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#Post#: 3599--------------------------------------------------
Drowning (Echo Short Story)
By: Echo Scottua Date: February 3, 2018, 11:13 pm
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[sub]In Character Date: 24th August UUY -6[/sub]
A/N: Echo is 16-17 at this time. Inspiration spoke to me and I
threw this back at it.
So, yeah. Enjoy :).
[hr]
The warm afternoon in Waterfall was making Echo�s job of drying
off a whole lot easier. Her footprints were fading away behind
her along the extensive boardwalk that concealed portions of the
marsh below, though labyrinthine easily navigable for her. The
dampness of her swimwear stuck to her chest and torso, and she
struggled to resist urges to pick them every five minutes. Her
hair however, it was going to take a while at its length. She
could still feel its cold weight through her towel draped over
her shoulders and back, avoiding the annoying shiver of drips
down her exposed back. A mental note was made to tie her hair in
a rough bun next time she�d go swimming despite her knowledge
she wouldn�t remember.
The pungent air lingered pleasantly. Echo inhaled its
familiarity, not bothered by it at all unlike some other
monsters who came through here, whom where probably visiting
from the Capital or Hotland to view the caverns. People were
always drawn to anything that looked priceless, weren�t they?
She could count herself in the context of the crystals naturally
embedded into the walls roughly west. That�s where she and her
brother, Helios, were just heading back from together; a cave
they found about a year ago difficult to get to but worth the
trek. The large pool in it made the place an excellent hideaway
for them to swim and converse after a long week.
Helios was especially deserving of those swims, even though he
would mostly soak up the mineral water. It was the only way to
soothe the pains in his back from restocking shelves all day.
Echo found it remarkable how he kept his cool despite how hectic
things could get at supermarkets; he told many stories of
spilled drinks, infuriating customers, and returns without
receipts. If Echo was in his place she�d have to spend all of
her remaining free time meditating, and yet her brother would
always call relaxing doing something productive. It made her
constantly in awe of his ethic, if she wasn�t proud of him
enough. He was a charmer who rarely showed a face less than
content in public, seemed the perfect example of their parents�
son with Mother�s lavender skin and Father�s square jaw and
radiant silver hair, and had an ethic that reaped him deserving
rewards.
His only fault was that his degree in Biology wasn�t getting him
any better jobs when they needed it.
The two didn�t have a house as a home; they had to sell it to
afford the treatment towards curing their Mother, but the cave
they decided to rest in worked well enough. Echo did admit to
missing the feeling of mattresses beneath her back and not
having to rely on her magic for light and very slow cooking, but
with her brother they managed to create a relatively cosy nook
with what they could, and Helios� job gave them just enough to
buy food and other necessities. Now living a far different life,
Echo was far more appreciative of what she once had and grateful
for what she and her brother could get.
Her gaze locked onto the most familiar and comforting thing in
her life. Her brother was busy admiring the same cluster of
typha she had moments before. She smiled over how she would
always point out the �water sausages� when she was little,
always asking her parents if they were going to have them for
dinner that week. Growing up happened so fast, and yet she
wasn�t scared of coming close to adulthood like the rest of her
basketball team were. Circumstances made her mind grow up faster
than her body. The only thing that stayed the same seemed to be
Helios, her only and perfect support. Echo wished she could make
up to all that he did for her, though she doubted that imagining
empty bowels and catching rebounds could do anything much for
him.
Someday, though, she would. She�d work out how when the chance
would come.
Helios then stopped several feet behind her, and no longer
seeing him in her peripheral vision Echo stopped to see what
kept him. He was patting the pockets of his board shorts; his
left, right, and then the ones at the back several times in
repeat. Each time his turquoise eyes would widen until his whole
pupil was visible.
Oh boy, Echo thought, stiffening at that rare expression.
[color=lightpink]How did he stuff up?
He looked up to her. �[color=darkorchid]Did you have the
crystals?�
Parting open her towel, Echo revealed her one piece, black with
a bold white stripe vertically down the middle. �Does it look
like I have pockets in this thing?� she raised an eyebrow to
him.
Helios inhaled sharply. �Well, I don�t have them now,� his voice
lowered.
