Thalassa

She lived, swimming in the ocean for many thousands of years. Her companions were the creatures of the sea: fish, seals and dolphins. Naked and huge, bigger than any ship, she lurked amongst coral reefs, or wriggled lithe as an eel along the sandy sea bed. Her skin was pale, almost iridescent. Necessity had given her large, dark eyes, enabling her to see in the dark depths of the ocean. Her long, green locks, resembling sea weed      streamed behind her as she swam. She had no home, if she slept, waves and currents rocked her. What need of shelter would she have, living and breathing the elements as she did? Storms held no fear for her, she played in waves resembling mountains, leaping and diving in and out of them. Speech? None that, we would recognise, although ancient mariners claimed to have heard her eerie song. Her name was Thalassa, and this is her story.

She led a peaceful existence, some would say an idle one, swimming and observing the water’s movements and its inhabitants. She knew of humans, for sometimes, she would travel towards the sea’s edge, and watch these tiny beings about their labours. This was a time before humanity became too numerous and rapacious to be a threat to the earth’s other residents. Occasionally, as she drifted on the briny water’s surface, she would encounter one of their wooden vessels. She would gaze and watch with fascination, as the men moved around on the deck. She had no incentive to interact with them. To her they were merely objects of curiosity. There was no similarity between them and her. Their land locked existence was as different to hers, as a worm’s life is to an elephant’s. She made no attempt to hide herself, there was no need. If a sailor happened to see her, he believed that he was seeing a whale, or that he had drunk too much.

And then one night, a great storm blew up, and she swam towards it with a flotilla of marine animals in her wake. She craved the excitement of the crashing waves, the shrieking wind, the pummelling rain, flashes of lighting, and the herds of white stallions galloping on the waves’ crests. As she drew near, the wind whipped her hair across her face, and the sea was a dark, swirling, threatening cauldron. The overhead sky a firework display of purples and oranges, rent every so often with a blinding flash. The weather’s violence energised her, she dived deep into the water’s depths, touched the soft bottom with her fingertips, and sleek as a cormorant swam back to the surface, anticipating the thrill of being tossed hither and thither by the sea’s powerful energy. But then, as the lightning flashed, at the boundary of her vision, she glimpsed something: a ship. The vessel was being tossed and spun, as if it were a mouse in cat’s paws. Buffeted, like a mere twig travelling along rapids, the wind howling and screaming, threatening around it.   Watching, she swam closer, and saw the ship’s main mast crack, splinter, and crash through the upper deck. Closer still, she ventured, and as she neared made out the dark, silhouette figure of a solitary man, kneeling in the bow, praying. She did not feel pity, she could not. She was a deity, and so had no concept of human mortality.

The man was the captain, and in time honoured custom, he had stayed with his ship. Spurred on by inquisitiveness, she swam nearer, until her head was almost touching the boat’s wooden side. The horizon was lit by another sudden flash, and the Captain looked up from his prayers and saw her outline. Who knows what he thought? More likely, it was survival instinct rather than conscious thought, which made him leap to his feet, and throw himself across the ship’s side onto her head. Once landed, he lay atop of her skull, and secured himself by clinging to a wet, vert hank of her hair. She knew what to do; she swam smoothly, effortlessly cutting through the continuing, tumultuous motion of the sea towards the nearest land. As she neared the distant shore, she could see a line of glowing dots. They were pinpricks of light. Nearer still and they became flaming torches, held aloft by a chain of people. The flames danced and sputtered in the dark night, frenetically dancing like devils fresh from the fires of hell. Until, suddenly the people saw her and in unison let out a great shout. As if in answer, there was another flash and boom of thunder. A woman ran from the line, across the beach and into the surf. Showing no fear of this giant, who was steadily approaching the shore, she ran waist deep into the heaving waves. The captain released his grasp of Thalassa’s hair, and slid down her head into the surf, and into his wife’s waiting arms. She watched as they embraced, and saw the joy on the woman’s face. And now she felt an emotion, although she could not name it. The feeling was envy, for she had no-one to love her like this.

From then on, her days of contentment were gone. Her time was now spent searching, continually searching for another like her. A being who resembled her, and could love her, as she had seen the man and woman love each other. She would propel herself down into the deepest depths of the ocean, where hardly a glimmer of light penetrated, peering into the underwater caves. Or float on the surface, waiting, hoping for a glimpse of another such as herself. Or swim for miles, to the remotest areas where she had never ventured before, always scanning for that elusive ‘other’. Many years passed, and another sensation crept stealthily into her subconscious. So gradual was this new feeling’s invasion that, at first it entered her mind unnoticed, until it overwhelmed her, and she wept. For this new feeling was loneliness, and with it came sadness. No comfort came to her, despair, desperation and depression descended upon her. Where once she had delighted in swimming amongst the fronds of giant kelp, and watching the glittering, flashing groups of colourful fishes, now she saw only grey waters, murky with unidentifiable minutiae.

