He regretted it as soon as it happened. Kai wasn’t trying to hurt her badly or anything… he just needed someone to make himself feel better, and Arya was an easy enough target. She didn’t really have any friends, and everyone bullied her anyway. But you threw a rock at her, and it hit her eye, he reminded himself. He looked up and watched as her figure disappeared into the sun as she ran away. The sky was beautiful; blues, pinks, and purples painted the soft clouds as the burning sun started to disappear along the horizon. The humid summer air lay still around him as he felt the prickling in his eyes that marked the start of crying. He never wanted to hurt Arya, not really.

The pain in her eye was like agony, and running definitely did not help. All Arya could think about was how angry she was at Kai for what he did. She was walking home from school, finally excited that she could leave. But, as per usual, nothing ever works out in her favor. Arya heard their laughing; the noise went straight to her heart as she realized what was about to happen.

“Hey, Ari!” She turned sharply to find a group of boys smirking and giggling. Arya wasn’t dumb; she knew to stay quiet whenever they harassed her. She scanned the group as they kept talking. There was someone new today. The new kid kept playing with his hands and looking nervously from person to person. Maybe he’s not so bad, she thought to herself. That was until the leader of the pack handed him a rock and pointed towards Arya. A conflicted look passed across his face as he stared down at the sharp object in his hand. He looked up at her with a soft expression on his face. For a second, just one small second, she thought that she was safe. Then the next thing she knew, her right eye erupted into pain.

Arya had no idea where she was. She could hear a soft trickle of creek water splashing into a pond; she heard the sounds of crickets chirping, and the wind spirling through the trees. Surrounding the pond that reflected moonlight was a soft and squishy layer of cool moss that was a refreshing contrast to the searing pain in her right eye. She took in a sharp breath of the cool night air as she timidly put her hand to her right cheek, scared of what she would find. Her face was covered in a mix of blood and tears that had spilled into her mouth, filling it with a metallic taste. She shakily pulled her hand away and dipped it into the water in an attempt to wash the salty liquid off. As soon as her hand dipped into the pond, Arya felt the water start to warm and almost bubble. Quickly, she retracted her hand and jumped back as the center of the water started to glow brightly enough to rival the moon.

Calypso was trying to sleep. For the first time in this entire season, the salmon had finally left. But of course, someone just HAD to interrupt it. Calypso sighed and looked up to see fingertips poking through the surface. Oh, a human, she thought bitterly. Let’s get this over with. She rose to the surface and found a shaking girl with black hair that was covering her face. But why was the girl shaking? Calypso looked down at her reflection in the water. Her white hair that was flowing around her sharply contrasted the blue markings that decorated her face and arms. Her white gown flowed effortlessly with wind and almost seemed to blend with small water fairies twinkling around her. Do I look that frightening? Or is it just that I’m floating? Calypso gently landed next to the girl causing her to flinch.

“What’s your name, little girl?” She inquired.

The girl looked up at that, “I am NOT a little girl. I am 15!” she shouted. Calypso knew she needed to tread carefully around this one.

“Then do you mind telling me your name?” She looked at the girl’s bloodied hand, “And why is there blood on hand as well?”

The girl quickly drew in her hand at that. “I- I got hurt, okay. Some stupid guy thought it would be funny to throw a rock at my face and, it hit my eye.” She paused, “My name’s Arya by the way.”

The person in front of Arya looked like a god. Her voice was soft and calming, and the babbling creek seemed to flow with her. Arya couldn’t put her finger on it, but it seemed as if the water and the person in front of her were tied somehow. As Arya recalled how she had gotten injured, the lady, now introduced as a water spirit named Calypso, looked calm and almost passive the entire time. She was confused as to how someone could be so passive about this. All she wanted to do was get back at Kai or maybe do even something worse to him. Bitter was an understatement for what she was feeling. Calypso probably sensed the anger seeping into her voice as she told the story because after she asked Arya if she felt any anger or resentment towards Kai. Of course she did! It doesn’t matter if he even had a reason to do it; he just should’ve not thrown the rock! It’s that easy. And Arya told Calypso so. Calypso stared at her for a moment, then let out a deep sigh and told her that Arya could only be healed if she healed her inner damage as well, and to do that, she must forgive him.

Arya froze. Forgive Kai? Could she even possibly do that? She thought back to his conflicted face; she knew deep down that he never wanted to throw that. But he did, she reminded herself, he did throw it.

Calypso’s voice pulled her from her thoughts, “No one is ever just good or bad.”

Arya looked up, confused, “What do you mean?”

“Take yin and yang, for example, one isn’t just white, and the other is not just black. Everyone has good and bad in them; everyone is capable of good and bad actions.” Calypso looked down, “even you have bad parts within yourself.”

Arya thoughtfully looked down into her hands. She knew she wasn’t perfect. She sometimes bullied her siblings; she was very stubborn. Arya could come up with a list all night. Kai probably wasn’t the worst human being on the planet. The boys he were with were a lot worse than he was; at least Kai seemed to have a conscience. The more Arya thought about it, the more she understood. She was ready to forgive him and heal her eye.

“Calypso?” Arya nervously picked at her fingers, “I think I’m ready.”

A smile spread across Calypso’s face as she nodded her head. The twinkling lights surrounding the water spirit started to glow brighter and brighter as the air started circulating the two people. Calypso’s eyes closed, and the blue markings that painted her body started to glow as well. The water lifted from the pond and flowed around Arya, creating a shape like a cocoon. The pain in her right eye started to flow away with the water surrounding her. Then everything went black.

Arya woke up lying on the mossy ground with a tear faced Kai crouching over her.

“Uhhh, hi?”