by Joan Holub
This time when she and Pan stood up, the wings on their sandals were dry enough to flap, and the two friends rose to hover a few inches above the ground. As they zoomed off together, the wedding gown Echo had in mind took form in her brain. She kept refining her mental picture as they flew onward.
Now and then she paused to gather objects she would need to create it. Since the borrowed chiton she wore was already a mess, she had no qualms about ripping off its upper layer of tulle to use as a net bag to carry the items she was collecting. By the time they neared the Immortal Marketplace, she had clearly visualized her bridal chiton’s design.
“Whoa!” said Pan, slowing to gaze around at the IM. “Look at the crowds!”
“Wow! You’re right,” said Echo. “The marketplace looks jam-packed.” People were coming and going, most carrying shopping bags. Despite the float fiasco, it seemed that business was picking up.
Just then Apollo and Ares flew out of the IM wearing winged sandals. Echo and Pan zipped over to them to see what was going on.
“Thanks to some kind of dramatic argument on Zeus’s float, that parade generated a lot more publicity than the stores here ever dared hope for,” Apollo told them. “Word of mouth brought tons of shoppers. Cassandra and her family are swamped with cookie orders in the bakery too.”
“Yeah,” said Ares. “Mighty Fighty was so full we couldn’t even get in. We’re heading home till the crowds die down some, if they ever do.”
When the two godboys finally noticed their soggy clothes, Echo and Pan explained about the beasts. Apollo and Ares quickly offered to accompany them to Mount Olympus to get help from Zeus. But Pan waved Echo off into the IM, saying, “Go! You need to see Hera. We’ll ta-ta-take care of the beasts.”
After thanking the three boys and wishing them well on their errand, Echo swooped over and entered the IM. Inside, she borrowed a graphite stick and a sheet of papyrus from the Oracle-O Bakery and Scrollbooks. It wasn’t easy to find an empty table in the bustling atrium, but she managed, and sat to quickly sketch out her bridal chiton idea while it was still fresh in her mind.
Once she finished it, she regarded it critically. To her eye it was perfect. But would Ide think so? She would give it to Hera and let her be the judge. If it wasn’t too late, that was. For all she knew, Ide had given the shop a second chance and Hera herself might’ve already created a new bridal chiton for her.
Leaving the atrium, Echo headed for Hera’s Happy Endings with her net bag of forest materials and her sketch. When she entered the shop, she saw that Melissa, Amalthea, and Ide were there with Hera and her assistants. They were all gathered in the center of the store, earnestly discussing the problem of how to replace Ide’s bridal chiton. Their voices were tense, as if there were major disagreements among them. Ide sounded especially upset.
“Um, excuse me,” said Echo, drawing their attention. They all stared at her in surprise. Probably partly because her chiton looked so bedraggled by now, but also because they never expected her to have the nerve to show her face again.
“You! You ruined everything,” Ide accused right away.
Though she understood how Ide must feel, Echo plowed ahead. “I’ve brought something. I know it won’t excuse what happened earlier today, but it’s a sketch for a new bridal chiton. For you, if you like it.” She held out her sketch, but Ide refused to accept it.
However, Amalthea and Hera took the sketch and gazed at it with interest. “Hmm. I never thought of using honeycombs,” said Hera. They handed the sketch to Melissa, who brightened when she saw it and insisted that her daughter view it. When Ide finally, reluctantly turned her face toward the sketch, she froze.
Echo cringed, thinking the worst. She had done her best to fix things. But she’d obviously been barking up the wrong tree with her idea. “I’m sorry you don’t like it.” She turned to go. But a gentle hand touched her arm, staying her. It was Ide!
“Th-thank you,” Ide gasped between happy tears. “It’s . . . p-p-perfect!”
Echo looked at her in consternation.
“Ide’s right. It’s inspired. And it is perfect for her,” said Melissa. “But is there time to make it?” Everyone looked at Hera.
“I have most of the materials here, but some of the items will need to come from the forest. I’m not sure how long it will take to gather them,” said Hera.
Echo held up her tulle bag. “Got it covered. On my way here I collected some abandoned honeycombs and leaves and other stuff we might need.”
