Adventures in Nemesisland Ch.18

"Over the time that Ziva was recovering from her injuries they grew close and, being a goddess of fertility, and it not being unknown for goddesses to consort with mortals, the two fell in love and they bore one child, a daughter. They lived happily together for many years until the wood cutter died peacefully in his old age, never realising that he had shared his life with the goddess of the woods. After this, the Goddess Ziva returned to the spirit world from where she continued her guardianship of the forests but passed on to her daughter the knowledge of her true nature and also her understanding of the forest for her daughter to take up her mantle in the world of mortals.

"Now Kim, we move on a few years later, into the 1530s. You have to know that these were turbulent times. The new religion was in schism, torn apart by the teachings of the protestant faiths and, on top of that, there were those that believed the return of the new religion's messiah was imminent and who sought to build, by force if necessary, their idea of heaven on earth to receive him. All the Germanic lands were divided by conflicting faiths, war and peasant revolts. And, in amongst all this, the old superstitions remained and the new religion started to fight back to recover its control.

"This was a very dangerous time for a person such as the daughter of a forest goddess because knowledge of the woods and understanding of the herbs and plants that grew in them, even when they were used to help and heal, was considered akin to witchcraft. In these troubled times, when everybody was so fearful of the unknown and, whipped up into hysteria by the new religion's fear of heresy and revolt, women, wise and magical women, like this one, were at great risk. And so it came about that, even though living deep in the forest and trying to keep herself apart from the superstitious villagers, this woman was eventually denounced as a witch and burned at the stake. But, before that, she did have a child, another daughter, and in her the spirit of Goddess Ziva still lived on and continued to do so, being passed on generation by generation through the female line. But knowledge of this got lost in the mists of time and through the generations the connection of these women with Goddess Ziva became forgotten.

"And so we move on Kim, to the twentieth century. Here is a woman, living in the forests of Eastern Europe on the borders of what are now Hungary and the Czech Republic. She was the most fecund of women. She bore her husband nine daughters. Her husband longed for a male child, a male heir for him, but his wife only produced daughters. He could not understand it, but his wife did. Somewhere, deep in her psyche, she grasped the meaning of this. She may not have known the whole truth but she knew that nine was a mystical number and she understood that having nine daughters was meaningful and symbolic. We are now in 1944 and the family had survived most of the war as humble peasants living in the woods. But then a tragic event occurred. As the Nazis were driven back through Eastern Europe by Russian troops so they retreated through the villages and forests where this family lived needlessly ravaging and slaughtering along the way. And so it happened that they came across this particular family and, for no real reason, they were picked on and became the victims of war and were slaughtered by the German troops. Except for the youngest girl, who, still being a babe in arms, was never found by the soldiers. She survived and was brought up by another family who found her and took her in.

"Now, Kim, we roll forward another generation. The girl is now a woman; she has moved to what became Yugoslavia and, because of the spirit in her soul, is moved to live in the forests of Bosnia-Herezogovnia. And here's a curious thing Kim, unbeknown of the life and fate of her own mother, she also has nine daughters, bearing them well into her middle age and remaining fertile as if by some curious design or fate. Her husband is uncomprehending. How is it possible for a woman to bear so many girls and no boy? But once again, the woman understands, she sees that it is fate there is something meaningful in it. And her youngest daughter is different. She does not have the dark hair and Slavic looks of her other children; she is fair."

Goddess Nemesis stared meaningfully into Kim's eyes. Kim was transfixed. She said nothing, but her look urged Goddess Nemesis to continue the tale until its end.

"Listen carefully Kim. Would you believe how cruel fate can be? Would you believe that history could repeat itself? But this is what happened, Kim. Once again, an innocent family, trying to live the only way it knew, from the woods and forests, caught up in the ravages of war and conflict. As the Balkans were thrown into turmoil and Bosnian and Serb, Christian and Muslim fought one another in a savage civil war borne out of a poisonous mixture of nationalism and the faiths of the new religions, so this humble family got tangled in the web of war. And so it happened again, and history repeated itself. Caught in the conflict the whole family was slaughtered, except, yes Kim, except for the youngest daughter, the tiny fair haired baby girl."

"No, no. That can't be. What are you saying? You surely can't mean? That's not possible!"

Kim had been listening patiently working out where this curious tale might be going; hanging on to Goddess Nemesis's every word, trying to think through how all of this connected with her. Suddenly it hit her. The shattering conclusion of the tale struck her like a thunderbolt.

"Yes, Kim. That's exactly what I'm saying. That baby was you."

Kim was incredulous, "No, that can't be so. But, how did I end up here in England then."

"As a baby you were found in the forest and given up to an adoption agency and placed with a family in England. Did your adoptive parents never tell you anything of this?"

"No, nothing. Nothing at all. To be honest I wasn't an easy child and I was a real handful as a teenager. But no, I hadn't the faintest idea."

"But, do you not understand the significance of this Kim? The last surviving ninth daughter of a ninth daughter; the blood of a Slavic forest goddess passed on to you through the centuries. And you wonder why you would be chosen? You wonder why a pagan goddess would not want you for her own?"

"That's special, isn't it?"

"Oh Kim, you can't believe how special that makes you. The rumour had spread amongst the world of goddesses that there was a special girl, the ancestor of the forest goddess, Ziva, whose existence had been long forgotten and who had suffered much and was blissfully ignorant of who she really was. So, you were sought out and I selected you as my acolyte to be trained. But enemies of the sisterhood of goddesses heard of this tale and of the thirteen girls chosen as novices and targeted them. This was why you were taken and this takes you up to the tale you were told by the black cat; much of this had been eradicated from your memory and has been hidden from you. But now, it is time for you to know who you really are. Now it is time for your personal 'tyche', your fate, to be turned around Kim."

"Shit," said Kim, "I can't take it in. You're telling me that I'm a descendent of some 16th century pagan forest spirit?"

"Yes, that's exactly it Kim."

"The ninth daughter of a ninth daughter?"

"Yes Kim, and that's very powerful and symbolic."

"Shit, do you expect me to believe this?"

"Yes, Kim; it's all true. And you do believe it, don't you. Look deep inside yourself. Trust me; I know what you feel in your heart."

Kim felt so confused. She tried to pull up fragments from her past to make sense of it and seek any clue that might verify the astonishing revelation she had been given. But, Goddess Nemesis's instinct was right; seeking facts or evidence was pointless. In her heart she believed it. She trusted her.

"This strange path you've laid out for me; it's been to bring me to this moment hasn't it?"

"Yes Kim. Our lives are connected. I just needed to choose the right moment to bring you back and reveal it."

Goddess Nemesis got down from her throne, knelt on the floor beside Kim and took her in her arms in an embrace. She kissed her on the cheek.

"Are you alright Kim?" she asked affectionately.

"I think so. I believe what you've told me. It just feels too weird to take in."

"I'll leave you for a moment so you can have time for some solitude and quiet reflection."

She stood up and stepped bare-footed out of her special chamber. Before leaving she threw a glance back at Kim still knelt on the tiled floor. There was a tear in her eye. It was done; her purpose had been fulfilled and the balance of the fates restored. Kim had shown all the qualities she needed and expected from her and there she was, not just her slave girl, but her sister in spirit. It would be hard for Kim to take in but she had all the fortitude of the goddess spirit in her and she wasn't concerned for her. And there was the ball to look forward to; Kim would enjoy that!