Mythology Writing

Eunice and the Crystal Ball

Hera, the goddess of married women, walked down the streets of a small area outside of Athens. She was wearing her greatest disguise. She looked so ordinary that no one would ever guess she was a god, not even her husband, Zeus, the king of all gods. Hera stopped to look around the small town.

You can’t wander around forever, she thought to herself, pick a house.

Hera walked up the path to a nearby house. It was small and quaint, with vines growing up the sides of the walls. When Hera reached the door she hesitated..

You must do it, she told herself, it is the only way it will be safe.

Hera reached her hand out and knocked on the door. She glanced at the bag she had been carrying, but forced herself to look away.

It will be safe, she told herself, don’t worry.

Then the door opened. On the other side stood a young woman. She looked like an average person, with light brown hair and green eyes. She was not wearing any jewelry. Instead she held an old broom in her hand.

She must have been cleaning, Hera thought.

The woman watched her. Then Hera realised that she should ask the woman her question.

“I’m sorry,” Hera said, “I don’t have much time. I only ask for you to keep this bag safe.”

“I...um,” the woman started. She looked around for an excuse. She couldn’t find one.

Hera waited for her to give an answer.

“Okay,” the woman finally said.

“What’s your name?” Hera asked.

“My name is Eunice,” the woman said.

“Nice to meet you Eunice,” Hera said

The sun had started to come up. The birds had already started singing. She was going to be late. Hera tried to wrap up the conversation.

“Don’t worry,” Hera said, trying to convince Eunice, “I will only be gone for a day or two. You don’t have to do anything but keep it inside of your house and follow one rule.”

“What’s the rule?” Eunice asked.

“You can not take it out of the bag,” Hera replied.

“Okay,” Eunice said, “But could you at least explain, or tell me what’s inside of the bag?”

Hera stared at her. How could I trust a stranger? she thought. Hera opened her mouth to say no, but then she thought of something she hadn’t thought of before. Eunice was trusting her. She didn’t know anything about her or the bag. If Eunice is trusting me, than I should trust her, Hera thought.

“Fine,” Hera said, “I will tell you, but the same rules apply. It stays in the bag at all times.”

“Of course,” Eunice said.

“I do not know much about it myself, but I am going to find out tomorrow, when I come back for it,” Hera said, “What I do know is that this bag holds a crystal ball, one that tells the future.”

“really?” Eunice said, wondering if she should believe it or not..

Hera gave Eunice the bag. She didn’t have time to think. She had other things to do and think about.

“Please take good care of it,” Hera said.

Eunice watched her run away, then went inside. Eunice put the ball down at a table and began to admire the bag for holding a rare treasure.

I wonder what it looks like, Eunice thought. A million other thoughts ran through her head.

She sat for a long time, doing nothing but thinking, until she realised that she was wasting time. Eunice grabbed the broom propped up against the wall and started sweeping. She looked up at the bag, but then looked back down again. When she was done sweeping, she washed the windows. Eunice washed almost everything you could think of until the house was spotless. With her free time, she sat back down at the table. Eunice had just started staring at the ball, when a fly landed on her nose. Slowly, she moved her hand into the perfect swatting position. Then she smacked her nose so hard it hurt. Eunice put her hands on her nose, trying to stop the sting from stinging. Eunice watched the fly fly away.

Eunice removed her hands from her face and touched the bag. She could feel the ball’s perfect shape from the outside of the bag. She reached one hand in the bag, slowly. Eunice stopped. She pulled her hands back out.

If only I could see it, Eunice thought, It must be so beautiful.

Eunice reached her hand back towards the bag.

If only I could have a little peek at the future, Eunice thought.

Eunice looked at it long and hard..

What’s a little risk going to do to me? she thought bravely.

Finally, Eunice reached one hand inside the bag and pulled out the crystal ball. It was beautiful. It was gleaming. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Eunice watched it glimmer. For a moment, Eunice thought it was prettier than the sun.

Eunice stared into it. She saw nothing. Eunice looked closer, but all she saw was crystal. Eunice starred as hard as she could, then the ball fogged up. Eunice watched as the fog disappeared. She looked eagerly. What was her future going to be like? Eunice saw herself. She was standing in a shiny white space. There was nothing but white. Eunice was the only color in the room. Fog came into the scape and Eunice saw herself drop to her knees, before the fog covered her and she could no longer see. The fog disappeared after a few moments and Eunice saw herself again, on the ground, coughing.

Eunice was confused. It didn’t seem possible that the pictures she had just seen were true..

She look back at the crystal ball, but she couldn’t see anything.

Eunice looked desperately into the ball, wanting to know more. Then she felt something on her arm. Eunice turned her head slowly and looked into the mirror. She saw a black dot on her arm.

It must be that fly again, Eunice thought.

She moved her arm slowly above the table. Then she flung it across the table as hard as she could and smacked her arm. Eunice felt her arm burning, as she watched the fly move towards the window. It had gotten away.

But in that moment, Eunice felt her hand hit something else. She turned her head to see what it was, and saw the crystal ball in mid air. Eunice watched the ball fly. She didn’t know what else to do.

Then ball hit the ground with an awful shattering noise. Nothing and no one moved.

The crystal pieces were scattered across the floor. Eunice dropped to her knees. She gathered the pieces, hoping for them to magically go back together again, but they didn’t.

Oh no, Eunice thought nervously, what have I done?

She was about to cry when she heard a foot steps and looked up. The woman stood in her house staring at the broken pieces. She was the same woman who had given her the crystal ball. The woman had a blank expression on her face. Then a strong light flashed and Eunice covered her eyes for protection. When she could sense the light was gone, she put her hands down. Eunice’s mouth dropped open when she saw who stood in front of her. Then she realise that she had betrayed the woman in front of her. Eunice looked away from Hera, not able to take the shame.

Eunice tried to say something, but her words disappeared whenever she saw Hera’s glare.

She tried to ignore everything she heard. After a long time, she opened her eyes, and found out that she was not at home. She looked around and saw the white space she had seen earlier from the crystal ball. What confused Eunice, though, is that the space was round. There were no doors or windows or anything. It was just a plain white space.

Hera smirked as she took her crystal ball out of Eunice’s house in one piece. She was satisfied with her punishment. Eunice was trapped inside of the ball and Hera had her ball in one piece.

And Eunice had gotten what she said she wanted. Every day and every night she watched the future. However, she could not change it. Every day and every night, she felt horrible for the promises she broke.