“Oh! You are a darling!” said Melissa, giving her a hug. “So you’ll help?”
“Well, I kind of need to change clothes first,” Echo said, glancing down at her bedraggled chiton. Hera quickly loaned her a fresh one from one of the racks.
As they all five worked together with the shop assistants, Echo explained to Hera everything that she’d been unable to explain while under the spell of the copycake. “I’m sorry I took outfits from your shop,” she apologized. “Narcissus told me that Zeus had invited us to join you on the float and that we’d be helping your shop by modeling clothes from it. I believed him, but what I did was still wrong.”
“I’d guessed as much, and you are forgiven,” Hera replied graciously. “You see, I found Ide’s actual bridal chiton in our alterations room a few minutes ago and realized you hadn’t taken it. It’s unfortunate that Narcissus lied and shifted the blame to you. Some people only think of themselves.”
Wasn’t that the truth!
With so many hands to help, the new chiton was completed by sunset. As Ide tried it on for a final fitting, a winged news-scroll banged against the door of the shop. When one of the assistants opened the door, the news-scroll flew in.
“The lead article is about the IM!” the assistant enthused after scanning it. “I bet we’ll get even more shoppers here next week!” She handed the news-scroll to Hera.
“Look!” Hera said to Echo. “There’s a drawing of you and Narcissus jumping out of the cake on our float.” But before showing Echo the picture, Hera unrolled more of the scroll. “And here’s another of him in the Forest of the Beasts in a different article.”
Echo peeked at the drawings and grinned. In the one that accompanied the first article, titled “Immortal Marketplace Parade Takes the Cake!”, her upraised arm was accidentally covering the vain boy’s handsome face. He would not be at all happy about that.
The caption for the second drawing read: BEASTS GO WILD AS NARCISSUS MAKES A SPLASH. He’d been drawn at the very moment when he’d toppled into the pool, so you couldn’t see his face in this one either. In fact the focus of the drawing seemed to be a bunch of bright white flowers growing in the fountain.
“ ‘Narcissus,’ ” read Ide, looking over Echo’s shoulder. “Is that the name of those white flowers? They’re so pretty. I must carry some in my wedding bouquet!”
“I know exactly where to find them,” Echo replied, not bothering to correct Ide’s mistake. She quickly explained to Hera that the requested flowers grew in a pool inside a labyrinth where Zeus was probably headed right now to turn off some beasts.
“No problem,” said Hera. “I’ll send a magic breeze asking him to pick some and bring them back for a bouquet. Anything to make Ide’s wedding perfect!” As Ide hugged and thanked Echo, it seemed that all was forgiven.
• • •
Monday arrived, the day of Ide’s wedding. Guests gathered in the Immortal Marketplace atrium to witness the ceremony. Echo was thrilled to have been invited too. Along with other wedding attendees, she sat in one of the many white chairs that had been set up in rows on either side of a center aisle.
When the wedding march music began to play, courtesy of Apollo and his talented friends in Heavens Above, Echo and everyone else stood and turned to look for the bride. As Ide appeared at the far end of the aisle, there were gasps.
“What a beautiful chiton!” someone murmured.
“She looks fantastic!” said another.
“Extrao
rdinary!” put in a third.
The new chiton Echo had designed did look perfect on Ide. It was long and white with a delicate honey-colored netting overlay. White flower petals clung to its bodice, and teardrops of tree pitch sparkled among them. Here and there honeycombs dyed white had been artfully placed on the skirt, while magical honeybees held her long veil to flare out behind her. As Ide passed Echo, she winked, and Echo grinned back.
Murmurs of pleased admiration followed the bride as she slowly moved up the aisle toward her groom and Zeus. The two men, who stood under a tall arch among rhododendron bushes and fountains, smiled broadly at Ide’s approach.
“What kind of flowers are those she’s carrying?” Echo heard someone ask.
“They’re called Narcissus. I saw them in a drawing in a Greekly Weekly article,” another guest answered.
Despite all the trouble he’d caused, Echo felt kind of bad about Narcissus missing his big chance at stardom. However, at least his name was getting famous. Even if people thought it referred to a white flower instead of to him.
