The Last Mermaid

~ 95 ~

Dear Prince

I know that you feel rejected. Felt I should be spending my days returning your affections. All I can say is that I know deep down how it must feel - to be losing your wife and whom you consider to be your perfect partner. Consider it a show of my love to you that I have given you 20 years and two daughters.

Now we are in the Moon Palace. There are many different people that walk around dressed as planets, signifying a part of our cosmological history. Upon seeing our arrival, we are applauded by every attendee.

"It's the dark and light twins of the Moon Goddess! Lovers separated that have found each other at last."

"The Moon Goddess has returned. Now she can institute a Golden Age once more."

"Wait! Your majesty!"

After a heated whispering, the Moon Goddess looks down at both of us.

"They say that you two must enter the maze. It's the only way to make sure that the two of you are ready for reunion."

We are led to a pavilion of the castle. Onlookers sit at tables drinking wine and smoking. There are Chinese lanterns but, for the most part, the hedged maze is dark. I feel my way along with a smile, trying to calm myself down. My fear is that I'll be repeating my steps.

"I know you don't hear me, but I am afraid we are going to fail. I've dreamed of you my whole life - chasing away thoughts of you with motherhood, artwork, gardens, and marriage. I've spent time learning the value of nature and spirits - how this could translate into a life without you. I nearly convinced myself that I'd be better of without you. Your eyes would appear in my dreams, black as the deepest water, and holding a plethora of secrets. You would overpower me with your love, causing me to submit, fall deeply, and frown into you. I would never feel as close to you as I did in these dreams."

There is far sounds of peoples' gossip and soft violin music, but at a different turn - ominous wind blowing down empty garden pathways.

"Do you hear me?" asks a male voice. "I'm afraid to tell you what I've been going through. I've felt shameful not to have recognized you sooner, having run from you my whole life. I've thought I'd always be drowning in isolation. Perhaps this is why I created the Underworld. I didn't know I'd be trapped for thousands of years."

I feel his pain.

"I hear you" I say.

"Thank God" he replies.

"And Goddess."

He just laughs.

"My feelings for you have taught me to forget how to dream. I've attempted to convince myself I'm hallucinating. Been away from you for so long."

"I've wanted to be with you forever. Do you believe we will get together?"

The music seems more pronounced and the laughter more poignant.

"They mock us. Hades!"

"Atargatis. What you say may come to be" he whispers, the melody of his voice like chimes. 

There is silence. i call out his name. 

"Hades! Hades!"

"Atargatis."

"I'm scared."

"Follow your heart." 

I must have imagined his voice. Tears fall out, hitting the ground, turning it to flowers. 

Ahead, I spot a deer. It gazes back at me, before running to the left. I run after it with all of my might, lifting my dress from the ground. It is long, and not where my feet trample. I run after the deer, but it always escapes my sight. Finally, I get to a place where I can no longer follow it. I cry out in frustration - pounding the walls. I crumble, and can longer move. I swear the tears make a river for me - for I am suddenly floating down along the path, running into a mess of ruck. It is from a trail of magma that he hops off, meeting me, and pulling me into his arms. 

"Aphrodite? Atargatis? How could I be so blind?"

Tears drip down my cheeks, and he kisses them, dissolving them with his touch. 

"It was I that was blind... dear Hades. I was caught up in the story of the person I was meant to be, rather than of myself."

He kisses me, long and deep. The garden hedge parts to reveal the party goers - proud of what we've accomplished. I only look up at Hades, unable to look anywhere but at him. 

His skin, clothes, and hair have changed to purple. So have mine. We are ushered back into the palace - being invited to take a look at the Moon Goddess. 

She has solidified into a statue - with a smirk of satisfaction on her face. 

"She wants us to enjoy our reunion" we infer.