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Persephone’s Best Friend

A strange Cacophony of green starlight music made me leap up from the Underworld, a sequel to Secret Admirer

By Melissa IngoldsbyPublished 3 years ago Updated 3 years ago 18 min read
22
Persephone’s Best Friend
Photo by Tan Kaninthanond on Unsplash

Ever since I left you from the mortal realm, my love, my heart has been on fire.

The sky upon the Underworld has since been charred to death—-it is broken and black.

By Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Soon, my time will come. And I will have my temporary license to return to earth.

I keep hearing a strange, popping, crackling buzz above my realm. It reminded me of my sweet, brown-eyed Matteo, when he wanted to get my attention. Of his kind, beautiful poetry to me. I sensed a strange feeling of flowing green energy through the noise—-a deeply old, green light that was trying to burst it’s way through, and it was vociferous in tone, yet through the strongest wave, I heard a calming music afterwards; dulcet and longing.

Hades knows I do not love him. He knows only through the way I do not deepen our embrace late at night—-the way my hands will only touch his for the lightest and quickest of moments—-how my conversation with his easy banter is heavy and formal. He knows without words that I am not in love with him.

I love another. Yet, we rule together—-tending to the souls of the living dead in this strange and dreary dreamland. I use my breath—-a kiss—-to sever the screaming atrophy from these departed mortals. I use my syrupy voice to soothe their uneasy sadness and lonely fears.

I did everything I promised I could to improve things.

But I realized it wasn’t that easy. There was discord. Black was covering our collective minds and our land.

To fix things further, in a real sense, I needed to rule with Hades—-properly.

I dressed that evening in a golden pink gown.

By Evie S. on Unsplash

I put pink flowers in my hair.

The flowers start to die before I meet with Hades.

By Tanalee Youngblood on Unsplash

I take the flowers out of my hair, tossing it to an unseen corner, my lip stern.

Finally, I see Hades emerge into the Throne room.

“Good Evening, Persephone,” He sighs, his long, luminous blue and black robes tumbling to the floor as he sat down.

I nod curtly. “Good evening, Hades.” I sat down next to him. He looked surprised.

My chest was tight. This was hard.

I kept thinking of my mother. I kept thinking of Matteo. My soul wept—-a song of strange cries and grief filled yells fills my heart. It gives me guts.

“What troubles you?” Hades asked me. “What has filled your day?”

I tell him of the conditions of Asphodel Meadows. How much they have overgrown with despair.

“What of the Elysian Fields?” Hades asked, clearly uninterested.

“Overrun with longing and sadness,” I answer.

“As long as everyone is in the right place, I do not care.” Hades slumped against his throne.

I got up and took his hands in mine.

“Hades, this apathy must end. Between us and the humans. Between the mortal realm and our realm. We are not so different from mortals. You and I,” I said, trying to get our eyes to meet, and they did—-his gaze seemed apprehensive, yet I sensed a feeling of sadness too. I leaned in closer, our faces close. “You and I are not so different.”

“You resent me,” Hades says quietly, looking down.

I frowned. “I have found a true destiny in this Underworld. You have made my destiny complete, Hades.”

Hades yawns. “I think I will retire. Good night.”

He got up and started to leave.

I become angry at his unresponsive nature.

I stood up. “Hades! How can you let your Underworld decay so swiftly? How can you remain so unaware of the death amongst your realm?! Everything is black!”

Hades nods. “Like my heart.”

“You took me from my mother! You took me from my home! Hades, why can’t you wake up?!”

He stood still.

There was a moment of silence.

The silence was chilling.

“No, Kore. I am awake. I know everything. You and I are not one. There is nothing in balance here. You think I am asleep?”

I nod. “Yes. You are. Because you do nothing to change it!”

He scoffed. “And what have you done?”

Moved the mountains and the rivers—-I carry the waters of the Lethe to the pained souls. I soothe over the ripples of this domain with my songs and my breath. More—” I pause with tears in my eyes, “than you have done!”

Hades shows his brightly white teeth—a sneer residing on his lips with a sneaky, terrible patience. “Moved… the mountains? Moved the streams? It is I that keeps them going—-keeps them stable!” He roared, but I am not afraid anymore. I go to him. I knew we were talking of more than any real mountain or of any discernible mappable waters——we were really talking of our deep, unfathomable discontent with one another.

“Hades—-I acknowledge your power. I see it. We must have a great earthquake beneath us——and between us—-we can create a new chapter in our future! Do you not see how it can be done?”

