Chapter Four

The woman who stared back at Melissa from the mirror was not herself. She didn’t recognize her. Yet, there was something deeply resonate in the image. Her hair was the first thing that she noticed, though before she rarely noticed her hair, which was brown and boring. Now, though, it was hard not to notice hair that looked like the tendrils of underwater plants, a bottle green that floated gently on unfelt breezes.

 

That her skin was now faintly tinged a shade of reddish brown and that her eyes were, instead of their usual brown, now a dark and fathomless green was no less remarkable, once she got over her hair. Every aspect of herself had been changed, transformed, into some different creature.

 

She stared into the image of herself that was not herself. She touched her face, her hair, her eyes, everything. It was strange. Everything was strange. In that moment, she remembered that it had been Domma that had started doing the cooking and the dishes had been getting progressively weirder. Had she drugged her? Was this an hallucination?

The questions that she should have asked herself before this moment now were unblocked by whatever emotion or rationalization that had held them back. She stared at herself, terrified. She’d lost her mind. She’d been drugged and finally now believed the crazy tale the homeless woman told her. But, do crazy people think they’re crazy?

Domma was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, her arms over her chest. She was changed, now, too. She was less open and clear than she had been. Her blue eyes were still black and her hair had changed color, now, too. It was no longer the vibrant green of the ocean on a bright day but was now the slate gray green of a storm and the tendrils tossed as violently as if she were caught in a hurricane.

 

She was angry. Though her face was cold and impassive, under the surface there was a raging storm, and Melissa knew it, she could see it. She knew, also, that her own emotions were just as deep and just as visible to those who were willing to see. She was struck by the thought, a thought that she remembered had frightened her when she was a child learning to swim in the ocean, that under the calmest of waves things with teeth lurked.

 

“What is an Eleiomomae?” asked Melissa. “What is the Horn? What does it have to do with me?”

 

Domma’s hair twitched, then calmed slightly. She uncrossed her arms.

 

“We’ve wasted so much time,” she said.

 

“I know, I’m sorry,” Melissa said.

 

Domma’s eyes flew open, then she smiled.

 

“So you understood me that time,” she said. Seeing Melissa’s frown, she laughed. “I was speaking your native tongue.”

 

“English.”

 

“Not English. Oceana if you want to call it something. The language of the sea, the water, the rivers, lakes, springs.”

 

Melissa shook her head. It had sounded like English but she didn’t want to argue anymore. She didn’t know what was going on, if this was a bad acid trip or if this was, impossibly, real. She didn’t know. She couldn’t know. But, Domma was clearly in charge and until whatever was going on wasn’t anymore she was beholden to the woman.

 

The woman softened. Her hair stopped thrashing and her eyes returned to the clear blue that Melissa was more accustomed to. It was only then, that she noticed that she had been afraid of Domma. Terrified. She shook the fear off and laughed.

 

Domma came near her and placed her hand on her arm.

 

“You don’t understand, and I’m sorry. It must be very difficult to understand. I don’t know your whole story, either, only parts of it,” she said. “It’s not important, though. What is important is that I know they gave you the Horn and it’s needed now. We must find it and I must return it.”

 

Melissa took a deep breath. She nodded.

 

“What do I need to do?” she asked.

Reviews

[OT]

another good chapter!! keeping us interested - I like that she has taken on a physical change as well - normally in stories like this when their true selves are released it's more of a mental affair, but you've taken it a step further - which I like!! Also I like the subtle ominous vibes you include here and there - the dark eyes - the fear of her etc. it allows our minds to wander a bit and think about what's to come!! which I think may not be as happy as it seems haha

Good grammar and dialogue I thought! I would perhaps remove a comma here and there where you almost surround the adverb with them, as it could flow just as well with just one before or after - but this is mostly cosmetic and doesn't detract or add! Still strong!! interesting! and I want to know where it's going!!!