Dots

Stone

Dravos had been blind all his life.
It only made sense that he was blind in death too.
However, what didn't make sense was where he went when he died.
Instead of hell, heaven, light or darkness, Dravos found himself in a place that smelt of ash and dirt but still strangely like fresh air.
"Am I dead?"
That was his first question. He didn't expect a reply. Much less the musical chuckle and answer that followed his question.
"No but you might as well be."
The voice had belonged to a woman, that much he could tell but the way her voice echoed told him they were alone.

What followed was a series of predictable questions and Dravos learnt that he was in a sort of purgatory state where time didn't pass, with a woman who called herself Odelette. They spent a while talking to one another and Dravos learnt that the woman was an artist. She carved most amazing stone sculptures and liked to sing. They never really talked about one another's history but Dravos gathered that Odelette has faced much pain and every once in a while, she would disappear and come back sounding even more anguished. He never knew where she went and she never told him but the days following her return took an emotional toll on Odelette.
It was on one of these days that Dravos heard her crying.

"What's wrong?"
At the sound of his voice, Odelette had stopped sobbing but if the sounds of her sniffing were any indication, she was simply trying to hold back her tears.
"Don't worry about it," she replied in a small voice. Dravos followed her voice and tried to touch her. The minute his hand touched skin, she pulled away. That was another thing he had learnt about Odelette, she never allowed Dravos to touch her so he had no idea what she looked like.
"Odelette, why can I never see you?" He asked.
The room was engulfed in silence and Dravos prepared himself for her usual brush off whenever he asked. He was therefore surprised when he heard her softly whispered answer.
"Because once you see me, I will lose you forever."
Then he heard her run away and too shocked to follow, he stood alone in silence.

Dravos had long since come to realise that he was falling in love with Odelette. She was kind and talented woman with an unfortunately, tortured soul. Her mystery intrigued him, what he did know about her captured him completely and her honesty was refreshing. She did not treat him like a man who lacked something but rather like a man whose condition was a gift. Sure she was the only person he knew in this strange world between worlds but even if they were in a room, surrounded by interesting people, he'd still rather spend the time with her.
He also knew that Odelette felt the same way about him because even though he was blind, her devotion and caring for him spoke through the subtlety of her words and actions. She listened when he talked and showed him not only her cynical and tough exterior but the vulnerable and scared woman beneath. She took care to change her world to fit his needs and never treated him as less of a man because he lacked the eyes to see.
Yet despite their mutual feelings, Odelette still refused to let him be there for her when she was at her worst.

Dravos decided that he was tired of feeling the hurt of the woman he loved so, with renewed gusto, he searched for her until he came upon an entrance that he had never felt before. Unsure of the new territory, Dravos was cautious in navigating it but the minute he heard the heart wrenching sobs of his beloved, he doubled his pace until he found her. This time, instead of moving away from him and silencing her cries, she allowed him to draw her into a hug and sobbed into the cloth covering his chest. He held her, even though she felt unnaturally cold and her tears stung his skin, and soon she stopped crying. She pulled away slightly but didn't let go and then she held his hands, which she slipped away from her waist. She pulled him along and Dravos followed until they were both seated on a soft surface. Finally she spoke.

"I'd like to tell you a story," she began as she placed a cold hand on Dravos' cheek, "once upon a time there lived a beautiful maiden. She was said to be so beautiful that even goddess of love was jealous of her. One day, the God of the sea heard a ship of sailors lamenting her beauty so, out of curiosity, the God went to seek her out. He found her bathing in a river and from first sight, he was enamoured with her. The maiden, however, did not feel the same way about him so she denied all of his romantic advances.
Unfortunately for the maiden, the God of the sea was relentless and so he continually pursued her, showering her with gifts and flaunting his godly powers to her. When she carried on ignoring him, his love grew obsessive and violent. He began stalking her and eventually he tried to force himself on her. The maiden, finding no help from the locals who feared the wrath of the sea God, ran to the temple of the goddess of Wisdom and prayed for her protection. Her prayer proved futile and the sea God had his way with her despite her tears and pleading. When his vile appetite was sated, he left the maiden on the temple floor and as punishment for denying him, he cursed the maiden so that no man could look at her ever again. He turned her into a vile monster and trapped her in a purgatory, where she was forced to protect the precious artifacts of the gods, from humans, for all eternity."
A heavy silence settled over them as Dravos attempted to process the morbid tale.
"Do you know this story?" She finally asked.
Dravos shook his head in reply.
"It's the story of Medusa," she stated before metaphorically hitting Dravos with her next words, "It is also my story."
Dravos put two and two together and suddenly everything made sense; why there were so many stone sculptures when he'd never heard Odelette chipping away at stone, why she refused to let him touch her and why she seemed so grateful for his lack of sight.
"You're Medusa," he stated, more to convince himself than to seek confirmation.
However, instead of verbally confirming, Odelette guided his hands, with her own, to her face.
Dravos was shocked by the scaly texture of her face and hair and the scars marring her features. He also felt the wet texture of a tear that rolled down her cheek and despite the stinging sensation that it gave him, Dravos used his thumbs to dry away her tears.
He felt her forehead crinkle in confusion at his actions.
"Aren't you afraid or at least disgusted?" She asked, her voice weak from emotion.
Dravos leaned closer to her and despite the weird texture on his lips, kissed the point on her forehead where her brow crinkled and the proceded to kiss both of her cheeks before finally kissing her lips which felt the more human that the rest of her.
When he pulled away, he lowered his hands from her cheeks to her waist and pulled her to rest her head on his chest once more in a sweet embrace.
"I feel many things for you my love, but fear and disgust are not one among them," he replied.
Odelette felt water leak from her eyes once more but they were not tears of sadness but the unusual tears of happiness. These tears, instead of stinging Dravos, seemed to sooth his pain and his entire soul felt lighter.

Dravos knew that whilst everyone knew Medusa, the cold blooded monster, he had gotten the chance to know Odelette, the beautiful soul trapped in a cursed body.
One could argue that his blind love for a heartless woman was senseless and would be the death of him but Dravos knew better.
He realised that his blindness meant that, unlike other people, he did not take people for face value and in that way, he saw more than people with sight ever could.
Dravos may have been blind all his life but in death...
He'd never seen things more clearly.