“I see that you are too sentimental for the mortals. Only this.” He frowns, and puts his hands on my shoulders.

“I am not sentimental,” I say clearly. “That implies my emotions cloud my logic. That is not the case. We exact the correct afterlife for each mortal soul—-don’t we? We must care for this now—or else something will happen—-and the balance of all of the worlds and realms will go terribly awry.”

Hades nodded, finally understanding my plan.

He looks down at my hands and touched them gently. I do not move away.

“We shall drive this blackness away, Persephone.” He then looks at me with a sincerity I have never seen before. It made me feel at ease. “We shall… I shall drive the pain away.”

And he did.

Slowly…

By Milada Vigerova on Unsplash

He healed the darkness roaming in our Realm.

We healed it—-together.

By Iswanto Arif on Unsplash

I told him of Matteo. I told him of the cave near the volcanic lake, Avernus, where he lived in a place called Naples.

Hades kissed my forehead.

He showed me the safest route——

And told me to enjoy my time on earth until I returned.

I kissed the top of his head, thanking him.

Our intimacy rested in our gaze—-in our words and combined actions. No longer were we a King and Queen of the flesh, but a partnership of something much more. He played with me a duet.

Of a strange instrument that seemed to be magick that played sounds on wavelengths invisibly that starlit night before I was to go to earth. Hades created a stream of green light in the moon drenched cave, trickling through the exit of where I had emerged the first time. Now, I realized where the green lights were forged—from Hades. Even as he had let them flow unconsciously, the swooning, feverish green lights were a warning of things to come. A warning for the both of us.

Now the energy of the lights were controlled and I swooned—-my voice rising and falling innately to his beats.

The green lights hit me like a ravishing, regenerative pool—-and I realized it was our combined duet of energy and sound that mixed so deftly, creating this beaming light show.

I said farewell to Hades as our song faded. The lights were greater, more powerful now as I ascended from the cave—-and I wept for Hades.

We had truly reformed our realm and created a new bridge for mortals and immortals alike.

Hades had reformed, too. Yet, he was utterly lonely.

I decided I needed to find someone for him, too.

Once I was on earth—-I walked passed the volcanic waters and found a place to rest. I laid upon a silky field of hay and grass.

Spring shall be here soon, I said to myself. “I shall become Spring,” I said, a bit louder. I smiled.

I closed my eyes and dreamt of warm, beautiful spring mornings and crisp, lovely nights.

The morning came; life was curling and bursting up—-shooting up, growing all around me. It was warm and the air felt sweet and fresh. I took in my first real breath of fresh air in over six months. I found a city. It was Naples.

But, I did not see Matteo.

Instead, I found a man and I asked about the city and the people.

He was young, about twenty eight or twenty nine, but he seemed steeped in a calm and wise demeanor—-an old soul. He had rich brown hair that was boyish in length, with green eyes and a sad smile.

“Are you visiting for a while? Do you have family?” He asked. He introduced himself as a simple farmer named Adriano.

“I am looking for my mother,” I start to say.

He nods. “What does she look like? What’s her name?”

“Demeter. She wears a dark veil over her head. She is very beautiful and tall—-with blonde hair, and with golden eyes that shine and twinkle.”

Adriano sighed almost in a wistful manner, but shook his head. “I have never seen such a woman. But, if I do, I shall inform you.” He smiled at me suddenly. “Persephone, would you like to stay with me until you find her?”

I nodded. “That is most gracious of you.”

He led me to his part of the city. He had a small house situated near the downtown part of Naples where there were more local markets. That was where he sold his produce and goods.

I asked him of a family of wine makers and of Matteo once we settled in.

“I will be forthcoming to you, my dear. I do not know most people. I wish I could help you more. Once I head into the city tomorrow to purchase supplies, I shall inquire of both your mother and Matteo.”

We talked some more.

“Do you live alone?” I looked about his home. It seemed empty and he only had things in sets of one or two. Dishes, plates, cups—-everything was minimal and plain.

He laughed softly. “You must’ve figured it out. Yes, I do.”

“No wife? No children?” I asked.

His face became completely different then. It reminded me of a blank white canvas. And—-suddenly, a child running and laughing—-tossing a single splatter of red paint on it.

“N-no, I don’t have anyone.”

I nodded gently. “I apologize if I offended you, Adriano.”

He shook his head deeply. “No, no. You did not.”

He started making dinner and I wanted to help—-I started chopping up the vegetables.

He seemed happy to have someone else near to help and talk to.

