A story of becoming

Kora and Persephone

Mamma tried to keep me like my names' sake for as long as she could, and for a while I didn't see anything wrong with being like I was, a maiden. She raised me to be like the plants around her, healthy and vibrant and pure. I was unaware of anything outside of our nature and I liked it that way. There was much to learn. I had a feeling that I wasn't going to be here forever anyway so I was content with enjoying what time here I had. I didn't mind that Mamma tried to keep me away from others, I honestly didn't notice it half the time. It was only much later that I learned that it wasn't everyone but a certain few that she tried her best to guard me from.

Powerful as she was, she couldn't be with me always and so one day she brought Athena to watch over and teach me while she was needed in Olympus. She was so different from Mamma, I could feel the cold and collected barrier just beneath her friendly exterior. Back straight with her piercing eyes that held both questions and answers but never judgment, I was intrigued with her at once. I don't fully understand why it was so clear to me how she saw the world differently than Mamma but my respect fell right in line with her as I treaded by her side. I held onto everything she said, well almost. As time went on the unnamed voice in my head, the same one that told me I would eventually see beyond these gardens, grew anxious and fidgety and I pushed Athena to tell me more about her world. At first, she just watched me, calculating something unseen, before she turned me away. It didn't matter how much time passed, I was never able to chip away at her to reveal my answers. The nervous energy in my mind eventually grew into my limps and I would find myself seeking out Artemis's company. She shared this wilderness with Mamma and me. As Mamma took care of nature Artemis took care of the animals within it. She also would come and go as she pleased which would slowly tug at me more and more over time. She was so wild and lively compared to Mamma and Athena. She knew how to make me smile and how to get me to run. We would sometimes find ourselves in 'trouble' but looking back on it I use that word in the mildest manner possible. We must have been in keeping with what Mamma really wanted even if it seemed like a big deal to me at the time.

Even with this growing voice in my mind I would turn to whatever my mother said and trust in her word that I was meant to be a Goddess of the harvest with her. Whenever Artemis said she would be leaving for a while to be with the humans I pretended like I didn't care, even if that was only half way true. Mamma said I didn't need to meet the mortals to do what I needed to do in life. The first time I heard her say it it had sat wrong with me but I couldn't understand a reason to disagree with her. I'm honestly not sure what changed everything one day. I just remember the first time I watched Artemis go. Usually I would tend to my flowers and let us go our separate ways for the time being, she would be there then she wasn't. It was never a big deal, but this time was different, and she noticed.

"Kora, you waited for me to come back?" Artemis had found me sitting in the field where I sat unmoved from where I'd seen her off.

"What is out there Artemis." My voice was raw, the words had lain like a bolder in my throat and had hurt as I push them out, particularly since they were the next words I had spoken after her goodbye.

"The rest of the world Core." She said like a single drop in the ocean.

"Will you show me?" I tried not to sound like I was pleading. My body was shaking slightly, and I couldn't understand why.

"And risk never seeing you again the second Demeter finds out?" she replied jokingly.

"Artemis," I began.

"Your mom and Athena will do worse than kill me if I try to sneak you away. They will notice the second you are gone." Her tone was quick and harsh but did not hurt.

"I know I am asking a lot." I said.

"You're asking for something I never thought you would ask for." She said gently.

"I think I have been trying to ask it for a while know I just didn't know how to say it." The words moved slowly out of me but they felt right so I didn't hold them back.

"You've wanted to leave here?" She asked.

"Not forever, Goddess no, I just. I can tell that there is more. Artemis, I need you to listen to me, please, okay? I feel like there are more than the flowers, the trees, the pollen, and leaves. I can feel something that doesn't reach to here but does exist out there." The look that Artemis gave me ran shivers down my spine. It was almost as cool and calculating as the one Athena would give me but something about it was sharper.

"Yeah I get that feeling." She said steadily without blinking. I got the feeling that she was looking at me in a different way than she ever had before which made me feel different in turn. I wanted to look around for a reflection to see if something about me really had changed. "Have you said anything about this to Athena?"

"Um, well, no. I am afraid that she would tell Mamma. I know she wouldn't understand."

"Kora, give me a bit to think this over, but listen to me," Artemis came over and sat next to me, arm on my shoulder, "I get it."

"I know that I am asking a lot." I had no idea what consequences would come or what I would find. Mamma made the outside world seem drab and painful. Unnecessary and unrelatable.

"Come on little posy. I would've been a little surprised if you never asked at all. Just do me something in return." I looked at her. "Tell Athena what you told me tonight, okay? She is the Goddess of wisdom after all, I'm sure she can help you somehow. Besides, you never know. Your Goddess coronation is this next moon. You are bound to be feeling some new things." I agreed and for the rest of the night we joked and mapped the constellation in the night sky before she left to join her twin in the moon. I stayed until I got the chance to watch the edge of the sky shift colors. I didn't budge until the edge of the sun threated the turn of the world. I felt the warmth of the light hit my ankle as I shut the door to my studies. Instead as I watched the floating dust, I daydreamt about my Goddess coronation where I would prove that I was meant to be a Harvest Goddess with Mamma. When the rest of my life would begin.