Silence. Remembrance. Love. Prelude. Reflection. Mirror. Imago. Cave. Cloud. Free. Trapped. Token. Flowers. Ring. Beauty. Sea. Sky. Questions. Hope. Whispers. Silence. 

 Words. Life is full of so many meaningless words. Words that are being constantly wasted, disregarded, thrown away. I wish I had known that before. Maybe I wouldn't have wasted my words. Now I savor every word I can get and hold them close and devour them. I draw them out slowly before they disappear for good. Sometimes I feel like I'm standing on a cliff, and if I breathe a little too loud I'll go tumbling down. Other times, I feel nothing at all and that's worse. 

Sometimes I don't know how I exist, and other times the more rational part of me assumes it's a medical condition. But deep down I know who did this. It was her. 

When I met her, this woman, she seemed normal. A woman with large dark brown eyes and golden hair, asking for her fiancé, Zee. Zee, the man who was dating my sister, Callirhoe. 

 I knew he was cheating on this woman with my sister. I found this out when my sister and him first started seeing each other. Back when I knew everything about everyone. Zee told me it was a forced marriage and the woman was a terrible person. So many words he used to describe her, nasty brutish words, short and sharp. 

I lied. I fooled the women with golden hair. I prattled on and on until she left. She didn't like it but she left. Callirhoe and Zee weren't caught.

But.

I know she knew what I did. I've heard legends and myths of great people. Witches or wizards. Straight out of fairy tales. People who can do terrible things. Powerful people. Cruel twisted people. 

No she couldn't have done this, it's crazy. She couldn't have. 

But we never saw her nor Zee again.

And I go to bed silently. I wake silently. I eat silently. I have to speak when spoken too and only the last words. Only the last words.

Before I would wake up and chatter to Cal as we ate breakfast. I would talk the whole car ride about meaningless things. Stupid things. 

Now we eat and leave in complete quiet. Utter and absolute quiet. I was always the talkative sister, the outgoing little sister. Cal was the quiet, calm older one. Sometimes late in the dead of night I wonder if she likes me better like this.

I shove open the school doors and Cal bounds over to her friends. I slowly walk through the noisy halls pushing through the throngs of chirping students to my locker.

 I used to have friends that I would gossip to. We would meet here. Me, Aex, Daphne, Arethusa. We would moon over the boys or giggle at the girls. Free to talk about whatever and whoever we please. So nativë. So dumb. If only I could go back in time. If only.

 The late bell rings, snapping me out of my day dream. I head to class. First period is history. Great more talking. At least it's not math. History is easy enough; most of the answers involve repeating the question.

I sit in the back of the class per usual. I try not to get called on per usual. I take as many notes as possible per usual. But right before class ends something out of the usual happens. A new student walks in.

"Class this is Narcissus"  Ms. Clio smiles brightly at him. "Narcissus" I whisper.

A boy my age. He is looking at his phone vaguely interested. I can't help but stare. He's beautiful. He has the most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen. The softest looking hair-

"Echo!" Ms. Clio says "I said can you show Narcissus to his classes? You two have similar schedules." My face heats up as I nod "Similar schedules" 

The bell rings. I duck my head and head to the hallway.

"Echo right?" Narcissus walks up to me still absorbed in his phone.

I smile "Right" I say shyly. 

"Okay" He looks at himself some more in his camera "Aren't I stunning." He hands me a mirror to hold while he fixes his hair.

"Stunning" I parrot. 

"Exactly" He snatches the mirror and looks back at his phone. "Okay lead the way to history"

"To history" I giggle. As we walk I keep glancing at him but he is taking pictures of himself. Cal has always warned me not to fall for a vain guy. But it's too late. I have fallen. The periods fly by with me following Narcissus around and before I know it the day is over. 

"Aren't I the most beautiful person in the world?"  I imagine he is talking to me instead of his reflection. Like he's cheering me up as I cry over girls who tell me I'm ugly.

"The most beautiful person in the world"

"I'm a genius. So smart" I imagine he says when I get an A.

"So smart"

"My eyes are gorgeous" I imagine he tells me as we stare out at the sunset on a beach somewhere.

"Gorgeous" 

My days change yet again. I wake up quietly. Eat in silence. Go to school quietly. Follow Narcissus around silently. Repeating whatever new complaints he tells himself and pretend he's talking to me.

He makes me feel needed in such a little way. I want to leave but I can't help it. I am drawn to him, stuck to him. I wonder if this is the real curse that golden women wanted. If taking my voice was just the prelude to this main event

I spend my days trailing him. Forced to echo him. To no end. I follow him, obey him, echo him. I try again and again to leave. I can't abandon him. I can't. I have to do something soon. Otherwise I'll become just a memory, a remembrance.

Nothing but an echo. An echo.