I started telling him about Hades. About everything that had happened to me; it spilled out of me with almost minute detail. He was so easy to talk to—-it was because he listened so well. Not like some who just waited to talk. He would nod and add the occasional question or comment, but as I spoke, I felt validated by my feelings of being trapped, trampled on and my intense claustrophobic loneliness that had only just started leaving. How Hades and I finally came together to solve our problems. I told him of Matteo and how he and I fell in love.

He then told me of his childhood, of how it was so carefree and full of wonder. How he had wanted so much to be a painter. But, both of his parents died five years ago. From a terrible fever. They had died holding each other’s hands. He had no siblings. His family was in debt, and he worked very hard on his small half acre of land to keep what his family had had for generations. He was always someone who kept to himself, but he wanted to put himself out there more.

He wanted a friend.

We sat down at the table and ate the meal we both created together.

“So, you rule the… dead?” Adriano said in whisper, his eyes wide.

I laughed gently. “We do not rule them… we tend to them. We keep them in the place they are intended to be.”

He nodded. “And… Do you feel scared? Does it feel odd to be surrounded by death?”

“I am a part of death. I also am a part of life. As everyone is. Death is not a destructive end. It is a…” I thought quietly for a moment. “New chain linked with a different set of properties. Death is not the end. Matter is too powerful to ever be destroyed.”

Adriano looked at me with a mixture of fascination and horror.

“Adriano, I’m sorry,” I laughed in a nervous titter. “I didn’t mean to place such heavy words on you.”

“I’m afraid it’s out of my depth. But… it has made me want to paint.” Then he laughed and smiled a genuine grin.

I laughed. “Paint what?”

“Paint you!”

I blushed, my cheeks warm.

By Luis Graterol on Unsplash

It felt like a glowing sun was between us.

“Persephone… may I paint you?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

The next few days were the most fun I had ever had.

We stayed up late and talked and laughed and cried. He painted me in rich thick pinks and yellows and blues and I talked of Orpheus and his tragedy with his wife. I told him all about my life in the Underworld.

Then, we went through the city, going through the shops and watching the people go by. Adriano was so observant and always had an interesting thing to say of a stranger he’d see—-of something that no one else would notice. Of their character or of their body language.

It was raining one morning and everyone was scrambling to get inside. Not us. We started to dance in the rain.

Then—-it all changed.

I saw him.

I saw Matteo.

His almond shaped brown eyes, his warm smile….

Just a glimpse and he was gone.

When Adriano and I went back to his home, I excitedly told him.

“That is wonderful. You must go to him,” he said, but there was a sadness to his expression.

“Adriano, you are my most trusted confidant. I adore you,” My words came tumbling out. “Are you afraid I will not come back?”

He shook his head. “No, I want you to go to him. It’s just an oddity for me. I never imagined that I would have a real best friend. But, here you are.”

He hugged me tight. I hugged him back.

Then, we looked at each other.

“Persephone, I will always be alone. You must think that… that I fell in love. I did. With the thought of something that wasn’t true—-that I could be normal.” He sighed, his hand on his cheek. “I fell in love with hope.”

I looked at him confused. “Hope?”

He gently touched my cheek. “I fell in love with hope and you helped me see it through.”

“I do not understand.”

He nodded. “Persephone, I’m different. I’ve always been different. I kept it a secret my whole life. I do not feel like normal men…” he sighed. “I feel like both. A man and a woman. But… I was born a man. And…”

“I understand. I like you for who you are. And…You could not fall in love with me,” I said with a slow realization. “Because you don’t… you aren’t attracted to women?”

He looked at me softly, nodding. “I do love you. Like a sister.”

“But… you could fall in love with…” I smiled to myself.

I pictured Hades—his deep blue eyes. His scowl turned into a deep sigh. His poised posture turned into one of a tender hearted embrace.

“No one,” He answered.

“No, Adriano. I might have someone for you. Remember with my command, a mortal may enter our realm.”

He was confused now. I kissed his cheek and thanked him for everything he had done for me.

“I shall return, my very best companion,” I said.

“How much longer do you have on earth?” He asked.

“Only about five months left.”

“I hope you find your mother, too.”

We hugged again.

“Thank you. I hope you find true happiness,” I said.

“That is for the philosopher’s to find, my dear,” He teased. I chuckled.

I tracked my steps as we waved goodbye.

I walked about the city now, alone.

And I could not find him.

The crowds became more numerous.

I felt even more alone than ever.

I walked to a park. I sat near a pond.

I looked upon the water and felt the breeze hit my face and my hair.

Then, I heard a familiar voice.