�You idiot!� she yelped immediately. Those were the most
valuable things they had left, though its value was only
personal. Their parents wore those crystals on them, and per
tradition of their kind their dust was sprinkled onto their
respective ones after their deaths. With their essence inside of
them, they used them as symbolic support and literal assistance
if they were ever in trouble, the purple one of their father
used in instances of self-defence and their mother�s white one
to gradually recover health. Losing them was like losing their
parents forever! They had never left either one of their sides.
That was until that very moment.
�It wasn�t like I did on purpose, Co,� Helios sighed heavily.
Echo rolled her eyes. �You could�ve at least checked before we
left the pools,� she pointed out, turning anxious. It especially
showed in her tensing shoulders.
�We can still check now,� he reassured her. �I�m sure nobody
would have taken them.�
�We don�t know for sure!� she started to show how more anxious
she was in her voice. �Someone might know the worth of those
things and take them, or kicked them over at the bottom with the
sand, or might take them and sell them off��
Helios braced her by the shoulders, one hand on each. She froze,
staring him dead in his begging eyes. �Calm down, Echo. We can
find it, I promise. Just take some deep breaths for me.�
With a stiff nod, she began the process with closed eyes. It was
the same process the school counsellors told her to use when
stressed or feeling any negative emotions. It never worked with
the strongest ones, though. It took a while to recover from her
mother�s passing away. Echo was told to take deep breaths while
thinking of a spiral, slowly following its pattern like a road.
As the spiral ended, she would be calm.
She looked into his brother�s dark pupils with the last exhale,
passing the borderline of calm. �Sorry.�
�Don�t be,� he told her, patting her shoulder with a quick
smile, in which Echo reflected it briefly. �These things happen.
Now, we�ll just go back and see if we can find Mom and Dad.�
She nodded, pulling her towel up her shoulders before running
back to the pools, just in case they were too late. �Hey, we
don�t need to rush!� Helios called after her, but that didn�t
mean she�d slow down for pity. Paranoia could be locked in a
box, but not erased. Her gut still assumed it was gone.
Echo remained in the lead as she weaved past stares of
slow-paced wanderers, skidded around corners but never bumped
into them, and checked to make sure her brother was behind her.
Not that he would struggle with this, just that Echo had more
endurance. Though normally when she ran she would be wearing her
basketball shoes and random crags in the ground wouldn�t poke
her and cause her to slip occasionally. But that wouldn�t stop
her so easily, especially when she could lose something so
meaningful to her and her brother.
But that could had to turn into a won�t.
She slowed down reaching that same gap in the wall, just big
enough for her brother to shuffle through. She would struggle
too with how thing the space was especially noticing how much
longer it would take as she matured, but Helios occasionally got
grazes passing through that gap. Echo didn�t try to run through
that, instead turning her head to the side, holding her breath
habitually, and shuffling past the two uneven, rocky surfaces.
She exhaled on the other side � a dark, damp cave she could
barely make out the rock edges with. All she knew was that she�d
always climb and wriggle through gaps, over hordes of
stalagmites, and under stalactites she had dazed herself with on
accident.
Echo�s hands clasped together as she took another deep breath,
focussing her magical essence into her palms. Her eyes closed as
she tried to find the core of it, only recently being able to
make this type sustainable on its own for long periods of time.
After finding its static sustenance she amplified it, feeding it
into the heat of her palms like fire. She opened her eyes,
looking down at her hands as blades of pink light struck through
the cracks in her grasp. They slowly spread open, a white light
sticking to her palms. It started to take a form, resembling a
squashed sphere � this is where it�d start to get difficult for
her. One more move and it was supposed to sustain itself, only
she�d never put enough magic into it. This time she knew she
couldn�t hold back to get those crystals back into safe hands �
this was no practice with her brother but the real deal. Staring
it dead in the eye like an enemy, she kept feeding magic into
that squashed bit of light. It grew, but it was not enough.
She�d have to blind herself if she needed to with the pink glow
around it. She had to keep going.
For Mom, for Dad, for Helios.
Her hands parted and she gasped for the anticipation of it
fading, but it stayed afloat like a flower on water. A soft,
angelic hum created a mysterious atmosphere as a bright pink hue
coated the room from the glowing white centre. It didn�t even
flicker, and her hands felt cold. The only trace of it being at
last her own creation was the softer pink glow around her chin,
it�s source the magenta crystal tied around her neck by black
twine. Just to make sure she held up her hand hesitantly and
pushed it further into the narrow cave.
