Eurydice

8

As the colorless cloud dissipated, I found myself standing in a never-ending field of flowers. The Asphodel blossoms were gray and dry with brown stalks, and the only thing I could hear was a low buzz of voices.

Shades walked everywhere, shuffling along as they chattered away to themselves. I watched their shifting forms pass through the flowers like smoke, and fear struck my heart. How long did I have until I became just like them?

I would forget Orpheus, and the way the sun shined, and...

The baby. I killed our baby. I pressed my hands to my face, a tidal wave of misery crashing down on me. I felt like I was going to explode, or just merely dissolve into spirit essence. It was all my fault, letting that snake bite me, going off for some water and get chased by Aristaeus. I kept imagining Orpheus and how his brown eyes would widen at the sight of my body, him collapsing as he lifted the corpse into his arms. Even his weeping would sound like a perfect melody.

I sat with my face cradled in my hands, not daring to move. If I did, I knew that I would keep running through the meadow forever, trying to get away from this pain.

And just as fast as I had blamed myself, I turned on my father.

Apollo, with his prophetic powers, surely must gave known I had been with child. He could have helped me some other way, yet he gave me the snake. He had been cruel, not merciful.

I hugged myself tightly, my jaw clamped down in utter hate.

"Lady?" a small voice mewled. I turned around at the sound of it, already knowing who called for me.

Ander sat on the ground, the tall stalks of Asphodel shielding him. He had his small bony arms wrapped around his legs, and he looked at me with wide, terrified eyes.

I smiled, glad that he was okay. "Ander-"

"No!" His small voice pierced the reverence of the meadows, and I flinched. He pushed himself off the ground and scowled at me, his fists balled up and shaking.

"You let them take me!"

"Ander-"

"You're mean!" He turned away, arms crossed and shoulders hunched."Leave me alone. You should go to Tartarus!"

I stared at him, brain numb. "You don't mean that."

He didn't answer.

In the horrible quiet taking hold of us, I realized that I couldn't let Ander push me away. Something pitiful and pathetic clawed in my chest, not wanting to be alone. I was disgusted at myself. It was a longing for someone to fill the hole in my heart, the place where the baby should have been. And he was the one who would make me happy again.

"Don't say that, Ander. I had to let you go." My voice was barely louder than the murmurs of the Shades, and it caught Ander's attention.

He looked at his bare feet as I said, "The servant was coming for you anyway, and I wanted it to be easier on you. The judges couldn't wait forever, so I did what was best."

I took a step towards him, still amazed at how soundless I was as a spirit. He turned around before I could put a hand on his shoulder. Ander stared with enormous, fearful eyes.

"I want to cry," he whispered. I held my hands out to his sides, and Ander let me pick him up.

"I do too."

Together, we began our walk of Asphodel Meadows, knowing that we couldn't escape the fate of losing ourselves, our memories. We passed Shades in our march, and Ander would always grip me tightly until they were gone.

I didn't know how long I traveled through the flowers, but I did notice how funny my head felt. My brain began to grow fuzzy, almost tingling, as I took each step. Ander seemed to have the same effect, because slowly his eyes glazed over and his small body slumped more against me.

The Asphodel turned into a gray blur as my head grew more and more hazy. Slowly, I began to remember less about my life. I couldn't picture my mother's or even Apollo's faces, and their names became harder to recall. I didn't even know the name of the man that had chased me, or how I died. It absolutely terrified me that my memories were deteriorating, and how Ander and I seemed to grow darker, no longer silver-skinned, but nearly the exact color of a Shade.

Neither of us talked. We listened to the Shades, the shrieks of Furies often flying overhead, and then the burbling of a brook. I stopped before it, awestruck by its beauty. It cleanly cut through the meadow and glowed serenely, foaming over a collection of gleaming rocks. Ander had his head on my shoulder, but stirred at the sound of the river.

"Pretty," he murmured.

"Yes," I said, yawning. "Beautiful. It's nothing like the River Acheron."

"It's Lethe," a woman said.

Ander yelped in my ear as I whirled around, face-to face with an impossibly gorgeous woman. She loomed over me, despite my tall stature, and her skin was tan and glowed with a healthy, youthful shine. Her blue eyes were intelligent and piercing, but they regarded us warmly.

She smiled, and somehow that made her even more beautiful.

"Sorry. I'm just here to take Eurydice with me."

I took a step back, Ander clutching my shoulders. "Why? I need to stay here with Ander. He can't be all alone-"

"He can drink from Lethe and forget his life," the woman cut in. "He will instantly turn into a Shade, and be at peace with staying here for the rest of eternity. But, Eurydice, you must come. My husband is waiting- so is Orpheus."