As Zeus began to speak the words that would officially marry the couple, the sweet notes of Pan’s new reed pipes filled the atrium. At Echo’s suggestion Ide had invited the shepherd godboy to play quietly in the background during the actual ceremony, after Apollo’s band had finished the wedding march.
Echo saw Apollo’s head jerk around to gaze at Pan, and there was enthusiastic interest in his face. She had a feeling Pan had found the sound he needed to be allowed to jam with Heavens Above!
When both bride and groom said “I do,” Ide began crying happy tears. Which made Zeus look a little nervous. He spoke quickly after that, and the wedding was soon over. To the sounds of laughter and cheers, the happy couple was whisked away to begin their honeymoon, in a white chariot pulled by honey-colored horses.
Afterward there were snacks and festivities as the crowd lingered. Echo wound up hanging out with Athena, Artemis, Aphrodite, Persephone, and some of their crushes.
“Do brides always cry?” she heard Ares ask Heracles.
Overhearing, Zeus answered, “No, but they can be cranky in the days leading up to their wedding.”
“Are you saying I was cranky before our wedding?” asked Hera, whose arm was linked with his.
“Oh no, sweetie pie,” he hastened to say. “I just . . . That is . . . You’ve told me yourself that brides often cry in your shop.”
“So that’s why there’s always a box of tissues on every table in your stepmom’s store!” Echo heard Artemis whisper to Athena. Athena nodded.
Hera patted Zeus’s arm. “I’m just teasing, dear. Brides have been known to cry all kinds of tears, but mostly excited and happy ones. I’ve seen a few grooms shed a tear or two as well.” She eyed him.
Zeus gave a small, embarrassed-sounding cough. “Ahem, well, enough of that.” Which made them all laugh.
Now Hera nudged him and nodded toward Echo.
“Huh?” Zeus said. But after a moment he seemed to remember something. “Oh yeah,” he said to Echo at last. “Hera told me that your little surprise on our float has brought shoppers out to the Immortal Marketplace in droves. And that in the end you saved the day for Ide. In view of your tremendous help, I say let’s stick with our original plan. I’ll help you relocate to another realm as a different kind of nymph.”
“Have you chosen what kind you want to become?” asked Athena. She and her friends looked at Echo with interest.
Without hesitation Echo blurted, “A fashion design nymph.”
Artemis looked perplexed. “There’s no such thing.”
“What I mean is, I’ve decided I want to study fashion design,” Echo explained. When everyone just looked at her blankly, her heart sank. She could hardly blame them for their reaction, though. Nymphs just didn’t do such things. So she had no real role model to follow—in other words, no one to copy. Becoming a fashion design nymph was an even more unique idea than using honeycombs in her design of Ide’s gown!
At last Hera tapped a fingertip on her chin. “Hmm. A famous designer on Earth named Moda contacted me recently to say that he’s holding a competition for students to work under his tutelage. He suggested that I submit for consideration a portfolio of the work of any promising young designers. If you have additional sketches of ideas as original as Ide’s gown, I can promise to send them his way.”
For a few seconds hope bloomed in Echo. This was the chance of a lifetime. If she became the first-ever nymph fashion designer, she’d be an original. But all of her sketches had gotten ruined in the FirHeart disaster. Besides, her old ideas—including the pattern for the dress she’d worn on the float—were only copies of stuff she’d seen in Teen Scrollazine or Greekly Weekly or Hera’s idea book. She didn’t think Moda would be interested in a copycat designer.
“No,” she replied sadly. “No sketches. No ideas.”
12
New Beginnings
AFTER THE WEDDING RECEPTION ECHO reluctantly returned home to the Boeotian forest. She’d been gone for several days now and wondered if she’d be accepted back among the other nymphs. Especially since she’d have to remain treeless. There was one positive thing. At least Syrinx had gone back to her river.
Dusk was falling as Echo arrived, moving through the woods. One by one the forest nymphs began to peek out from behind the tree trunks and between branches, their pale faces glowing like fairy lights. To her surprise they had come out to greet her.