“Persephone?”

I turn around.

It’s my mother!

She looked tired, but so happy.

We embraced and she held me so tight, kissing me on my face.

She took me to a new part of the city and we had tea and talked about everything.

“How is Hades treating you?” She asked me.

I smiled. My mother looked at me in a good sense of surprise.

“Good?”

I nodded. “Better. I have my autonomy.”

She nodded, sipping her tea. “That’s my girl.”

We had a long and luxurious lunch together. She told me of her harvests and of her time spent amongst the mortals. She told me of how, before I came here, things had been out of balance. Spring seemed to not ever want to appear. It was hot one day, and cold the next. The pond I had been sitting next to, had frozen over after weeks of warm weather.

She attributed it the Underworld’s decaying structure—-of the dilapidated ruins of our lives—-and the harrowing circumstances of how Hades and I have come to be.

Now, everything was normal and in full bloom. Rain has washed out the chaos, and the sun has come out.

I told her of Matteo and Adriano.

She wanted to help Adriano, too.

But—-first.

“My darling, I saw your Matteo. I will bring you to him,” my mother said. She kissed my hand.

I felt rejuvenated and alive—-and in that moment, I missed her more than ever even as she was right there with me.

We spent the day together, and I told her I would see her later, for dinner.

“With Matteo?” She said with a knowing smile. I nodded.

She led me to an old building that looked like a distillery or a winery.

She kissed my cheek and held me again, and whispered, “Be good, my little star-leaper.”

I grinned, gently going into the store.

It was then I saw him. His back was turned.

I went to the counter.

He looked slightly toward me. “Ma’am, I will be right with you.”

I smiled.

And he turned, and my heart thumped and trilled and sang.

He was utterly shocked.

“Per-Persephone?!”

I nodded. “Matteo!”

He jumped up on the counter and into my arms.

We embraced.

My soul that had felt on fire melted in a cool, gentle pool.

By Lee Jeffs on Unsplash

He kissed me suddenly with his hands on the sides of my face with a delicate warmth and passion I hadn’t felt in my life.

Once we settled and had our chance to catch up, I told him of Adriano, my new best friend. He was so happy that I had found a friend before we had reunited.

He told me he had been writing me letters and poems the whole time we had been apart. He dreamt of me every night.

I told him he was my dream.

He smiled. That was what he told me when we first met.

I told him subtly of Adriano’s longing and loneliness.

He nodded. “I have seen him around here. He doesn’t seem to… he seems sad.”

I nodded. “He is.”

“What do you think we can do?”

“I want to set him up.”

“With who?” Matteo asked, his face close to mine.

I kissed his nose.

“Someone even lonelier.” I smile. “My other friend. Hades.”

I concocted a plan. I wrote a message to Hades, with Matteo’s help.

They long for a free caress,

They are above average names and roles, yet respect the world at large

Your green light charging through, healing their patterned shadowed light.

A strange feeling—-a lonely feeling shared, a serene kiss, a golden-green heart of one.

Matteo showed me in the cave near the volcanic stream how to send off the note.

He responded:

No.

I felt a bit disappointed. Matteo told me not to give up.

I talked to Adriano. I asked him if he was interested. I expressed to him of the deep change in Hades. How he was caring and yet… deeply effected by his own self created doubt. He had anger in his heart for so long—-but it wasn’t really hatred. It was misplaced grief.

Cracks in places you cannot see, but you feel, Adriano said.

The look on my face must’ve been more than surprised because he laughed.

“I don’t think he likes humans,” he said finally.

“He is a hard sell,” I said, crinkling my nose.

He asked me what he enjoyed doing, and I told him gardening and riding his chariot.

He said, “I will send him a piece of myself, then. He does not like poetry.”

I was immediately impressed by my best friend’s initiative—-as he sent a vial of loamy potting soil, and Hades returned something back within three days.

A single, brilliant, golden marigold.

Adriano kissed it and sent it back to Hades.

They then arranged to meet in between the realms—-the golden flower between them.

I felt the summer of their growing affection in my heart. It made me feel luminous.

I kissed Matteo and we all planned the future of our immortal bridge between our worlds, a transcendent beam of all of our energies—-green and golden, blue and brilliant.

By Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

surreal poetry
22

About the Creator

Melissa Ingoldsby

I am a published author on Patheos.

I am Bexley is published by Resurgence Novels here.

The Half Paper Moon is available on Golden Storyline Books for Kindle.

My novella Carnivorous is to be published by Eukalypto soon! Coming soon

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