She had done it. If it weren�t in such a valuable situation she
would have admired her efforts more.
Helios had arrived just in time to see the show. � � Echo, I
didn�t expect you to get that bright so fast. � He was one to
talk, mastering it when he was 15 and being able to take ten
seconds to conjure one.
She took in the pride. � I had to sometime soon��
He held his hand forward with a smile. � After you, Gemcaster
Master in the making.� He was hopeful for that to happen, as she
expected that to happen into her 40�s or so.
Echo took the lead, keeping her light close to her so she could
feed more light into it if need be. The two then climbed and
crawled their way through the cave system, using each other�s
strength to climb up into the higher and skinnier crevices made
on their way through. It was nice to see a pink glow illuminate
the caverns instead of her brother�s shadowy blue one, or maybe
that was just bias on her accomplishment. Helios often had to
warn her of many obstacles she overlooked, a sense of rush still
in her toes that made her nearly stab stalagmites into her
heels. �Watch out!� was about to turn into his catchphrase. The
only thing Echo wanted to watch out for was a feint white and
purple glow of their parents� crystals. It wasn�t like anything
here was going to kill her anyway.
After Helios hoisted her up through the final gap, Echo landed
in an area far more well-lit. She pulled Helios in by the
shoulders back to where they had already spent an hour unaware
of the coming tension. Taking a deep breath of relief, Echo was
a step closer to bringing their family back.
The ceiling of the cavern looked like a colourful night sky,
many crystals emitting their own glow in varieties of blue,
purple, and red shades, the formation nebular against the dark
ceiling. The cave was comfortably the size of a classroom, most
of the space taken up by a pool of seemingly fluorescent aqua
water.
But it ran deep compared to the other places they swam around.
The two would have to put the practice from breath holding
competitions to the test.
Helios strode up to the edge, head peering down into the water
like he expected to see the cloth bag floating on the surface
like a feather. As this happened Echo caught the light she was
using, hearing a gentle hiss as she sent the magic back into her
soul, killing the light in her necklace.
�I�ll check this side of the pool, you check the other,� Helios
planned aloud, tossing his towel behind him. �If we don�t find
anything in ten minutes, we meet back up on the bank.�
�And if we do?� she asked as she circled her way to the other
side of the cave.
�Magic,� he simply said. Both of them would be able to produce a
bright enough beam of light for the other to see.
Echo�s towel was dropped behind her and she shivered feeling her
wet hair touch her glassy skin. The water was hopefully warmer
than that, but if not then tough. She didn�t have the time to
warm up and get comfortable. Helios made eye contact with her,
both of their faces worried but their eyes steel with grit. Echo
took in a slow, deep breath.
The term deep waters was never taken more synonymously in Echo�s
life.
She dove in fingers first straight after her brother. The first
thing she noticed was how murky the waters were. Sure, the pool
wasn�t as deep as she heard oceans were, but the bottom of the
pool wasn�t visible even if the crystals could glow at the bed.
Navigating those waters would be tough, especially being close
to the centre of the pool. The walls would have to be used to
help her, just like swimming laps.
The only difference was that the laps were metres down and there
was no way to take casual breaths while doing freestyle.
Echo kicked down, turning around to recall where the bank she
jumped off was. Eventually she found a wall, keeping it in her
peripheral vision as she continued her decent, letting out
fractions of her breath on her way down. Eventually she found
the sandy bed, a lot sooner than she was expecting. But that
didn�t make the crystals reveal themselves, and she could still
only see two metres ahead of herself.
Unless she made a light weak enough to not be used as a signal
for Helios but still up the visibility�
She lit up her right hand, turning the water close to her neon
pink. It somewhat helped, probably more if her light was white
instead like Mom�s. But she was finding her, not asking for her
help.
The search went on, without any signals sent or received in the
first five minutes. Sand was flung across the bed as Echo glided
over it, using her breath sparingly as possible. The more she
searched, the most she believed the crystals were well and truly
gone, that they had been lost for good while they were walking
back to their cave. And her search was delayed about three
minutes in as she had to resurface to catch her breath. But
despite that she kept going, the tiniest bit of hope pushing her
through that water.
That was until she saw a bright blue light on her left. Son of
human, he found them! Echo triumphed and blessed Helios, ready
to push herself back up to the surface.
Or did he find them? His light was flickering.
