When Life Meets Death

Chapter Two: Discernment

The path leading down the cliff was very steep and narrow. One wrong step would cause you to tumble down to the dark depth below. Persephone nervously kept her eyes to the ground, making sure to avoid any stones or the notches that would cause her to trip. It was then that she realized that her sister had been right about one thing, the Underworld was not up to par in their safety protocols.

Occasionally, when Persephone was brave enough to spare a glance, she would see the god in front of her move with ease, without giving much attention to the hazards around him—almost as if he had memorized the path.

It was then that a thought occurred to her.

Perhaps he walked to the exchange everyday.

Persephone had always imaged him arriving in some stupendous way, like rising from the cracked surface of the earth, or maybe riding one of the creatures of the Underworld. Never, even with her wild imagination, would she had guessed that he simply chose to walk to the exchange instead.

It seemed too mundane, too normal.

But there on the small pathway, the Underworld was silent. It was almost as if the land knew to leave its god to his thoughts, matching his silent contemplation.

Persephone soon grew tired of staring at the back of his shaggy cape, so when the path widened, she quickened her pace so that she was practically sprinting beside him.

Their shoulders brushed occasionally, but never once did he glance down at her, causing a strange frustration to take over her.

"You caught me." Her soft voice finally disturbed the silence of the land. She was almost certain she felt the ground tremble excitedly underneath her feet.

"What?" His eyes remained on the path ahead, seeming uninterested in conversing.

But Persephone noticed how he slowed his pace so that she could follow beside him more comfortably. This was enough encouragement for her to press on.

"Back there at the cliff, you could've let me fall, but you didn't." Her lips were pursed in thought as she remembered the concern in his eyes. "Why?"

She saw a slight raise of his shoulders.

"I'm not a monster as I'm sure your sisters make me out to be." The mention of her sisters rolled off his tongue with a tone of resentment. Such a reaction only caused more questions to blossom within Persephone's mind.

Why was there so much animosity between them?

"They don't call you a monster..." She tried to defend.

She noticed the frown deepening upon his features as her pause lengthened, it was then that she realized that there was no defending her sisters cruelty.

"None of that matters," She said softly as she moved her gaze to her feet, watching the snow sink with each step. "I think I can discern someone's character for myself."

"And what have you decided so far?" He finally met her gaze, his frown replaced by a slight upturn of his lips. She hadn't realized that she had been staring until they had both stopped, their lips parted in anticipation. She moved her eyes up to his, a strange sense of longing filling her bones.

It was something she was certain Odysseus must have felt when he finally saw the outline of his homeland. It was a empty feeling that seemed to gnaw at her very core, refusing to rest until it was filled; it was a feeling Persephone wasn't familiar with.