The Trace of Aphrodite

“Hey Tina! Wake up!”

“Mhhmh!” was the best response Quarantina could come up with.

She groaned and stretched on her comfy mattress, pulling her blanket higher.

“Just get up already! Or do you want me to do something I don’t want to?”

Quarantina snatched her pillow and folded it, covering her ears, a muffled moan escaping her lips.

“Fine then! I’m coming!”

The sound of footsteps got louder and louder until…

“Ow! What was that for?!” Quarantina yelped.

She had tumbled from her snuggly bed onto the not-so-snuggly floor. Quarantina sat up and rubbed the back of her head.

“You asked for it.”

“No, I didn’t! You could have just shaken me or something.”

“But you wouldn’t have woken up and would have continued snoring, am I right?”

There was a deafening silence.

“There you go. You shouldn’t have stayed up so late at night revising. Now come on. We don’t want to be late for our science exam, do we? Professor Cedar will be like: you insolent children! You dare disrespect me and do such an unforgivable act? Detention for the whole week!”

Quarantina managed a laugh as she listened to her friend present a dramatic imitation of their professor, her regular voice transforming into a shrill, high-pitched tone. A smile spread across her face. That’s right. It was Ivory, the ‘mom’ of her friend group. How Quarantina still hadn’t gotten used to her by now- she didn’t know.

Quarantina stood up and brushed her pants, perambulating to her closet. She picked out a blue dress with overalls and got ready, combing her choppy almond hair. She had always wished she had that long, luminous, lustrous hair in shampoo advertisements, but she knew that would only happen when pigs fly. She looked at herself in the mirror, her brilliant blue eyes staring back at her. She sighed, a young, normal, eye-bagged girl in the mirror. Just then, she saw a swift movement behind her.

She gasped and turned around. Nothing.

“Must have been the wind,” she told herself.

“What are you gonna do about it?”

Quarantina bolted upright. What on earth was that? Who’s voice was it? She crouched at the corner where she saw the movement- a black cloud of mist spinning in circles like a tornado. She squinted at the spot. If only it would appear one more time. One. Last. Time.

“What the- Quarantina! What are you doing!? We’re going to be late!”

Quarantina quickly got up, her eyes darting across the room. Her eyes met a girl, around 16, leaning against her doorframe. Her olive skin shone in the daylight; her hair was neatly braided on each side. But when Tina focused on her face, an expression of pure agony was plastered on.

“Raena. I saw something-”

“There’s no time for that! It’s 7. 05!”

“7.05?!”

The girl named Raena grabbed her arm and started running. Quarantina panted, running with her, unable to bear the thought that they would get in trouble.

“Where’s Ivory?”

“She went. She went to the classroom. She said she’d cover up for us, although I don’t know how.”

“Thanks for that,” Quarantina muttered.

By right, they were supposed to be there by 7.00. They knew they were too late.

By the time both of them stopped at the classroom, Quarantina’s legs felt like overcooked noodles. Looking at Raena’s expression, she could tell she felt the same way. Reluctantly, Quarantina opened the wretched door and pushed it inwards.

“Hmm…about time you come.”

A woman with a large nose peeked from the door, her hair plastered onto her face. She looked like an old hippie lady with a tie-dye bandanna on her head. The clothes she wore were deafening with the neon shade of green. Luckily, to suppress the noise, there was a regular pair of jeans. Her shirt was tucked inside them, one of her pockets inside out. Her face wrinkled as she frowned at them. She had always reminded Quarantina of a mad scientist, the way she studied them both like interesting specimens.

“Professor Cedar. We’re so sorry.” Raena began.

“ Yeah. Sorry. Please forgive us.” Another voice said out of nowhere.

Quarantina flinched and glanced at the place where she heard the sound. Ivory was sitting in her seat, giving both of them a look that said, “Just play along.” The sudden voice had scared her, a shiver going down her spine. Man, she sure got scared easily.

Quarantina winced in pain as Raena elbowed her in the rib cage.

“Urh…yeah. Really sorry.”

The old hippie lady stared into the souls of the two of them again and gestured them to sit in their places.

They sat down at their desks, relieved, as the teacher gave them the white sheets they needed to fill out. The group worked furiously, writing as fast as they could. Raena and Ivory look fine, Quarantina thought. I should be fine too.

But she was wrong.

As she filled up her paper absentmindedly, flipping through the pages of diagrams that no one was going to use, she couldn’t help but wonder- what was that thing she saw in her mirror? What if she had stayed there? Would the mist have appeared again?

The ring of the bell jerked her back into reality. She scrambled, packing her things and grabbing her water bottle for break. She ushered out of the classroom with the others, not wanting to have tea with the hippie teacher.

“That was tiring,” Raena groaned.

“I know, right? Luckily, we weren’t extremely late.” Ivory said.

Quarantina started to doubt whether she should tell her friends. They might think it was silly and brush it off. I mean, it kind of was. Maybe she was hallucinating; however, something inside her wouldn’t accept that. Something was wrong.

As she watched her friends chatting, she gathered her courage. They were her friends after all. She could tell them anything. Except...private matters. She took a deep breath.

“Look, guys…I have to tell you something.”

“What?” the two of them asked, concerned because of her expression.

“You know this morning?”

“Yeah…what about it?” The two of them leaned closer.

“Well, I saw something.”

“What exactly?” Ivory asked, wincing at her own words.

“Sorry, that was a bit rude.”

Quarantina moistened her lips.

“Mist. Black mist.”

There was an awkward silence. The three of them stepped into the canteen and ordered their food.

They sat together at the table in the corner, as usual. The trio wofled down their maple syrup pancakes, not a single word coming out of their mouths. Raena finally broke the ice.

