Circe was still technically dead, and while rumors swirled that another of the Colchis women had returned to the area, she was fine leaving it up to conjecture. Anyone who knew the truth桵ama Lucille, Dr. Grant, Isaac, Alec梬as fine with allowing the gossip to fade away.
Other things were not as easy to let go of. Sometimes I抎 find Circe standing outside the door at the back of the Poison Garden, palming the key. She thought it would be easy to let her lifelong job of guarding the Heart go, but it turned out to be more of a challenge than she抎 anticipated. She went her whole life believing that the protection of the Heart was the most important thing in her life. I couldn抰 blame her as she struggled to put that burden down. To help, we filled the underground chamber where the Absyrtus Heart had been housed with rocks and dirt and sealed the door shut. I offered to get rid of the key, but she insisted on hanging on to it a little while longer.
Circe turned her attention to the care and running of the apothecary, and together, we fixed it up and got back to work. We brewed vats of essential oils and distilled flower essence. We grew our poison and black flowers for the goddess, restocked the everyday plants, and even set up an online shop. We spoke often of Persephone, of Hecate, and less often of the Heart.
Mom headed out, and Mo poked her head into the apothecary.
揧抋ll good in here??she asked.
揑 have something for you to try,?Circe said.
Mo tried to sneak away, but Circe caught her by the arm and pulled her in. 揧ou keep putting this off, but I gotta put my foot down. You insist on using that natural deodorant, and I respect that, but棓
揑t抯 chemical free,?Mo said. 揂luminum free. No weird stuff I can抰 pronounce. It抯 not that bad.?
揑 thought somebody was roasting onions the other morning,?Circe said.
Mo stared blankly at her.
Circe grinned. 揂nd when I came downstairs, do you remember what you were doing??
Mo crossed her arms. 揑 just came back from a walk with Roscoe. I was sweaty. What was I supposed to do??
揘o more natural deodorant, Mo!?Marie said. 揚lease! They don抰 sell new nostrils anywhere around here, and I抦 scared the ones I got now are permanently damaged.?
Mo turned to me. 揟ell me the truth, love. Is it that bad??
I nodded. 揑s the natural stuff onion scented? Maybe that抯 the issue.?
Marie laughed until tears streamed from the corners of her eyes.
Circe handed Mo a small round container. 揑 don抰 know where you got the one you抮e using, but please burn it and use this instead.?
Mo huffed. 揑抦 tryna be healthy, and y抋ll worried about some funk??She pretended to be mad, but she put the container directly in her pocket. She knew it was the truth.
Circe抯 phone rang in her pocket and she answered it. The smile on her face told me it was Dr. Grant.
揇on抰 forget we have a date tonight,?Circe said into the phone. 揇inner and a movie. I抦 paying.?
Marie walked to the door and gave me a little nod. I glanced at Circe, who waved me out the door, letting me know it was cool to take a break.
I took Marie抯 hand, and she led me outside and around the side of the house. She pulled me close and kissed me. I kissed her back. Everything about her was exactly the same as it had been before, but she was changed in some way. I抎 watched her cut her hand on a piece of broken glass when we were fixing up the apothecary, and her frustration at having to wait days for it to heal was hard to watch. Her mortality made her vulnerable in a way she hadn抰 been in more years than she could remember. Watching her navigate this new way of existing was both heartening and scary. I worried about her safety more than I抎 needed to before, but she hadn抰 lost a single bit of her attitude and seemed to be finding a rhythm that worked for her.
We held each other under the vines and blooming roses for a long time. She murmured things against my ear that affirmed what I already knew桰 was in love for the very first time. The thought sent a little shiver of excitement through me. We would be mortal and fragile together and there was something beautiful about that. As we returned to the house, I thought I抎 like to spend all my free time kissing her under the shade of the foliage.
We had this one precious life and what we did with it was entirely up to us. I wanted to use it to love and be loved in return.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
What I meant to write was a story about a girl who got to embark on a magical, fantastical adventure. What I ended up with was a story about the heavy burden of generational trauma, the toll grief takes on the mind and body, and ultimately how the bonds that connect us can span time, space, and even death. I think that抯 the wonderful thing about storytelling梚t has the power to help us along. In my case, there was healing to be done. I抦 so grateful that I get to write these stories.