Pessimism smacked Echo in the face like that one time she was
too late to catch a basketball. Did he get caught somewhere? Did
he find a wrestling match with an aquatic monster? Were the
crystals in a seriously awkward place?
All seemed farfetched, but pessimism took people to weird
places.
Echo breaststroked towards the light, preparing herself for
whatever that flicker could mean. Echo tried to tell herself it
was just his shadow or water distorting the light and making an
elusive flicker. That�s what she wanted it to be, but after
losing two people close to her those scenarios were only dreams.
Fear was driving her, fear to lose the person closest to her.
That was if Helios was in a life and death situation.
Didn�t bad luck come in threes though?
That superstition got her to swim faster with a need to defy
those controversial odds. She was going to save Helios� she
hoped.
It wasn�t until she came close to the light that she realised
how far from the bottom the signal came from. Helios didn�t
appear near the light, self-sustained just like the one she made
and warming the water around her. It was, however, bright enough
to see the bottom.
And a small, red drawstring pouch.
That solved the dilemma of the crystals but didn�t relieve her.
She dove deeper to gather the crystals, holding them tight in
her hands. Not only to make sure they wouldn�t get lost again,
but to try and comfort her fear.
Where was Helios? He wasn�t near the light, and sure as heck
didn�t pick up the crystals on his way out.
Her soul froze when the sphere of light disappeared. She stared
where it once was, the glow shadowing her vision. Did he exhaust
his magic? That was the better of the two thoughts she had.
[color=deeppink]Maybe�s he�s just waiting for me on the banks.
Yeah, he must�ve spotted the crystals but ran out of breath so
signaled me to get them instead�
That�s what she hoped when she broke surface, gasping for breath
or hyperventilating depending on which perspective she wanted to
take. She swam back to where her towel was, tossing the crystals
next to them while clinging to the wall to catch her breath.
Then she turned around. Helios wasn�t here either.
It felt like her soul had cracked. Her eyes were starting to
water, distinguishable from the water falling around her cheeks.
The one thing she didn�t want to happen was starting to become
inevitable, and she didn�t want that to happen. That couldn�t
happen. She wouldn�t let history repeat itself another time. He
had to be down there somewhere. He had to still be alive. She
couldn�t simply give up. She had to keep going for him.
Taking a shakier breath in, she push off the side of the pool
and glided back into the water. Her swims were frantic as she
searched for any sign of him, praying that sign wasn�t his dust.
He fear made her use her breaths a lot less sparingly, making
her cry out every time she resurfaced as her fear took over her
like a meditation. But she didn�t have the time to think about
spirals. She needed to think about where Helios was.
And then she saw his silhouette, still, floating, and almost
motionless. Echo hoped with all her might that she wasn�t too
late.
It was haunting to approach her brother�s body. His skin looked
almost grey under this water. His eyes were hung open along with
his mouth, which bubbles slowly came out of like a leaking pipe.
His arms were crossed over, somewhere between his neck and by
his sides, as if relaxation stopped him from clutching his neck.
Helios had almost drowned.
She heard somewhere that humans didn�t turn to dust when they
died. Was this what it looked like to them? Just something that
looked like them, but drained of life and personality. With a
longing stare that scarred the vision of their loved ones. Was
this death to them?
Who cared; it would only be the closest that Helios would get to
it. Echo wrapped an arm around his waist, desperate to make sure
he would live. She dragged him along as she kicked to the
surface, the full weight of him making her tremendously slower.
This struggle was the one thing she didn�t need. She just needed
her brother alive. Her legs were hurting from the extensive
amount of kicking, and her chest desperate for oxygen. The
surface was getting closer, but it felt much further away.
A powerful cry broke the surface as she heaved both their heads
out of the water, the crystals in the cavern flashing like
lightning in a storm that was her emotions. And yet she was
blinded from that light.
When she finally reached the bank Echo heaved her brother onto
it before resting her elbows, needing support from her body as
it started to shake. She couldn�t tell the difference between
the water dripping down her face or the tears cascading from her
eyes. Either way, she didn�t wipe them away; she needed to help
Helios.
�[color=deeppink]Come on, stay with me,� she begged, gently
gripping his shoulder. She didn�t know what else to do, shocking
forcing her ideas in a whirlwind. �Don�t go� Helios, I need
you�please��
The last Echo saw of her brother was his unemotional stare
before his body broke apart.