“Gosh. I never knew you used black perfume, Tina. Wonder what it smells like.”

“Raena!” Ivory whispered harshly, smacking her arm playfully.

“Fine, fine!” She put her hands up.

“I was just trying to lighten up the mood.”

Quarantina managed a weak smile. Even though it was a small matter, they didn’t throw any hurtful comments at her.

“It was…I don’t know…I think in my mirror.”

She watched as Raena and Ivory had a serious conversation, with looks instead of words. Did I mention she hated it when they did that?

“ This might seem silly...” Ivory slowly started.

“ But...we saw it too,” they said simultaneously.

“You mean…it wasn’t just a hallucination?”

Raena and Ivory shook their heads.

“I don’t think so,” Raena said.

After that, the three of them sat in the canteen, eating in silence.

They had seen it too. They had seen it too. Quarantina knew it wasn’t a coincidence. She just knew. That thing…it was something else. Something ancient. Something powerful. She couldn’t think straight. By now, the exam didn’t matter to her anymore. Whatever it was, she had to stop it somehow. Her pancakes dripping with maple syrup didn’t seem so appetising anymore. She wanted to see that mist once more. And she was pretty sure she would. It was targeting her and her friends. Their group.

“Are you mad? You think you can stop me?” a voice whispered in her ears.

Quarantina’s eyes widened. It was coming. Again.

“Uhh..guys? Could you excuse me for a sec? I’m just gonna…use the bathroom.”

She got up and ran off, without waiting for an answer.

Ivory and Raena just sat there, baffled. Quarantina kept running, without turning back.

“ She must really need to use the bathroom,” she heard Raena whisper.

“Yes, child,” a raspy voice purred.

“ Keep going.”

Quarantina panted and ran to the bathroom, her palms sweaty. For a second, she stopped. Was this ethical? It’s just mist. Why was she going to do something so drastic? Why was she so desperate?

The voice got louder, reminding her of a thunderstorm. The way her voice grumbled. It knocked her other thoughts aside, whatever was in her mind getting sucked away. Her eyes turned foggy.

“Come, child! FASTER!”

She knew it was crazy, but she did it anyway. It was almost like her body wasn’t listening to her brain. She obeyed the raspy voice’s orders and ran faster than ever. She knew it wasn’t right, but she couldn’t stop herself. She finally stopped at a stall in the girls’ bathroom.

Why this spot? She asked herself. All the other cubicles were empty. She turned to the opposite stall.

“Don’t go there!”, the voice snapped.

She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t even remember anymore who she was and what she was doing there. All she knew was whatever the voice was saying, she had to obey it. She tried to fight it as it started to take over her mind, but she couldn’t. She was helpless. Why her? Why her out of all people?

Her foot hovered back and forth, not sure where to go. Finally, it took a stiff step forward to the stall of the voice’s choice.

She opened the door, unfazed. Her eyes were foggy, her hair in a bird’s nest. The toilet bowl enlarged and morphed into a sofa. A big, comfy sofa with squishy pillows. She wanted to sit down, to relax, to forget about everything. She glided to the neon pink sofa and sat down. It was better than she had expected. It was warm and comfy. She wished she could just close her eyes and sleep…

The middle of the sofa where she sat started to sink. Just then, YANK! She got pulled into the ground.

“What the-”

Her voice got muffled as dirt got in her face. She trashed and screamed, but the earth frothed and covered her, as if comforting her like a mother does to her baby.

“Shh…it’s ok…just relax,” the voice pursued.

The mud engulfed her into a ball as Quarantina struggled against it.

“Let me go!” she screamed, dirt getting in her mouth.

“Not yet, dear. I have some…things to show you. Take a seat.”

The mud room grew chairs, as large bulks of earth carried her to one of them. The mud retracted from her mouth, as if she was back with her friends. She sat on the sofa- It was even more comfy. Her eyes started to flutter shut.

She was in a pale colored room, with water flowing down the side. Wait- it was fire, flowing down. Her throat got horribly dry, and she longed for food. Blisters started to form on her hands and feet. Just then, a few creatures were walking past. One leg bronze, one leg human. Their hair was made out of fire, and they bared their fangs, sneering in one direction. They were forming a circle. In the centre of the circle was a teenager, holding a sword and trying to slash them. She looked closer at the girl’s face. Her eyes widened. It was her.

“Is that me?” she whimpered.

“That’s right,” the raspy voice cooed.

“You are a key, Tina. There is something down there, in Tartarus. And I want you to get it for me.”

“Why should I do anything for you?” Quarantina’s face hardened.

The mud rumbled, as if laughing at her response.

“A war is coming, Quarantina. A war to avenge the Greeks. You think you can hide your secret? Well, not for long. I know you. Quarantina, daughter of Aphrodite, the love goddess.”

Quarantina made an audible gasp.

“There is a weapon, Tina. You could either let go of your secret to your friends and die trying to find the weapon, or make a wise choice giving it to me, letting your friends survive. Choose.”

Quarantina knew something was wrong. This was an evil force, a rare kind of magic. It wouldn’t be a problem to spill the beans; she wasn’t going to die. The fact that the spirit knew her name was enough. Just then, a question echoed at the back of her head.

“Who are you?”

The mud swirled around her, a laugh booming. It sounded like nails scraping against a plank of wood.

“I am Rivens, the 13th child, the forgotten daughter of the Earth Mother, Gaia. And I am here to continue my mother’s legacy. Go on, child. Try your best to save your friends and get that weapon before I do. But wrong moves you shall make. You are playing well along so far with my little game of chess to destroy the world. Remember, the ground is your enemy.”