Light

A spider crawled up my leg; I didn’t think much of it despite being terrified of them. It traveled from my toe to my calf at an alarming speed and it multiplied in size much faster than it traveled. Soon it was larger than my hips, its fangs oozing out a slimy green substance. I lay motionless.

I picked up my sword and slashed it in half in one swing. It splashed green liquid all over me, dissolving my clothes. This was the sixth daughter of Arachne I’ve battled. They were out to gain the approval of Athena. Athena had long urged my father, Apollo, to be rational, to kill me. The gods disapproved of demigods. Some sided with Athena, and pleaded Zeus to destroy me, but Zeus having fathered many demigods decided to stay out of it.

Apollo had come to me when I was 16 and told me to brace myself. The gods were planning tests to prove my worth. If I had passed them all, I would be able to live among the gods. I continued to lie on the floor, the spider’s body next to me. Sometimes I wished Apollo didn’t court my mother. Sometimes I wished that during nights like these, I was killed by the spider’s pincers. This wasn’t for me.

But in the darkest of nights, there was always a strange shimmer of light, a sign from my father. It was as if he was telling me that everything will be alright. With the rise of my bow, a ray of light will pierce the night, pierce my enemies; a ray of hope that I too, one day, will enjoy the acceptance of Mount Olympus. (via)