At first she was petrified, the gaze reflecting at her and
illusively lingering. She couldn�t see anything but his face,
his silent plead to be saved. And she thought she did, but close
wasn�t good enough. Close was gone. Elbows on the riverbank, she
sobbed for her third dose of bad luck. She sobbed for the
brother that she couldn�t save. She sobbed for the first time in
her life she was truly alone.
Helios had been there for her all her life, and to have him gone
so soon was like losing a limb. Her roughest times, times like
these, he would always be there to smoothen the bumps. He
acknowledged every success, pushed her out of her failures,
attended every match she played in so he could cheer for the
�Tiny Terror�, made sure she was given the treasure out of the
trash. Echo was expecting him to place an arm around her
shoulder and to cry with her until she was ready to be pulled
out of her misery the next day. But he was dead. And she was at
rock bottom without a rope to climb up.
Echo wanted to trade her tears for breath. Like a waterfall her
eyes flowed with water into rivers on her cheeks, turning them
tacky. The worst part was that she never seemed to run out of
them for the time she had stayed there � how long was a
completely different matter without seeing the artificial sun to
at least make a guess. There were times where her tears gifted
her with drowsiness and a still sleep, but she�d see the same
thing every time she woke up. His ashes would always remain
scattered near the edge of the pool along with his navy crystal,
void dark. And the sobs would once again take her breath away as
she unsatisfyingly hugged herself in various corners of the
cave, a reminder of how alone she was.
Why did Helios have to go before she could even do anything to
repay for all he had done? She wanted to see the genuine
appreciation in his smile as she touched his life the way he
touched hers. It felt unfulfilling that she would never see joy
in him again, only that haunting stare still remaining even as
she tried to find a better face to remember him by. But it
stuck. The face that wasn�t even his remained in her mind. Not
the smile of gratitude she wanted to see on him, to make him
happy and show that he was deserving of it all.
But she couldn�t give it to him.
She couldn�t give anything because so much was taken from her.
Chance wouldn�t find anything more to be able to take, and would
finally stop picking on her. But the aftermath of it hit her
hard, especially her thinking. She was scrambling for memories
of those times she wasn�t alone, hoping to get them back by
something even more powerful than all of the magic in her soul.
Then Echo found the night before her first basketball game, six
years ago. She had snuck out late in the night, facing the
basket drilled on the wood above the shed door. A basketball
rested in her hands as she gulped at the hoop. She remembered
how that night she could never make a shot into the basket and
struggled to catch her own rebounds. Coach emphasised how
important those were in her position, and the fact that she
could never catch made her think that she didn�t belong in the
team. Worse; that she was completely unworthy of the sport.
Then Helios, who was in high school at the time, came out. �What
are you doing out here so late?�
Echo scrambled for the ball bouncing away from the backboard,
then freezing as she looked up at him, expecting a growling like
Dad gave. �Practicing.�
�Do you know how impractical that is with the game tomorrow?� He
frowned, but not scowled. It should�ve relieved Echo more.
�You do it all the time! You�re always studying the night before
tests!�
He chuckled, forcing Echo�s cheeks to turn a shade darker. �You
sweet, little Echo Flower.� Echo smiled at that name, preparing
for his wisdom. �That�s different. On those days I�m just
memorizing formulae, not wasting energy to be used for a big
day.�
�But I need to, Helios!� she whined, running up to him. �I don�t
want to stuff up on my first ever crucial game. But I can�t make
any of the shots, or even catch all the ones I missed, and� �
Echo tried to hold back her tears of panic, stiffening her lip.
�Maybe I should just not go altogether and quit the team��
�Quit? While you�re so far ahead?� Helios crouched down to her
level, gently taking the basketball from her hands. �Echo,
you�ll regret that even more than you�ll regret going to the
game feeling flatter than the basketball. Everyone gets nervous
with these things all the time, and they treat them like walls
instead of a simple rock. Nobody got anywhere just sitting a
metre behind the finish line because they were tired. And you
shouldn�t either. Nerves shouldn�t stop you. I want you to
succeed. I want you to go far.�
He beamed, looking into her bright and enthused eyes. �I want
you to shape your future and make it the best you can make it.�
The best I can make it.
How long had Echo been sulking in this cave for? If Helios was
here, they�d be solemnly moving on rather than holding onto it
for an eternity. And he wasn�t here to do it.
