After my crew ate Helios’ cows, we set out to sea. Zeus caused a horrible storm as our punishment for slaughtering the cattle. It killed all of my men, and I could barely spare myself. I held onto a piece of floating wood that had broken off my ship as the storm raged on. After being tossed around at sea for a time unknown, I was thrown onto what looked like a deserted island. The storm immediately calmed and I felt more exhausted than I had ever been on this horrid journey. Instead of sleeping on the spot, I knew I must check the island for any immediate dangers that may bestow me.


To my surprise, the island’s edges rose above sea level, but then the land dipped into a valley. I would assume it to be the most gorgeous natural place I had ever laid my eyes on, if I only had seen it a couple of days earlier. It was full of thriving plants and animals, but waves and rain caused by the storm had flooded into the valley, making it act like a bowl half full of water. In the water, animals swam in circles, squealing and whining in terror as they realized that the slope was too steep and the mud too slippery to climb out of the water and onto dry land. I carefully walked downhill, holding onto trees and moving slowly so I could catch myself if I slipped. I kept going until I found a tree with a thick enough trunk to lie back on. I felt tired and just wanted to rest, but unfortunately for me, I wouldn’t get the chance.


Suddenly, a woman stood in front of me as if she had stepped out of the nearby trees. The plants around her seemed more lively, the sun was brighter than before, and all around me colors looked more vibrant than they had earlier. She seemed beautifully powerful, and as she looked at me, her eyes changed from a deep brown flecked with blue to a black as dark as night. The wind picked up rapidly, and she spoke to me.


“Odysseus, do you dare to cause any harm to nature, especially to my home island, and take a nap instead of clean up your mess? You, who caused the storm, don’t bother to stop this beautiful island from flooding and its creatures from a sure death.” Her voice was powerful and seemed to fill all space around her, like all other noises around us changed to silence the instant she spoke. When I didn’t answer, the wind got even stronger and pinned me to the tree trunk. I noticed how all of it seemed directed at me, and not even a hair moved on the woman confronting me.



It was at that moment I finally realized the gravity of my situation. The woman who stood in front of me was Mother Nature. No one else I had ever heard of seemed to have such a connection with the world. Just as the stories from my childhood had said, she looked timeless and had energy that seemed to come from thin air. She cared for and was protective of all nature, and if the stories were true, she sometimes gave punishments to those who acted against her values. According to what I had heard, she has existed since the beginning of time, and always will be. The wind was too strong for me to move, and I knew I would be punished and possibly die if I didn’t do something soon.


I tried to act calm and spoke to Mother Nature. I couldn’t hear a word I said.The wind stole my words as they came out of my mouth, but it seemed that she could hear me. I requested she listen to my apology and proposition.


“It would do no more harm to you. If you do not approve, you still have the power to do your will against me.” She seemed to think, then gave a slight nod of approval. As the wind died down, I apologized to her and pleaded that before she would punish me, that I could set things right and fix the damage that I had caused. As I had hoped, she allowed me.


First I collected driftwood, tied it with rope I had taken from my ship earlier, and made a raft. I dragged it down the valley and into the water. As I floated across the water, I collected the animals I had seen swimming for their lives earlier and brought them back onto dry land. Once all of the land creatures were out of the water, I apologized to them, knowing Mother Nature would have it no other way. Then, I asked if Mother Nature would help me cut a river from the land to sea, explaining that it would be beneficial to the plants and animals and get rid of most of the flood water. She explained that she would never cause harm to her plants like how I had requested, but had a similar way that would satisfy my idea. She stared at the land, and as she did, it pulled apart to form a path to sea. Once the new river reached the sea, water poured in and flooded the island completely. Only because Mother Nature’s first priority has always been to protect her plants and animals, I was able to float away from the mess I made and get out of Mother Nature’s haven and into Poseidon's realm of the sea.