Hera

The moment I reached my home, I went straight to my room.

I looked at the ceiling: perfect white, no black dots, no spalling concrete. I took my family photo from the wardrobe and put it back on my desk. I opened my suitcase. I took out the rectangular cardboard box. I carefully took out my drawing. I removed the bubble sheet enveloping it. I looked at it and smiled.

I put my drawing on the desk. The wall behind it supported it. This was my private space, and making Zale a part of it was not that sinful, was it?

I went to bed and slept. Mom was going to interrogate me the whole night. I would rather be ready.

I woke up to a knock on the door.

“Hera, dinner is ready.” Father’s calm voice announced.

“Coming.” I changed my clothes and went straight to the dining room.

Dad was already there. I sat down in front of my plate: meatballs and rice. I missed Mom’s food.

I felt the glare on my back even before she started talking.

“Hera, what exactly happened at the date?” I didn’t even get the chance to take a bite.

“I went, met Orion, and we became friends.”

“You never took this seriously, did you?”

“I was perfectly serious,” I replied.

I started eating. This was enough conversation for tonight.

Carlos appeared and sat in his chair. He looked around. He realized how tense the atmosphere was and just ate silently. Seriously, I expected a much warmer dinner. I had stayed at Fleur’s villa for three weeks. This should have been a nice reunion.

“So is that all?” Mum asked.

“Yes, Mum, and I am not going to any more meetings.”

“These are your final words.”

I nodded.

She stood up and took my meatball plate away. There Felice is getting my share again.

“Mom, Hera already has someone she likes.”

“What?”

“What?”

“What?”

Mom, Dad, and I said at the same time.

I dropped my fork.

Mum put the plate back on the table.

“Hera dear, you should have said that from the start,” Mum smiled. I was creeped out. I would rather she stayed angry. “So when are you going to introduce your boyfriend?”

“We are not dating, Mum?”

“She had stars in her eyes when she was talking to him today,” Carlos this bastard. The three of them stared at me intensely.

I stomped on Carlos’ foot under the table.

He winced. Good. He deserved it.

Dad shook his head.

“Carlos, we are not dating.”

“Yet.” He added.

I elbowed him. He laughed. Mom oddly looked satisfied while Dad was in deep thought. I just took my plate and went outside the house. I started looking for Felice.

*****************************

Today is Zale’s lesson. I am excited despite common sense. Who cares?

I woke up early and started preparing myself. I didn’t linger on the clothes; after all, this was a pottery class. I took out my Babyliss and started straightening my curls. I started slowly but, just like always, rushed towards the end. I have never perfectly straightened my hair. The intense smell of toasted hair between the ceramic plates hit my nose. I got lost in thought.

“Ouch.” I burnt the tip of my ear. There was another battle scar on my poor ear.

I just let my hair fall naturally. I kept a hair tie in my shorts pocket, though.

I left my room and went to the kitchen.

I prepared my breakfast. I warmed some milk, then poured it over cereals.

I finished quickly. I washed my bowl and spoon and started to leave. I heard murmuring outside the kitchen.

I saw Mum and Carlos talking. I passed them by.

“Is she okay?” Mum stared at me.

“We are all fools in love, Mum,” Carlos said dramatically.

They no longer kept their voices low. I ignored them and just left.

By tomorrow, they will start imagining our children.

Oh God.

I walked to the bus stop. Suddenly, a luxurious car stopped. A man stepped out.

“Hera.”

“Zale!”

“Let me give you a ride.” I tried to think of a plausible reason to refuse. My brain just stopped functioning, though.

“Sure.”

He went back to the driver’s seat while I sat in the passenger seat.

I started fumbling with the strap of my cross bag.

“Do you always take the bus?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“You don’t drive?”

“I know how to drive; I just don’t prefer to.”

“Why?”

“Too much fuss, parking, gas stations, maintenance and repair, traffic tickets.” I started counting. “A whole fuss that I could live without.”

He nodded.

“It is actually interesting that we met over a car crash.” I was amused.

“No, Hera, we met long before that when you entered a bar looking for a paper and a pen.” My heart started beating wildly. I looked at him, those stars shining on his neck.

Did he recognize me from back then?

I tried to calm down, but the hammering in my chest wouldn’t stop.

I thought I was the only one who remembered.

How did he know about the note and pen?

“How?” I was about to ask when my phone rang.

Fleur’s name lit up.

I opened the messages.

“Hera dear, I have a date. You are the boss today. Bye.”

Perfect, she just dumped work on me.

“Who is it?”

“Fleur is dumping her work on me; she said she had a date,” I explained. “I wonder who the poor guy is?”

Zale coughed.

“Zale, did you get infected from Draco?”

“No.”

“Where is Draco, by the way?”