So it was her turn.
Echo stumbled as she stood but resulted strong, striding up to
the pile of ashes where her brother currently lay. When she
looked at them now she didn�t see the blank expression, pale
skin, and hung open mouth that she last saw of him. She saw his
hope in her, and she wasn�t going to let that die like she did.
Kneeling beside the ashes she fished out his crystal, deep, navy
blue, and with pristine jagged edges. It was placed to the side
as a handful of ashes were scooped up.
This wasn�t very formal, but it would have to do.
Echo took a deep breath before taking a pinch of her brother�s
dust from her hand and sprinkling it on the crystal as she
spoke. �[color=deeppink]Helios Solomon Scottua, dearly beloved
son of Ray and Kelly, even further loved brother of me, Echo.
Your time, though short in this life, has come to an end.
However, the impacts you made were not like it. The many people
who you helped on your journey will be forever grateful for what
you have done to their lives. While I may not know of them, I
certainly know it would be like that. For, you have certainly
made a great impact on my life. You were the rope I needed when
I had fallen down holes, the sun I needed when my world was
flooded, you were the best brother I could ever have. Without
you here, I know it will be difficult. But while you are not
here your wisdom and advice remains in my mind and soul, and
with that eternal gift I shall use it to persevere and keep
going for you. I know it is what you�d want me to do. And while
I go on, may you rest and let your efforts not go to waste. May
you rest in peace.�
Echo sprinkled the remaining dust onto the crystal, resting her
head low and letting her tears fall. It wasn�t sobbing this
time, it was silent. Was it to respect him? Was it just her
returning strength? It didn�t matter. It was done. It wasn�t
moving on, but it wasn�t attachment. It was simply keeping him
and her family in mind. The crystal was put into the drawstring
bag along with those of her parents, which was then cradled
close to her soul.
�I won�t let you down.�
Both of their towels were collected, and she quietly left the
beautiful cave. Echo was far gentler doing so, taking her time
as a sphere of light floated alongside her. She was able to make
that a lot quicker this time. The walk back to their makeshift
home was also taken slowly, her attention far from the scenery
which was far duller than usual. There were far more important
things to consider with having only herself to rely on.
She didn�t have a job; Helios insisted she stay in school. But
even so, she didn�t have the qualifications to get any kind of
decent job, even with her grades in most of her subjects. And
basketball wasn�t guaranteed to get her far; she didn�t get
scholarships like others in her team would and her height was a
disadvantage to play professionally. At least she had passed
what was necessary, so hopefully something small would come up.
One thing was certain; returning to school would be pointless.
The �Tiny Terror� would have to become the �Small Scavenger�.
Unless she could crash at someone else�s place. If only she had
gotten to know her team better. They were close together and in
game, but Echo never really made it more than that. It would be
awkward to simply show up at their place asking for this when
they barely knew each other�s family. It probably turned out for
the best.
She refused to lose anything more valuable.
She arrived at their makeshift home quicker than she expected,
reminiscing over times with her brother as she on looked the
setup in the dark, private cave. Helios� half was clean and
sparse while hers was overloaded with school supplies, slowly
marked with less and less corrections from him. She�d have to
abandon them for somebody else to pick up along with a lot of
items in the area.
Certainly dry enough now, Echo quickly changed out of her
swimwear and put on the most practical clothes she could find.
This turned out to be her basketball jersey, a tight and
well-worn grey hoodie, faded ripped jeans, and her basketball
shoes which she knew were going to get dirty quickly. A black
cap jaunted to the back was added for the sake of it. This was
far more comfortable than that swimsuit she almost thought she
spent days wearing, and she was still able to move her muscles
freely.
Then she tipped everything out of her schoolbag, not caring
about the mess that spilled out of the blue fabrics. Then she
really had to narrow down what in the cave she�d have to take
with her. After much contemplating and sacrificial thinking, her
red knitted blanket, the remaining cans of food, some thinner
clothes, clean underwear, and a framed family photo got stuffed
into the bag then tossed onto her back. Their remaining Gold and
her crystal both went into her jean pockets.
This was it. This was a fresh start she was anxious to walk
into. So much was being left behind and so much hadn�t been
taught to her. But a river only flowed one way. And she wasn�t
about to defy Helios and give up.
With nothing to go back to, Echo trekked onward to begin her
loner life.
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