Lemons of Life

Chapter 6 - Uncertainty

While Thanatos spent the afternoon in the Underworld Saloon, Amyris sat gloomily underneath one of his large orange trees, staring out at the bright blue, cloudless sky above him, while he pondered his existence and place on Earth. He badly wanted to believe that he had a greater purpose, but it all just seemed meaningless if he was just going to die someday anyway and he couldn't ever hope to be as great of a person as his adoptive father. Amyris considered him to be the greatest leader over the many other Greek rulers he had heard about in stories growing up as he had always been kind and considerate of the other villagers. He had spent the morning wandering aimlessly through his orchard, wallowing in the deep pit of despair that seemed to swallow his heart, and his usual motivation for gardening seemed to have evaporated like Myron's soul in the hands of the so-called "God of Death". He huffed angrily at the thought of his beloved father figure being taken away by someone who clearly didn't care about anyone's feelings.

The rising morning sun moved slowly across the sky as the afternoon dragged on until the sun had reached the edge of the horizon. The shadows cast by the rows of trees shifted over, leaving Amyris sitting in the fiery orange light with his eyes closed shut and his hands resting on his stomach as he leaned back against a young, sturdy lemon tree. Memories of his childhood flooded his mind including the times he would play in the dirt as a child only to be scolded by Myron and forced to take a bath in the communal washing area. Baths were the bane of his existence as a child and Amyris chuckled to himself since it still wasn't his favourite thing now. He continued to lay in the shade of the tree, sighing gently to himself as a couple of large, salty tears rolled down his dirt-stained cheeks. He was beside himself. The crushing weight of losing someone so important and loving in his life made him wonder how much life was really worth living and he eventually fell asleep under the lemon tree, soothed by the rustling leaves above.

An hour passed and Amyris was awoken abruptly by a sharp jab against his shoulder. Blurry-eyed, he squinted to focus his gaze on a dark figure leaning over him; slowly bringing into focus a skeptical stare by a pair of emerald green eyes and, what looked to be, two twisty, yet elegant, antlers. His jaw dropped. A deer! This was the first time in his life to be approached by one. He had always wanted to pet one from the few he had seen from a far distance in the neighbouring forest; they tended to enjoy some of the citrus fruit that grew in the grove but was always quick to leave once Amyris arrived. The young boy reached a hand up to the top of the deer's head, feeling the soft strands of hair that felt taut and strangely like tied-up human hair, but he was more surprised at how still the usually skittish creature was, not even flinching at his touch. 

Suddenly, it dawned on him. At that moment, the sun shifted across the sky and illuminated the face of a woman that he recognized immediately and his hand froze on her head. Diana's bright green eyes stared with concern. He pushed himself to scoot backward, but his spine pressed painfully against the tree behind him and he couldn't move away.

"W-what are you doing here?" He stammered nervously, realizing he had just pet Diana's wild hair. "And why do you have antlers?"

Diana shrugged. "Helps with hunting sometimes, but are you okay? I noticed you were cry-"

"No, I wasn't!" Amyris interrupted quickly as he turned his head to hide his reddening face. "I-I'm fine."

Amyris glanced up at Diana with a fake smile, but her expression remained blank and her eyebrows knitted together. She clearly wasn't buying it. "Sorry," he said begrudgingly, "I just haven't felt . . . normal since . . . you know . . . my father died."

The young woman's lips parted and she rubbed Amyris' shoulder with one of her hands. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Amyris. Is there anything I can do for you?