Blinding & Binding

On Seeing

Medusa's POV

I could not move. The soft feeling of fingers dancing across my face and light breaths mixing with my own made my heart thunder in my chest cavity. I did not dare to lift my gaze to meet the unbeknownst eyes of the stranger.

What were they doing, taunting me with the promise of touch? Surely they were beyond terrified. But as I stood there, holding onto the last of my breath – that had now turned stale in my chest – I tried to notice a slight tremble in the hands or a quake in the stranger's song, however, I was met with nothing but electrifying warmth. I had not felt the tender hands of comforting heat in so long. I wanted to melt into it. But I could not. It would only end one way.

A stolen glance turning to stone...

I was not human. I was anything but.

The delicate buds of the stranger's fingers travelled across my cool skin until two hands held my face steady. The mystery person dragged their thumbs across my cheeks. I wondered if they were a person, for no one of mortal descent would ever dare to be so close to me let alone touch me. I concluded that it was the hands of a divine being. The gods had come to taunt me once again.

"Stop," I said, my voice grave, turning the atmosphere to dust.

The hands paused but a slight tremble betrayed them. They were not the hands of the gods. No.

"Oh, my. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't realise, I–" A soft butterfly of a voice flew from the person.

"Leave." My voice cracked at the end but I stood my ground like the statues I had created in the wreckage of age. "Leave now before I decide to open my eyes."

The strange girl removed her hands from my face, but either my ears were starting to fail me or she did not retreat. Instead, a faint glow of a giggle illuminated the coldness around us.

"Stop," I said, "Stop. Stop, please. Leave!" I begged.

"I am not afraid," she said. Her voice was smooth and sweet like that of melting honey in boiling water. I liked it. She would not like me though. That was something I was sure of.

"You should be," I said, forcing myself to sound strong, instead the words came short, barely escaping my lips as a faint whisper.

"Why?" She sounded so innocent, forming her words like the petal of a daisy leaning into the intrigue of the sun's lips. I was not the sun.

"I will turn you to stone." She giggled again. I felt my lungs growing lighter with each of her chuckles that danced around me. I felt oddly at ease as though there really was no way I could harm her. "Why are you laughing? I'm serious."

A laugh still falling from her lips, she replied, "As serious as the star?" I found it difficult to believe that she was finding humour in this situation.

"Why are you still here? Aren't you at least afraid of me, of what I could do to you?" Silence followed. I thought that perhaps she had finally listened to me and moved on. I hoped that she had, for I did not think I had the strength to look at yet another frozen soul. I stood still for a long time, waiting for a sign that she perhaps still stood in front of me, but nothing came.

I opened my eyes. Everything around me was dark and as I gazed at the ground in front of me I spotted the marks the girl's feet had left behind on the dusted floor. I let out a sigh of relief as my eyes blink the darkness of the afternoon light in.

The feeling of skin on my back shocked me. I jumped, turning around to deflect it whilst grabbing hold of two frail wrists. She was going to murder me, wasn't she? What better way to do it after all?