Broken People | Dylan O'Brien

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕱𝖎𝖛𝖊

"Do you know the story of Medusa?" Michelle asked as they stopped in front of her statue.

It didn't display Perseus holding up her head in prideful victory, it showed Medusa with a sword in one hand, Perseus's head in the other, both held beside her body. It wasn't her showing off how much power she had as Perseus did, it was a clear allegory for survival. She did what she had to do to survive. Michelle hadn't seen her portrayed like this before and yet she immediately realised that the artist who sculpted her must have understood her. It was rare to see her like this, though all the more powerful for it. This was power; the strength to keep going, allowing yourself to do whatever it takes to keep standing. Perseus's sculptures were just a gross depiction of male power.

Dylan shook his head.

Michelle wondered if he truly didn't know or if he just wanted to give her an opportunity to tell him. If it was the latter, he already knew her uncomfortably well. Michelle was a huge fan of info-dumping. She had so much information stored in her head with no outlet for it. Everything needed to come out every once in a while.

"There's multiple versions of the story," she started, walking in a circle around the statue to admire the craftsmanship from every angle. Dylan followed her on foot. It was warm inside the gallery, slightly cooler than it was outside in the stifling air of summer in LA but warm nonetheless. Michelle was sweating and Dylan had already taken his coat off, now wrapped around his arm as he carried it as an old butler from the 1800s would carry a pristine white towel.

"In one version, Medusa had a love affair with Poseidon in Athena's temple and out of anger for decimating her temple, Athena put a curse on Medusa. You know the rest, I think. Medusa is cursed with the ability to turn everyone who looks at her into stone. Perseus finds her and kills her and Olympus is once again saved from another horrible monster.

"But that is not the version I believe in. This version believes Medusa to be one of the priestesses of the temple – Athena's favourite. I think that Medusa was raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple, not that they had a 'love affair'. Once Athena found out, she didn't curse Medusa with the ability to turn people to stone, but the gift. So no man would ever touch her again. In Ancient Rome, they put the Medusa crest on buildings that acted as safe houses for women."

Michelle touched the Medusa necklace she was wearing underneath her clothing. It had been a part of her for years.

Upon Dylan's curious eyes, she pulled it out and showed him. "The last version helped me through a lot," she confessed.

Dylan was quiet for once – merely looking from the necklace up to her eyes and back again towards the statue. They had found a place to sit in front of it without the danger of knocking anything over. The cool floor seeped through Michelle's pants and she breathed a small sigh of relief. It was a good distraction from Dylan's eyes – burning with intensity.

It was starting to dawn on him why she felt such a connection to the woman in front of them.

A tale of survival. As much a reality for her as it was for Medusa.

"Did you cut the guy's head off too?" Dylan asked, his voice gone raspy with the prolonged period of silence. "Turn 'im to stone at least?"

Michelle laughed and shook her head. "Girl, and no. I didn't. She has a new girlfriend now I think."

"Fuck."

"Yeah, that about covers it." Michelle shrugged then. "Unfortunately, I don't have the ability to but I would have liked it if I had. Maybe I wouldn't feel so damn powerless all the time."

An awkward laugh escaped her throat then and she let her head fall into her hands. "God, I'm sorry-"

"Stop apologising so much."