The worst mistake I made

The greatest mistake I ever made.

It was a day with a clear sky, blue and calm. My great friend Odysseus and I had started our journey back home for what felt like years ago. On our way home, we encountered beasts and monsters we had only ever seen in the myths of the gods, Nymphs, and Sirens, just to mention a couple. And after sailing for days on end, through storms and treacherous winds I found myself at a certain island, the island of the sun gods cattle, Thrinacia. My great companion Odysseus had warned us about this island, claiming that should we set foot on the island we would be overcome with temptation and take the sheep belonging to the sun god. But as we approached I insisted on resting there, for the winds had become unfavorable and we had sufficient supplies to last there until the wind settled down.

After much convincing, Odysseus let us anchor our ship on the rocky beaches of the island, where the sheep bleated, the birds sang, and we rested among the tall grasses of the island. It was truly a wonderful island, with a small mountain, from which you could see the whole island, a river with crystal clear waters where animals congregated to satisfy their thirst, and plains that were covered by an abundance of trees and animals. Although we could not find any other animals other than sheep and bugs, which was understandable, given that the god of the sun-protected his cattle as if they were his children.

And so we transferred our supplies onto the land where we would camp, and as we settled down Odysseus spoke, My men, as you may have already guessed this island belongs to the god of the sun Helios, and in it his priced cattle, I must warn you now, that if one of you is ever to harm the sheep that here live, everyone will meet a terrible end at the hands of the gods. So we obeyed, for we wanted to be able to return home alive. We had plenty of supplies, so we did not worry about the sheep for some time, only ever seeing them from afar since they did not approach us. There was little to worry about for the first 2 weeks or so, we made fires at night so that we could be warm during our sleep, bathed and drank from the river, drank our wine, and ate our food. The days were monotonous, blurring into each other. The only thing that kept me entertained was the thought of meeting my family, my wife, again, Ctimene, every time I looked at the butterflies that roamed the island I would think of you, I could not wait to get of off this island so that I could have you in my arms once again. The wind never changed its course and I feared that we would be stuck on this island for longer than our supplies would last, but I trusted the gods, I believed that maybe they had already grown tired of us so that we could get all get home alive.

As the three-week mark grew closer I and the crew grew considerably worried about our supplies. The wind was as unfavorable as it had been the last two weeks and I feared that the supplies would not last until we made it out of here.

It was at the three-week mark that the supplies had run out, the men starved and the wind still had not changed, so I took a decision that I would later regret dearly.

As Odysseus went away from the camp I called all the men into a meeting, in which I addressed the issue of our hunger, Dear friends I have reunited you all here to talk about our situation, we have been warned that shall we ever touch the cattle of the Helios, the gods rage shall come upon us. But in the face of starvation what do you suggest we do, die by the hands of the gods or by the miserable fate that is starvation. After this we will search for the forgiveness of the gods, we shall promise to build altars in their names and sacrifice our finest animals, but at least we will get to see the world for a day longer. At this, the men cheered and went after the sheep on the island, they hunted them, and they made a feast out of them. Odysseus then came back and seemed horrified by what we had done, he had warned us but we had not listened, now that we had sentenced ourselves to death we had nothing to fear and so we feasted on the sheep for the next six days and nights. On the sixth day after we killed the sheep the wind had finally changed courses and allowed us to go back home. My tired mind and body yearned for the sweet arrival home, my wife, my kids, and my friends. All of us were finally going home, and that was a feeling that could never be overshadowed, not even the mightiest of mountains.

The sailing was smooth and the wind was favorable, but it seemed that Odysseus was worried about our well being, he stayed awake for hours on end and never took his eyes off of the sky, perhaps he feared that we would be attacked by the gods, but his mind had always been a maze of thoughts, so deep that even I could only guess as to what he felt.

It was during the night that the gods finally bestowed their punishment to the crew. The sky was black with clouds, the wind was so harsh that it threatened to rip our sails, while the rain was cold and seemed to penetrate the very bones of my body. I had made the gods angry and I together with my friends was to pay for it.

I pleaded to the gods to forgive my friends and me, I cried to the gods that I had only incited them to murder the cattle of the god Helios, I did not mean to make all my friends die, and I had only wanted to live to see the light of the day once more and maybe the family that I had left behind on Ithaca.

But alas the gods did not hear my pleas, and the waves, big and ferocious, capsized the boat that we were in, thats when I realized that the gods had abandoned me and my friends, our fate was to die today in this storm sent by Zeus. And as I sank into the dark bottom of the ocean I wanted to cry and scream from the sheer guilt that I felt, I had now killed all of my friends and there was no way to go back. I could no longer stay awake and my thoughts drifted back to my family, my lovely wife Ctimene I truly hope that you forgive me for leaving you alone and taking your brother with me, I hope that one day you will forgive me and we meet on the afterlife and so my consciousness faded away, carried by the currents of the deep sea, forever peaceful, unlike the storm that raged on its surface.