“Welcome home!” they called out in their sweet voices. The Syrinx effect seemed to have faded. Her friends were back to being her friends!
As she went deeper into the forest, a full moon rose to light her way. Soon Daphne ran over to hug her and hand her a messagescroll. “This just came for you.” Since messages didn’t often come to the forest, their friends gathered around, curious to find out who it was from and what it was about.
Echo unrolled the scroll. She scanned it quickly, joy rising inside her at what she read. “It’s from Hera!” She grinned big. “Turns out she sent Moda—this evergreen fashion designer—a sketch I made for Zeus’s nanny’s daughter Ide’s bridal chiton. When Hera told Moda it was my idea, he offered to take me on as an apprentice, even though it’s just one design. He’s going to send me assignments, and Hera has offered to help me with them. I’m supposed to go to her shop one day a week for a class. I’m so happy!” Echo began jumping around in delight.
“But you’ll live here with us again, right?” Daphne asked anxiously.
Echo nodded, pleased that her BFF so obviously wanted her back. “Since my ideas spring from nature, Moda wants me to stay in the forest to inspire my future creations. He says it’ll be my brand.”
This all felt right to her. The forest was where she’d be happiest, she knew. And yet this wonderful news didn’t change the fact that she was still treeless. Nothing ever would.
Smiling now, Daphne exchanged a look of excitement with the other nymphs. “Come,” she said to Echo. “We’ve got something to show you.” She and the others began to lead Echo in the direction of her hut and the stump that had once been her beloved FirHeart.
Echo dragged her heels a little. She wasn’t really looking forward to this. It would be painful to see the stump. Yet she had missed her tree and yearned to be near the place it had stood again. Her feelings were so mixed up!
Once they arrived at her old home, she could scarcely bring herself to look. When she finally mustered up the courage to do so, she gasped. Her friends had tidied up the area around her hut and added decorations to make it cute! They’d tucked berries and cones around the outside of the hut and donated things to make it homier. There was a new rug woven from bark strips on the hut’s swept dirt floor, a shell vase with flowers on her table, pictures on the walls, and a new hammock and quilt. A dozen homemade candles sat here and there, bringing golden light.
“Thanks, you guys!” said Echo. “It’s b-beautiful!” Overwhelmed with joy and gratitude, tears welled up
in her eyes. The way she was feeling, she was going to need some of Hera’s shop’s tissues pretty soon.
“That’s not all,” said Daphne. “Look!” She led Echo around to the back side of the stump.
Echo had avoided looking at it, but now she did as directed. At first she wasn’t sure what her BFF wanted her to see. But then . . . slowly . . . Echo realized there was something new amid the lovely arrangement of foliage her friends had created around FirHeart’s roots.
“A sapling!” she breathed, scarcely daring to believe her eyes. It had grown up from the stump!
As she bent and gently touched it, the tears in her eyes finally overflowed. With wet cheeks she straightened to look up at her gathered friends. “This is the most evergreen gift of nature ever . . . I can’t believe it!”
Suddenly, a giggle escaped her as a thought occurred. Then she started laughing through her tears. Her friends gazed at her in curious surprise. “Syrinx used to call me a copycat,” she explained. “Now it looks like my tree is a copycat too! It copied itself. Sort of.”
At this, her friends started giggling too, and soon everyone was laughing.
“With the enchantments you say each morning, this sapling will grow extra fast,” said Daphne. “And till it's full grown, you can live with me or in your hut, whichever you choose.”
“Thanks. You guys are the best!” Echo said, gazing around at everyone. “You’ve made this little hut so adorable! It’ll be the perfect home for me to watch over FirHeart Junior as he grows up.”
Silently she vowed to watch over this sapling well. With her care it would grow strong and tall. Within a few years it would be big enough to build in. And build she would, creating another house high in its branches. And in the meantime she’d have her class with Hera, which she was sooo excited about. Things were really looking up!
Daphne and the other nymphs hugged Echo and then eventually drifted away one by one. After they were gone, Echo kneeled before FirHeart Junior once more. With her hands gently cupping the sapling, she murmured her chant for the very first time to this new tree-to-be, solemnly and joyfully promising to guard it from this day forward:
