Byna's Blessing

When I next saw Byna, I was out on my own. The ground was not quite coated with snow. I was wearing a strange mix-and-match of autumn and winter clothes; namely my spring/autumn tunic and a pair of boots.

It had been a few months since my last encounter with Byna, whereupon she’d turned my boyfriend into a rat.

Anybody could guess I was not best pleased to see her again.

As I’d met her before, I’d been hunting, and was carrying several rabbit corpses. It was a good haul, needed for the approach of deeper winter.

When I saw her, anger flooded through me. I don’t rightly know why I walked up to her again.
The goddess sat, cross-legged. She was holding a piece of square glass in hand, the likes of which I’d only seen in the temples. It was polished and shiny, not transparent, but totally reflective.

Byna stared at her reflection; I stared at her in turn.

“What’s that in your hand?” I asked her.

“This? It’s a mirror. Would you like to use it?”

“Use it?” I squirmed uncomfortably. “I… I’m not sure how to.”

The goddess smiled. “Quite simple, really. Take it and look in it; you’ll see yourself.”

She handed it to me. I looked. I saw. What Byna had said about my face was true. I hadn’t seen myself before… At first, I was drawn to the good bits of my face: my nice eyes, full lips. Then, I began to see the dirt-smudged bits of my persona: the dirty, greasy hair, and the spot on my cheek.

“Do you like what you see?” the goddess asked me.

Looking up, I replied, “I’m not sure.”

“But, then, you are wearing your least favourite tunic. Let me put you in more flattering dress.”

She did not lay a finger on me, but I looked in the mirror to see myself in the summer tunic. The wind was chilly all around me; I was wearing it, and smiled at my reflection in freezing splendour.

“I look like a huntress,” I said, drawing my blade.

“You are, technically, a huntress,” Byna reminded me.

Sticking my tongue out, I admired my reflection. But, soon, the hair seemed dull and ugly.
The spot seemed to take over my face, looming, big, red, and swelling. I felt sick. Vanity was for princesses, but still… The imperfections loomed loudly. I would never be pretty, not with all these imperfections…

“You are pretty, no doubt. But,” the goddess said as I looked up, “look in the mirror now. That is the beauty I can give you.”

Looking, I saw me, but different. My spot was gone, and my skin was clear and clean, with a weird, radiant quality. Hair was shiny, lighter, not weighed down by grease. I looked older; several parts of my body were bigger, and some seemed smaller. I realised soon that I was in a slightly tighter-fitting tunic. Still, that was pretty amazing. I looked like a woman.

The image made me feel sick. I would look like that forever. Time wouldn’t matter. I could sleep for years and it would not make any difference. Centuries would flash in the blink of an eye. It felt slightly unreal. What was there to life with no death?

For the first time, the prospect of immortality had hit me.

“No, I don’t want to be your daughter.”

That hit Byna quite hard. “Goodbye, Latro. I shall see you again.” Suddenly, she stood and
pulled me towards her.

It was a curious feeling; her skin was soft and warm. But not just soft and warm. There was something else. It had some amazing, divine quality. The men that had slept with her, had they noticed it too? Had they seen that she was something, something much more than a human? Or, had they just been blinded by her beauty?

At that moment, it struck me that my skin would be like that if I chose to be her daughter. She’d make me immortal, and I’d be divine, utterly beautiful and totally irresistible. That would be nice. It would be better than nice. It was every woman’s dream.

And, it was easy to just say sorry, and accept. Byna would put it behind us, easily. It was no feat for me to be humble. She almost turned me.

All I had to do was think of mother. My stomach churned, and I fought from the goddess’ grasp, running home, crying, and I was never quite sure why.