The Amazons Coqui

The Amazon's Coqui

            Seraphina looked on as her sisters trained for a battle they never saw coming. No matter what efforts her older sisters made, she will never be one of the Amazons. The Amazons, born from the bond shared between her mother Harmonia, a nymph, and Ares, the God of War, were strong and beautiful women, each taking after their parents. Even though Seraphina was not like her sisters, she possessed a beauty that was so great that even her mother, Harmonia said that Aphrodite crafted her face herself. Named after the Seraphim's in the heavens, her song was the enchanting sounds of the Amazon; the small animals and echoes heard at night were her. No one believed that she could ever be the daughter to such a large and strong ruler; they were right. Her beauty could not hide how different she was, being that Ares was not her father. Seraphina was born of a forbidden love between her mother and a Taino traveler. The traveler found his way into the Amazonian Jungle years ago, where he met Harmonia, Ares did not become aware of the affair between the two until one day. When Seraphina was a small child, she transformed herself into a small Coqui frog; a power neither Ares of Harmonia possess. Ares was going to kill the child but stopped when Seraphina's Amazon sisters stood in his way. Not being able to handle the strength of his daughters, he let Seraphina live, but not without releasing his anger by finding the traveler and killing him.

             One of the powers that Seraphina possessed, was that she can grant any wish a person wants, but only while she takes the shape of her Coqui, and she can transform others into the small creature. She discovered the first gift while with her mother one day. Harmonia was holding her daughter while in her Coqui form one day while speaking with her she wished her daughter would have more backbone. Believing that her mother was ashamed her, Seraphina sang her song of the Coqui, granting the wish. The next day, Seraphina awoke to the pain of what felt like hands pulling her spine and muscle in all directions. She was found to then be as tall and visibly strong as her sisters. No one knew where it came from but believed a god took pity on her and made her large so that she would feel more aligned with her sisters. Harmonia made Seraphina swear to never use this gift unless she absolutely needed to. If someone tried to use the power against her, she would then have to turn them into a Coqui as well.

               Seraphina was not a fighter; she was shy and gentle. Her magic, beauty, and song was her power. She was much too kind-hearted to ever think of using her gifts against another person. Until she met Nathanial. One day while in the jungle, she noticed a young man walking. Afraid and confused she hid in the vines of a tree. This is the first time in her life she's laid her eyes on a man other than Ares. A real man. So how did he end up here? No man is permitted in this town, nor has any man attempted to and lived. In an effort to run and find her sisters, Seraphina trips, giving away that she had been there. The boy cried out asking who's there. Frightened, Seraphina slowly stands. However, the young man was so taken by Seraphina's beauty, he bows, believing that she is royalty. She demands that he stands and asks why he would bow. He replied with the notion she must be an Amazon, the daughter of a God, she had to be royal. She denies his assumption, that she is no Amazon, but a simple nymph. She says she will take pity on him, and let him leave unharmed if he swears to never tell a soul of the land that he's seen. He refuses. As she runs to fetch her sisters, he stops her and begged her to show him her power. From that day forward, they meet in the same spot every other day, where Seraphina shows Nathanial her powers over the jungle and the secrets to the Amazons. She tells him of her wish is to one day gain the respect of the gods, and one day become the goddess of the jungle, he then promises to help her make this wish come true one day.

            On one of the days that Seraphina and Nathanial met, he asked her to grant him a wish. He wished for her to make him as strong as her sisters. In their world, there were 12 Amazon warrior generals that guarded and protected the Olympian Gods. Zeus, Hera, Hephaestus, Athena, Hermes, Artemis, Apollo, Dionysus, Ares, Aphrodite, Demeter, and Poseidon each had one of Seraphina's sisters protect them. These 12 were the most powerful of every warrior that had ever come before them. Nathanial wished that Seraphina would give him the power of all 12 warriors, so that he may avenge her birth fathers death and earn her the respect she deserved from the gods. Seraphina is hesitant but has come to love the young man she sees so often. She believes that if she grants him this wish, he'll love her more. She takes her Coqui shape, and sings her song, granting Nathanial's wish. Seraphina told him to wait 12 days, one for every warrior, for the magic to run its course. On the 13th day, she was on her way to take the usual route to meet Nathanial. Before she could make her way to see her love, she's started by the sound of loud crashes and wailing. She runs to see what has happened and is shocked by the sight in front of her. On the ground, are 12 of her sisters. Each warrior general dropped from the sky after having their own throat slit. She sees her mother, Harmonia, crying inconsolably on the ground, clutching her daughter close to her chest. Who could have done such a thing? No one was strong enough to take down each warrior, other than a god. So, who hurt her sisters?

                The sisters are buried deep in the jungle, where they will be undisturbed in their slumber. During the burial, one of the many warriors notices a figure watching the women weep as they bury their own. This one sister exclaims that there is an intruder. All of the sisters rush to capture the watcher, where they drag him to the prison to be put on trial. As all the sisters come before him in the cell, Seraphina forces her way through the crowd. She stands before them and confesses to making him so powerful, but she believed he would use it for good. Seraphina turns to look Nathanial in his eyes as he stands in his cell. "You lied to me. You used me. I loved you and betray me in the worst way. You don't deserve to live." She said to the young man. "I did this for you, you aren't a damn thing without me, just a gullible nymph. You'll never be like me." Nathanial says back to her. Seraphina begins to sing her song; the young man starts to groan in agony and falls to his knees. His back and muscles start to rip open. After a few moments, the young man is nothing more than a small Coqui frog on the ground. Seraphina takes the now Coqui and takes him deep into the jungle, where she plans to kill him; but as she lifts her dagger in the air she can't bring herself to end his life. She needs to bring back proof to her sister that he's gone, so she takes another Coqui she finds roaming the jungle and kills this one instead.

                 She keeps the young man in her room in a small glass box. She feeds him every day, reads to him, and sings him her song every once in a while. Seraphina enjoyed having him as her pet. She was in control for once, and she loved. As for Nathanial, it was the worse torture he'd ever receive. Over the years, he saw how much Seraphina cared for him while he remained in that box, and he started to genuinely love her. He saw her grow, and become powerful. He watched as she gained the respect of the gods and became the goddess of the jungle. His torture, seeing her as she fell in love again. She was now the bride to Xavier, a great and powerful warrior, the lost son of Odysseus. Nathanial wished that one day she would forgive him and turn him back into his human form. One day, she comes back into her room and said to the small coqui that she has thought of a wish he could grant. He believes that she finally wants him to be a human again, but instead, she tells him something he never thought she'd say. Seraphina speaks her last words to him "I wish you would die..." and with that the small frogged let out his croak and slowly dried up, disintegrating into the air. Seraphina was now free of the man who thought he was the one who had all the power.

Moral of the story: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

*Coqui – a small frog usually found in tropical jungles/forests.