AMBROSIA

THE BIRTH OF TRAGEDY

Eros stared at the starry sky, he missed seeing the galaxy in all its glory, not the distorted mankind version. Over the past two decades his soul felt too weary to appreciate the beauty of the night sky, he stayed hidden in the shadows, on earth, away from anyone and everyone known to him.

Eros felt a sudden asperity of misery wash over him, his limbs which hung on either side of the parapet turned numb from a sickening sensation, his heart clenched as a dark mist blew over him. He closed his eyes, not wanting to deal with this.

"Akhyls," his words barely a pleading whisper, "stop tormenting me,"

His eyes followed the mist, it transformed into silhouette of a pale young girl, whose sight was enough to make even the happiest man on earth die from sudden grief, her silhouette tardily took its form revealing the unearthly appearance.

Akhyls wore a torn black robe resting till her cracked bleeding knees, her bruised fingers with chipped long nails languidly drew the thick curtain of Stygian hair behind her ears. The action exposed her ashen pained face and her clawed cheeks which stretched with dried blood. Her misted eyes was glistening with unshed tears as it leered right through his soul.

She sat in a fluid motion on the metallic chair next to the curtain shrouded glass door, making it creak with sudden weight. The purple shambrock creepers hanging by the glass door above her withered and turned into ashes as it mingled and blew with the air.

"You don't require my presence to feel melancholic Eros," she said licking her chapped lips, "Your misery seeks me."

Eros heaved a deep sigh, her presence was painful, but she was right, he was summoning her even without his knowledge.

Eros gathered the vestiges of his strength and stood on the parapet in one swift motion. He stared at the map of world below his feet wondering why he chose to stay here, in this fake bespangled tinsel town, where no one valued love....valued him. What was anchoring him here...

"You know you don't have to stay," her harrowing voice suddenly spoke in his ear, she was right behind him, murking him with darkness "You can let it all go, and I can help you."

Eros sneered, "I know better than to trust a Keres."

Before the mist could blind him, Eros jumped to his feet and felt the cold linoleum resile. He glanced down at his feet and saw the ivory tiles ambering in blotches, how long has he extended his sojourn?

What year is this?

Eros shook his head and made his way towards the glass door exiting from the terrace, he had to ignore Akhyls till she stops persuading him for whatever objective she has and leaves. She always left. Through the years, it was only Akhyls who visited him occasionally, he had shielded his presence from the gods, but being a Keres, she managed to sense his plight. Her visits had turned frequent over the past few months, perhaps that could be due to his constant perturbation.

Eros felt his limbs weary and knew she was following him, he opened the glass door, drawing the curtains and entered in the clangourous room, not bothering to close the door behind him.

Just as he entered the room, two girls entangled and engulfed in cathexis passion fell on his legs, pulling down with them the purple velvet curtains framing the gold rimmed glass door. Just great, he had forgotten why he had chosen to stay under the stars.

The room was buzzing with mortals, unclad, twenty something of them, male, female, across different ages, races, swinging like marionettes on the melody of Mousai.

The orgy held no interest for him, his choice of entertainment had turned monotonous to the point of inanition. Over the years, he spent his days and nights witnessing lustrous mortals engage in activities seeking bodily pleasures in the name of love. The engagement which once served as an amusement was plain odious to him now.