Change came, for one day, she felt the waters around her begin to vibrate, and then this motion turned to tremors, and finally, violent explosions, tossing large boulders up into the water, as though they were nothing more than shingle. The movement stirred the sea, until it was a thick, swirling soup of torn vegetation, gravel and small dead animals. Great underwater currents were created by escaping gas, and plumes of steam rose from the surface, forming whirling clouds above the waves. From this chaos a great funnel of rock emerged from the sea bed, and ferociously expanded and ascended, until its apex pierced the water’s surface. It seemed that its growth would not cease until it touched the sky. Molten lava streamed down its sides, spitting and blistering as it reached the water. Black smoke and flames spewed from the summit, piercing a sky with glowing orange light, made dark from the volcano’s activity. From this giant conflagration a man’s head emerged, then his torso, and finally his lower limbs. He stood, apparently oblivious to the heat and disorder around him, with his feet planted firmly on either side of the volcano’s mouth, arms akimbo, threw back his head and let forth a great bellow of laughter. 

He was called Veles. Just as she knew the thoughts of the dolphins without speaking, she knew this too. His gigantic head was covered in a mane of vibrant, curling, chestnut locks, which continued down to cover his face with a beard of ringlets, and then lower, but sparser and finer, coating his entire muscular body with a delicate copper down. Another raucous yell of jocosity emitted from his rosy lips, as he leapt from the peak into the restless sea. Without a pause he swam strongly and confidently to Thalassa’s side, to where she had been watching the unfolding events, with only her head visible above the water. They swam slowly around each other, circling and gazing at each other, his eyes twinkling with merriment, chuckles of mirth gurgling out of him, her eyes solemn and intent, drinking in his every detail. Their mutual attraction was a magnetic, hypnotic force. Occasionally, one’s fingers brushed the other’s hand. Until eventually, with one accord, they linked hands and in tandem, with fingers interlocked, swam down into the depths, to consummate their union. For truly he had been made for her, sent to provide companionship and joy, and alleviate her despondency.

Together they explored the world around them. She showed him the magnificent white blue icebergs of the North Pole, floating majestically out to sea, until the sun melted them, shrank them and they disappeared. Or the deepest fathoms below surface, where fish glowed fluorescently, and strange, blind, colourless creatures existed. He took her onto land, showing her the barren stretches of desserts, and the forests where the cacophony of sound and multitude of colours accosted and almost overwhelmed her senses. She marvelled at the humans and their preoccupation with precious metals and gems, which to her were no more than objects found half emerged on the sea bed. She puzzled at mankind’s need to build shelters, until the sun, which had been pleasantly warming began to burn her delicate skin. Her interest in all around her, gratified him, and he loved her even more.   

But, he was male, and a god of pleasure, not designed for monogamy. At times, he would stray in search of another goddess to satisfy his sexual appetites. Upon his return, in jealous rage she, with all her might would hurl gigantic rocks at his immense head. He would swim beyond her range, regarding her with glee, as her weighty missiles splashed into the surf near him, sending fountains of spray towards the sky. And when her anger was spent, she would forgive him. She remembered her days of loneliness, and their morality was not that of humankind. Then, she would swim towards him, and he would laughingly open his arms wide, and enfold her, kissing the top of her head.   

Sometimes, he would cause other volcanos to erupt on land or sea. He found the pouring masses of glowing lava, and the leaping flames entertaining. Or he would use his great arms and legs to create a whirlpool for her to spin in. Oft times, their exuberant amusements caused damage to humanity. This was not due to any malice on their part; it was rather a lack of awareness of mankind’s frailty. Occasionally, he would rear up out of the waves, in clear view of a lone fishing vessel, his ebullient chortles sounding like the roar of the sea to the frightened fishermen. More often, they assisted these fragile beings, rescuing them when their ships were damaged, or ushering shoals of fish towards the shores, providing food when crops failed. They did not realise that they were creating a monster of a different kind.  

For, increasingly, the human race multiplied, and man’s inquisitiveness expanded, until not even the stars were left unscathed. In their quest for more knowledge, mankind invaded every corner of the earth, and poisoned the planet as they sought to control the environment and create more comfortable lives for themselves.  Thalassa and Veles disappeared, hiding in increasingly, rarer places of wild remoteness. Man invented other names and explanations for the forces of nature. Eventually ‘science’ became the overarching belief.

But have we discovered everything? A plague has been sent to curtail our growth. This virus is grounding our aircraft, isolating us, splitting families asunder, and halting vast economies. It is a living thing, which mutates and alters, in defiance of our efforts to stop its rapid spread. Our revered scientists are failing to explain from whence it came, nation blaming nation. We have disparagingly dismissed the ancient Gods, as being our primitive ancestors’ attempts to understand the world around them. And yet, unexplained sightings of giant hominid creatures persist across our allegedly civilised world. Could it be that the ancient deities still roam, waiting to reclaim their territories?