That night, once again, Menrva saw Freyja get up to contact her brother. But the Etruscan goddess stopped her by taking hold of her arm.
“You need to rest, Freyja,” Menrva said.
“But... I’m not sleepy at all,” the Norse goddess replied, even though her eyes showed immense exhaustion.
“You’re afraid to sleep because of what you saw with Coyote, aren’t you?” Menrva asked, and the Norse goddess merely looked away before shaking her head.
She’s far too transparent, Menrva thought.
“Come, Freyja. Come back to bed,” the Etruscan goddess said, moving aside on the mat so Freyja could lie down. The goddess hesitated for a moment, but then sat back down.
“But I truly am not sleepy,” the Norse goddess insisted.
At that moment, Menrva noticed the Norse goddess’s arms trembling. It must have been very difficult for a proud and powerful goddess like Freyja to admit that the illusion Coyote had forced her to endure had been too much even for her.
Menrva rose and embraced Freyja.
“I will protect you. You must not be afraid,” she said.
Then Menrva guided her back down to lie beside her again.
“I’m not afraid... truly!” Freyja said nervously.
“Then you will have no objection if I hold you all night,” the Etruscan goddess replied.
Little by little, she felt Freyja relaxing more and more, and her heart began to beat more calmly.
Before long, both goddesses had fallen asleep, and at last Freyja was able to rest that night. She had not been able to sleep since regaining consciousness after Coyote’s attack.
The following day, Tul came to visit Freyja, who was weaving a Rarámuri dress on a small loom.
“I’ve come to kidnap you, ch’úupal Freyja!” the rabbit goddess said with her usual smile.
“Kidnap me? Whatever are you talking about, Tul?” the Norse goddess asked in confusion.
“Come with me. It’s on ch’úupal Menrva’s request,” the rabbit goddess added, motioning for her to follow.
Puzzled, Freyja accompanied Tul, who walked along quite merrily while happily eating a small guava.
The two of them arrived at the little house made of stacked logs with an improvised roof, where the goddess had been treating the Rarámuri who had injured themselves or fallen ill. There they saw Epona outside the cabin, playing with a group of children near the entrance.
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“Is it time already, Tul?” Epona asked, turning toward the two goddesses.
“Yes. I’m going to need a little privacy, if that’s not too much trouble, ch’úupal,” the rabbit goddess said.
Epona bent down and said something to the children in the Rarámuri tongue. Freyja was surprised to see that the goddess was trying to learn the language, just as Anpiel was doing.
“All right. I’ll go see Rodrigo and come back in an hour, yes?” the equine goddess asked, and Tul nodded.
Epona then left, and the children said farewell to the goddess. Tul likewise said something to them in the Rarámuri language, then gave them a huge smile and a thumbs-up.
Each of them is making her utmost effort to understand and live among the humans of this little village, Freyja thought in surprise, for it was the first time she had truly seen something like that.
Having always lived in a violent and savage culture, living alongside and understanding other civilizations had never been part of Freyja’s way of thinking. To conquer and triumph, to enslave and slaughter, and then to die in glorious battle—that was a Viking’s life. Yet this, despite the turmoil in her mind, made her feel something she had not felt in many centuries of life: something close to peace.
The two goddesses entered the hut, where there was only a mat and a few tools of clay and earthenware. Tul had several instruments laid out on blankets beside water and many herbs. Among them rested her familiar mortar of volcanic stone with its little rabbit face.
“What did you want me here for?” Freyja asked in confusion when she saw Tul motioning for her to lie down on the mat where the patients were treated.
“Ch’úupal Menrva told me you have post-traumatic stress because of what Coyote made you suffer in your nightmares,” the rabbit goddess said.
“Ah! No! I’m over that already!” Freyja replied in embarrassment. “Can’t you see I’m a proud Viking warrior?”
“Then why are your arms trembling, ch’úupal?” the rabbit goddess asked in surprise.
Once again, Freyja looked down and saw that her arms would not stop shaking. The goddess felt frustration rise within her.
“This is none of your business!” she snapped, trying to leave the room.
“We are all here to help one another,” Tul said. “No matter how strong you are, there are many times when all of us need a hand to help us.”
“You don’t understand, Tul,” Freyja said, still upset. “I’m a warrior. Being sexually abused should mean nothing to someone who has seen the horrors of war.”
“Then what are you afraid of, ch’úupal?” Tul asked with a serious expression.
The rabbit goddess knelt beside the mat where the patients lay and began mixing liquids with herbs while continuing to speak to Freyja, who had gone still in the doorway.
“The people here do not have many resources, but they help one another. That is the true strength of both humans and gods.”
Freyja remained silent, still standing and staring at the ground. Her eyes had become glassy, and she wanted to cry, but she tried to hold it back.
Tul finished preparing a concoction and offered it to the goddess.
“Here, drink this. It’ll help calm you down a little,” she said.
Freyja tasted it, but it was very bitter, and the goddess made a face of disgust.
“Yes, it doesn’t taste very good, but it works as an antidepressant,” the rabbit goddess said. “You’ll see. It’ll help.”
The Norse goddess took a deep breath, drank it all, and handed the little cup back to Tul. Then she looked at the pure smile on the Maya goddess’s face and felt much calmer.
“All right. Let’s do this,” the goddess said, and lay down on the patient’s mat. Tul then knelt beside her face.
“We’re going to work a little on your mind, ch’úupal,” the rabbit goddess said.
“Every day, you’re going to come here at this hour and talk with me about your dream. Our goal will be to remove the emotional damage it caused you by planting a new reality,” she explained.
“I’m... ashamed to talk about it,” Freyja admitted.
“Don’t worry. I do not need to know it. We’re simply going to talk and do exercises to remove that burden of pain it causes you,” the rabbit goddess continued explaining. “When you’re ready, then you can speak of it.”
Freyja nodded and began her therapy with the rabbit goddess.