A Word a Day

Day Twenty: Wash

       The ground was coated in a thick layer of ash; sulfur could be smelled upon the air, stinging the lungs of any unfortunate survivor who dared breathe in its deadly fumes. The earth was barren, not a single plant or animal in sight, and the sun seemed to leave the endlessly black sky entirely. Only the Zodiac and those pioneers appointed to establish the new world remained unaffected.

        Eshe stood apart from the others, the stench of death and destruction penetrating into the depths of her warm heart. She knew it was a necessary stage in order for the world to be reborn, but there was something in her nature that she couldn't prevent herself from loathing Marzanna, the daughter of Capricorn, the Death Zodiac, for bringing this upon the young world.

        A tall form appeared from behind a cloud of darkness, and the dread Capricorn stepped into view. Eshe gasped, for this was the first time she had seen the young woman's usually shadow-covered face. Her visage was pallid yet firm, piercing purple eyes resting upon Eshe herself as soon as she came into view. Marzanna gave her a civil nod before pulling her velvet hood back over her black curls, masking her devastating beauty before the others could behold her.

        The action caused Eshe to wonder why the girl who should hate her had allowed her to behold her true face. Perhaps she knew that the youngest Zodiac needed encouragement? Unlikely, Eshe decided. Besides, she didn't have time to wonder; as Virgo's daughter, it was her duty to cleanse the sin-stained earth, to give it a new beginning. To give it new life.

        Eshe stepped into a swirling cloud of ash, golden blonde hair waving in the stale breeze. Her white gown was somehow left unmarred by the particles, retaining its purity and virtue. Her bare feet were not cut upon the jagged ground; rather, in each place she stepped the ash dissolved into fertile soil, new life springing anew. She raised her hands to the sky, and the ash particles faded. Ground and grass spread rapidly out from where she stood, trees sprouted and grew at unearthly rates. The sky paled to blue, puffy clouds forming, sun expanding from a speck of nothingness, bright and warming. Eshe smiled as she basked in the light, laughter erupting from her soft, pink lips.

        "It is beautiful, Eshe," a welcoming voice declared in awe. Eshe smiled back at Tomas, the son of Gemini, and in some aspects, her twin. His blonde hair was ruffled, green eyes alight with amazement.

        "It is though, isn't it?" she responded softly, watching as animals began to appear out of nowhere.

        Eshe glanced over to see Marzanna standing in the shadow of a twisted willow tree. As the girl smiled at her from beneath her hood, Eshe finally understood.

        They were partners, not enemies. There could be no new life without death. No cleansing would be efficient without it first being dirtied. And Eshe returned Capricorn's smile, for life and death walk hand in hand.