The Forgotten One

"Yeah, the lady with snakes for hair who went around turning people into stone. What about her?"

Gya smiled sadly as she studied her hands. "That is the somewhat abridged and very inaccurate version of the story. She was, I guess, too beautiful for her own good and as a result she was cursed by Athena with ugliness and a gaze that would turn any living creature to stone. It wasn't anything she could control, you see. She didn't go around turning people into stone. In fact, she was beheaded because someone else turned her into a hideous creature."

"Oh, well I guess I didn't know all of that but what's the punchline?"

"My question is, in your opinion, does scaly skin, claws, and snakes for hair make a person a monster?"

Perry chuckled uncomfortably. "I hope there's no right or wrong answer for that but I don't think looks matter. Your skin and your hair don't play a part in your personality. Hell, I've met some beautiful women, like, traffic-stopping beauties but they were just horrible people."

If Gya thought she was in love before, she was sure of it now. Assuming that Perry was speaking from the heart and not just saying what he thought she wanted to hear, Gya concluded that Perry was the most amazing being she'd ever met. That proved to be troublesome because although he may have been able to accept her for what she was, she would never ask him to. Gya's issues were too deeply rooted to be fixed by a perfect stranger's pretty words.

"I'm not sure I understand your fascination with the word monster Gya."

"Never mind," she said, balling up her veil in her hands. "Forget it. I should go." She opened the door to the confessional and bolted for the church's exit but she heard Perry's foot steps behind her. Deftly, she raised her hood over her head and calm her riled snakes as she advanced toward the doors.

"Gya, where are you going?" Perry called out to her. His voice was closer to her than she realized and as she clumsily tried to secure her veil over her face, she felt Perry's large hand enclose around her upper arm. "Damn it, just wait a second!"

Gya cowered away from Perry's loud voice and used her free hand to shield her face. "Don't look! Please, let me go."

"So you're just goin' to dash out in the middle of our conversation without a reason? I'm not sure where you're from but 'round where I'm from, that's considered very rude Gya."

"Don't say that."

"Don't say what? Rude?"

"No," she said, wrenching her arm free. "Don't say my name."

Through her veil she could just barely make out Perry's confused expression. She was sure she seemed like a mad person and perhaps it was for the better. She was crazy to think she could confide her story to someone. There are repercussions for everything.

Perry put his hands on his hips and shook his head. "I don't get you. It's like you're itchin' to get something off your chest and I don't mean you killing some bastard on the street but you clam up every time we get too close." Gya rubbed her arm but remained silent. "People like us Gya, when we find each other, we might as well stick together since we're all we got."

"You don't understand. You'll never understand..."

"I can't understand anything until you take that veil down. Literally." Perry chuckled at his pun.

"I didn't tell you that Medusa story for my health Perry. Medusa was... my sister. I am a Gorgon sister, the forgotten one you don't read about in mythology class."

"W-What?" Perry shook his head and stepped closer. "What're you saying? That you're a m-mythological creature?"

Gya shrugged. "I never did like that classification since I'm clearly not a myth."

Laughter overcame Perry and he put his hand on Gya's shoulder to steady himself as he doubled over. While she stiffened from his touch, he continued to laugh until his sides and cheeks ached. Just when it seemed that he would never stop laughing, Perry stood up straight and wiped a tear from his eye.

"I'm sorry. You really had me goin' for a second there Gya."

She sighed deeply and a new resolve caused Gya to ball up her fists. She wouldn't be laughed at. She had been born cursed then shunned by her family. She was forced to live in shadow for eternity or until mortals came to terms with the idea of non-humans existing though the former seemed more plausible; after all of that, to be laughed at by her first human friend, was more than she could take.

"You asked for it," she mumbled as she lowered her hood.

Her snakes snapped and hissed at Perry, thinking they would have a second snack that night but Gya shushed them. The smallest, secretly Gya's favorite, slithered under Gya's chin and flicked it's tongue out. Perry resembled a marble statue as if Gya had looked at him rather than just lower her hood. She chuckled smugly.

"They're real," he said though it sounded more like a question.

"Yes, they're real."

"So," he said rather impatiently. "Let's see the rest of you. Well, you know, the PG-rated bits."

"Weren't you listening to the story? One glance and you're stone."

"I know you're a Gorgon or whatever but I'm sure even you know how to keep your shut for thirty seconds. Just thirty seconds and you can put your veil back on, promise."

"I don't know..."

"I trust you Gya," Perry said, already securing his hands on the hem of her veil. "If I trust you, you should trust you too."

Her heart began to race once she voiced her approval. She shut her eyes tightly and tried to remain calm. Could it be that for the first time, someone was about to accept her for who and what she truly was? The notion itself nearly made Gya swoon but she kept her feet firmly on the ground and when she felt the cool air of the sanctuary brush against her face, she held her breath. It took everything in her not to open her eyes to see Perry's expression. He was silent for so long that Gya was sure that he had been scared stiff.

"You're beautiful," he whispered.

Her eyes flew open at those two gentle words and immediately grief and regret flooded over her. She stared, teary eyed, at what was Perry just a moment ago. His stone figure was in the exact position it had been for the past minute and Gya slipped her veil from between his cold fingers. Her eyes ran over his body frantically as if she could find the reverse switch if she looked hard enough.

A sob of anguish escaped Gya's lips and she crumbled to the floor. She had a chance for love but she took it away from herself because she wasn't strong enough. Perry had to pay the ultimate price for her stupid mistake and now she was back to facing the world alone. As her body shook with her cries, she hugged the statue's legs, hoping to get some lingering warmth but similarly to the candles and stained glass windows around her, Perry's statue had nothing to offer her. She whispered a thousand apologies and then a thousand more but no amount of "I'm sorry"s would bring Perry back to life.

Her tears still flowed down her face as Gya crawled toward the aisle leading straight toward the alter. On her knees, she clasped her hands together to say one last prayer. They would be the last words she ever said aloud before she resumed her role as the outcast, as the monster, and as the forgotten one.

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen."