Zinaida

The nymph Zinaida was a selfless, heartfelt, smart and beautiful creature. She lived a pleasant existence watching the people of the world. On occasion she mingling in the lives of men and women she thought were interesting or attractive. She had the honor of being the inspiration of a few songs sung by sailors that frequented the ports along the Mediterranean Sea. She had many memorable conversations with men about what it means to live a good life. She often left her mark on these men behind one ear which appeared as a slightly darkened area of the skin in the shape of her thumb or kissing lips.  After the Olympians war with the Titans, Zeus closed the doors of Mount Olympus forever. Anyone engaging with the people of earth would lose their place among the gods.  

This was too much for some to handle. A few of the gods became fond of some of the men and became more of a protector than a watcher. The first God that disobeyed Zeus was struck down without a second’s hesitation. The second and the third had a bit more fanfare. Zeus made it known who was sent to Hades and why. 

One of Zinaida’s sisters had snuck away to see her lovers. She had snuck away a few times over the years but was caught upon her latest trip. Zinaida begged Zeus to spare her but rules were rules. She continued to watch the lives of men and saw multiple boats crashing into a rocky cliff off the coast of Athens. The loss of her sister and the loss of those dying at sea below was too much for her to bare. She decided she had to act. 

She hummed a tune to herself:

“Beware, Beware, our brave men of the sea”

“Sailing to Athenia can be hazardous to thee”

“But floating around the western end”

“Will ensure the men see their homes again"    

“It’s not much of a song, more of a poem” Zinaida said to herself then added “but it will have to do.” As she stepped away from her perch, she heard a heal strike the ground. 

“I thought I would find you here,” said Zeus.

Zinaida stopped in her tracks and looked like she had been caught doing something wrong.

Seeing this Zeus said “My dear, there is no crime against thinking something, but remember, thoughts become actions in the blink of an eye.”

“I know Father” she said in a meek tone.

“Where WERE you going” he asked.

“I WAS going to whisper a poem in a ship captains’ ear that will prevent him from steering his ship towards the rocks” she said as she found her voice. “I’ll show you.”

The two walked to Zinaida’s perch. She waved her arm and the fog cleared. It was night time on land but there was a storm brewing and a few ships were sail towards dangerous rocks unseen by the crew. The two watched the ships sail for a bit before the first one crashed into something unseen. The ship broke apart, the masts and the sail fell into the water, covering the men trying to save themselves. 

“That’s very sad” said Zeus who looked on with slumped shoulders.

“I would like to help them,” said Zinaida.

“You can’t,” said Zeus.

She closed her eyes then looked at all of the souls of those recently departed going towards their final resting places. Just then, she had an idea.

“If I can’t go, can you release my spirit while my body stays here” asked Zinaida. “I would like to save some of these men from an early death.

Zeus raised his eyebrows and said, “That is one loophole I didn’t anticipate.”

There was hope. She perked up “is that a ‘Yes’ Father?”

“It’s a yes, but understand this; you go down there, spread the word for as long as you need then return. Upon your return, you will not be allowed to separate your soul from your body until it is separated for all time” he said with a cold finality.

This coldness gave her pause… but then she was resolute. “Father, I accept these terms. What do we do?” 

“Let’s go to your place,” said Zeus. The two marched off to where Zinaida rested her body and kept her things. 

“Lie down,” said Zeus. 

“Will it hurt” she asked, not really knowing what that meant.

“No, you will feel cold, so grab a lambskin” he said.

Once she was settled, he summoned his energy, closed his eyes and waved a hand over her body. As her soul left her body-- Hades appeared.

“What are you doing brother” asked the God of the underworld.

Zeus said nothing and maintained his concentration. He then exhaled. Out of his mouth came a thick fog that took the shape of a women. Zeus took two deep breaths and exhaled two small rings of fog. Those rings became eyes that joined the body and blinked. Soon, the rest of the fog took shape until the form Zinaida was again whole. 

“You were right Father, that didn’t hurt at all.” She looked over his shoulder and her eyes grew large. “It’s good to see you Uncle” Zinaida directed to Hades.

“And you, my girl. What are you doing? I am drawn to Mount Olympus only when a god needs an escort to my realm. I guess I can escort a nymph too if needed” finished Hades who looked at both Zeus and Zinaida.

“That won’t be necessary. I have made Zinaida into a wraith at her request. When she is ready, she will return to her body and resume her duties here. But since you’re here brother, let us feast and hear tales from the underworld” finished Zeus who took his brother by the shoulder ushering him to the great hall.

Zinaida looked at her body lying there. She could see her chest rising and falling. She looked at her hands and saw that she could see them but could see through them as well. She tried to clap but failed. The tried again and the fog made a clapping noise but appeared to fall apart, as if steam were poured out of a pail.  

She worked on manipulating her form in her room then descended from Mount Olympus like a collapsing storm cloud falling over a mountain. She couldn’t help but scream with delight. She hit the waters of the Mediterranean Sea but since her fog was less dense than the water, she spread out like water hitting concrete.

She collected herself and floated over to the first ship she saw nearing the coast. She took measure of the boats condition, the sails and this visible crew. She saw a few watchmen that were nodding off. She crept onto the ship. As she passed over the crew’s sleeping area, she noticed the men shiver and shudder. They clutched their thin blankets as they swayed in their hammocks. The captain’s quarters were located at the end of the crew’s sleeping quarters.  She fit under the door effortlessly. And appeared as herself on the other side. The temperature of the room fell a few degrees but not enough to cause anyone to wake up. She saw the captain sleeping on his right side. She crawled into bed began whispering her words of warning into his ear. He stirred a bit as she sang her poem. After the third time, she moved the long hair from the man’s face. As she moved the hair, her thumb touched the man’s skin right behind his exposed ear. A mark appeared as she rose from the bed. It was not a scar, more like a slight discoloration that was slightly darker than the man’s skin.

She left as quietly as she came leaving nothing but a chill in the air. One sailor awoke and saw the fog ascend the ladder to the top deck. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as the last puff of fog left escaped through the hatch.  He looked around the room and saw nothing amiss. Men snored and swayed with the motions of the ship. He returned his gaze to the ladder but saw nothing. Soon his eyes drooped, then closed.

Zinaida flew to another ship headed north and noted that it was nearly abandoned. This ship was not headed towards any rocks and was not in any danger she could see, but she visited the captain none the less. She crept past an alert watchman who noted the sudden fog that had enveloped his ship. He stood and walked from port to starboard. He looked intently ahead and behind his ship and noted the edges of the fog. He narrowed his eyes the altered his crew.

“Get up everyone” the watchman shouted as he rang the bell. Then men of this ship were well trained and disciplined Zinaida noted. The men were not fully awake as each man took his place along the sides of the ship. Some were armed with long swords and bows and arrows. She heard the watchman report his observations to the captain who looked around. Just then she began to sing:

The disciplined sailor need not worry     

The fog is not meant to make men scurry

The disciplined crew of this sailing ship

Will sail west and avoid death’s icy grip

The men of the ship looked at each other in horror at the mention of death, then watched as Zinaida withdrew from the area. A few of the armed men shot arrows into the fog but they harmlessly passed through her without leaving a mark. With her help, they avoided the unseen rocks and told all those that would listen at port to avoid that area.

Zinaida visited one more ship that night. She spread herself out, stayed low and close to the water. To the average sailor, it would look like mist on the seas. Soon she was able to see the rear window. She collected herself and slipped into the ship. She found that she had snuck into the kitchen and found the cook hard at work, preparing for the morning meal. She watched the man cut and chop a few vegetables and add them to a pot hanging over a small fire. 

“Are you worried that the fire will escape” asked Zinaida.

“No” said the man who didn’t look up.

“Why” asked Zinaida.

“I have done this for years” he said without missing a chop. 

He threw the potato into the pot looked Zinaida in the eyes. Then he looked at her full figure and nodded as if he agreed with a question that was never asked.

“Do you like what you see” she asked.

“Yes, unless you are here to take me see Hades,” said the cook.

“No, I won’t take you to my uncle. I am here to warn the sailors to avoid certain places so you don’t lose your ships to the rocks.”

“What does King Poseidon think of this?”

“I didn’t ask” she said. 

“Are we headed to the rocks” asked the cook.

“No” said Zinaida who watched the man return to his duties. She asked “So you’re not scared?” 

“No, I can see you, but I can see through you. So, either you’re a ghost, or something I imagined. Based on your figure, I am leaning towards the latter.” He retrieved a few sacks of spices, sprinkled a pinch of this and that into the pot then added “not that I am complaining. Life at sea is very boring. A conversation with someone is a welcomed distraction.”

The conversation moved from the obvious to the idea of what a life well lived meant. The cook offered “A life well lived is a purpose fulfilled.”

“That would depend on your purpose. My friend Sisyphus may disagree” offered Zinaida.

“According to the stories, he makes every effort to roll his boulder up the hill every day. What’s good for a God, is good enough for a man” countered the cook.

Zinaida bid the cook farewell and marked him with her kiss behind his ear. That man would not have a bad dream for as long as he lived.

Zinaida would spend the next 1000 years keeping ships from the dangerous Mediterranean shores. She had many conversations with men and learned much about the human condition. Her legend grew too. Poems recited and sung about the dangerous rocks in the Mediterranean Sea took on a life of their own:

              If you’re a lucky sailor on the Mediterranean Sea

              A shapely fog you may attract

              Let the fog in the sleeping sailor and captain agree

              To ensure lovely dreams upon contact

              And we avoid the rocks we cannot see

              To arrive safely and land our ship intact.

She was called back to Zeus and when she arrived, she told her father all that she had learned. 

“Something I found interesting is that these men know the songs of their ancestors. They have the knowledge and the skill to navigate these waterways but they still crash” Zinaida finished.

“Perhaps you should scare them” suggested Zeus.

“Does fear work father” she asked.

“It does when its properly applied once or twice. Wasn’t it your goal to save lives” asked Zeus?

“Yes, that was it,” said Zinaida.

“You can scare these men to save their lives” remarked Zeus.

The two continued to talk as father and daughter. Zeus gave advice and his daughter listened without interruption. Soon, they parted ways. He watched her descend to earth screaming with delight. He smiled a bit, remembering the feeling of riding one of his own lightning bolts and decided to join her. In a flash, the god of thunder descended in a bolt so large, a part of the earth was illuminated as if Helios had risen early. 

Zinaida made her way back to the sea. The first ship she found floating off the coast was anchored in a precarious place.   She spread herself out and began moving the sails. This woke the men on deck as they woke everyone else up. The collected herself and forms a shape of an octopus. The sailors screamed in fear. Some fired their weapons but this did nothing. Within a minute, the anchor was being pulled from the sea. Zeus threw a few thunderbolts that crashed behind Zinaida. She pushed the sails in a safe direction and soon the sails caught the wind and were floating east to safer waters. She shouted a warning the men of this boat:

              These waters don’t belong to you, they belong to me

              Take advantage of the east wind and run

              For if you don’t take my warning, I will punish thee

              And you will be marooned on a treeless beach under the heat of the killer sun.

The men fired a few more cannons but were out of site in a few minutes. 

A ship sailing from the coast of Africa was moving west and got lost. Zinaida enveloped the ship but this went unnoticed because the men were pouring over maps, calibrating their navigation equipment and trying to peer into a starless sky. They had all of their available light near the table. Men were reading notes, and going over instructions on how to use this and that. Had they looked down they would have seen a fog rolling over their shoes. Next a few ropes holding the main sail were set free by just a ghostly hand. The men standing their post near the rigging couldn’t believe their eyes. 

It was dark but the light spilling out from the top deck was enough to see a ghostly hand free the rope. One of the officers began barking orders to secure the sails. He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Zinaida rise to twenty feet tall. 

“Run small men. You had better leave my waters before I tear you boat apart piece by piece.” As she said this last part Zinaida reached out broke the chain to the ships anchor. As soon as it was free, the ship began to move east.

“Take this warning you small man. Stay clear of my waters or pay with your lives” Zinaida warned. She followed the ship to Havana and disappeared when the ship was on course. 

The next night she visited the port and saw that there were multiple ships flying under several different flags. She flew up to the first man and allowed the fog to transform from a shapeless blob of smoke to a form as a woman. Then she smiled, and she began to relay her massage. “Stay away” she said then her eyes became dark voids. As the man squinted his eyes two snakes shot out of the voids. These snakes slithered up the man’s nostrils. The man felt the cold fog run up his nose and down his throat. He screamed all of Zinaida out of his body. The man wet himself and was found hiding below decks crying by the rest of the crew.  Zinaida visited each ship in turn and warned the men to stay away from the waters west of the island. The stories of the wraith with snakes for eyes cemented the notion that sailing west of Havana was forbidden. 

Zinaida returned to her body and sought her father. The two sat has his table and when asked “what did you learn about the race of man” by Zeus, she said, “they know century old ideas but haven’t learned a thing from their knowledge.”

“How is that possible,” said Zeus.

After a moment, Zinaida asked “Why does a thirsty horse not drink when presented with water.”