sure.

They reached a large room underground, in the same layout as the temple in The Bed. The walls were cool to the touch, earthen, carved with vistas of natural beauty and foliage.

Theio pulled something out of a pocket, laid it in the brazier, and knelt. “O Sylvia, Goddess of the Land, protector of humanity, I beseech thee. Accept my offering, and grant us audience, that we may serve in thy name.”

Just as the woman on the beach had appeared in the third trial, the ground itself lifted up and fell away to reveal a human figure. Though this time, she looked different than she had on the battlefield. Her face was thin, beautiful, and she donned a flowing green gown. Her hair, like Tethys’, shifted colors, a mosaic of greens and browns, as if you were staring into the heart of the forest itself.