“He took a two-day vacation.”

“Oh, he did look like he needed to visit a hospital, really.”

“Yin-Ra don’t go to hospitals. We have healers.”

“Oh.” I nodded

Zale

We started our third lesson.

She sat at the pottery wheel. She started explaining more about what centering was.

“Centering is very important. If this is not done right, you will be risking the foundation. More importantly, it saves you from a lot of frustration and wasted time.”

She sat behind the wheel. She threw her wedged clay lump to the center of the wheel head. She took water from a bowl nearby and poured it over the clay.

“Clay could be a little bit too thirsty. You need to give it the right amount of water.”

“How do I know the right amount?”

“You will know.”

She then stepped on the pedal on the floor; the wheel started to spin with the clay lump.

“Lock your elbows to your thighs. This is the only thing that you will need to control. Your position.”

I nodded.

She added more water to the clay lump.

She then started squeezing the clay.

“Use your palm, not fingers, to squeeze the clay upward. The force is in the palms, and please, Zale, adjust your strength so the poor clay gets enough time to loosen its memory.”

“Understood.”

The more she squeezed, the taller the clay piece got.

She then pressed the top with the heel of her hand until it was short again.

She added a bit of water, then repeated the process two more times.

“There, this was the centering.”

She lifted her foot from the pedal, and the wheel slowly stopped.

“Are there any questions?”

“No.”

She stepped on the pedal again.

“What are you standing so far for? Come here.”

I stepped close to her until I hovered over the wheel.

She pushed her thumbs in the middle of the centered clay dome.

“You will push just enough. Don’t puncture the base. You can use your thumbs or fingers. Whatever suits you.”

“Make sure you leave enough thickness in the base.”

She then moved her thumbs in opposite directions.

“Now this is widening.”

Then she puts each hand at the base, one inside and one outside. Then she starts moving them up.

“Now we pull up. Take as much as you can while you go up. Then go back again and take more. Don’t take all in one go. The clay would rebel if you do so.”

She stopped the pedal again.

A perfect hollowed cylinder stood in front of us.

I started wondering what she would look like if she were creating a piece without interrupting herself to explain.

“Zale, any questions?”

“No.”

She stood up.

Now your turn.

“Mine?”

“Of course.”

“Now?”

“Sure, don’t be scared; I will be here helping you.” She pushed me towards the seat. I sat down obediently.

She brought a chair and sat next to me.

I started repeating the process. She kept correcting my position and reminding me to use my palm instead of fingers. After a few minutes, I got the hang of it.

She was very patient as she explained why I shouldn’t do this or that and praised me when I was doing alright.

Finally, we reached the pulling up the walls part. I started to pull up, but the more I pulled, the more I felt the clay resist.

“Calm down, Zale.”

She then gripped both my hands and started guiding them slowly.

“Clay hates excessive control, Zale. Let it breathe. Don’t force it.”

I followed her lead. I forgot what I was doing.

Then, without warning, the pulse of the unfinished bond on my left hand no longer hummed peacefully. Erratic waves started to crush against my left hand. I ignored it.

“Zale, don’t resist the clay. Even if it goes sideways, we can start all over again. Many artists intentionally ruin their pieces and call it art. It won’t be the end of the world.”

I didn’t realize how tense I had become. I calmed down and just let her guide me.

Finally, my own clay cylinder was up.

“I won’t be helping you next time, Zale,” Hera stated. “You can try a few times until you get the hold of it. No rush.”

She brought a wire, then removed my cylinder from the wheel. She transferred it to a wood block.

“Let’s take a break,” She announced.

She left.

I squeezed my left hand harshly. A little bit more. Goddess, please a little bit more.

She returned after a while with a plate filled with biscuits.

“These are nice; I took them from Fleur’s hidden treasures. She said I was the boss for today; I will take this advance payment”

I took a biscuit and started nibbling on it. I did trust Hera, but Fleur is a whole other story.

“Zale, I have a question.”

“Go ahead?”

“I may not have seen a lot of Yin-Ra people, but you are the only one who has stars on his neck. Why?”

“Each star on our bodies signifies a year of our life. I am 200 years old; that is why the stars reach my neck.”

“Oh.” Her eyes were shining with curiosity.

“Do you want to touch them?” Her cheek became a lovely shade of rose.

“Can I?”

I nodded, then looked upward.

She brushed her finger over my neck.

My breath hitched.

“Beautiful.” I heard her mumble.

Oh Goddess, I like her.

Chapter 15 is finally here! ❤️

This is honestly one of my favorite chapters so far. Hera and Zale are just… adorable here. The pottery lesson, the little conversations, the family chaos.

I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did! ❤️

Tell me your favorite moment in the comments! I’d love to know what stood out to you most. 👀