For Persephone

Chapter 15 – The Absence of Death

“It’s in the works. Sorry for being late, Kharon. Zeus called for Ares yesterday. I managed to find a drunken man lying on the battlefield, but it didn’t seem like he was going to sober up. So, I just stuffed the message in his pocket and came straight here.”

He calmly answered Kharon, like it was no big deal that a girl was dangling from his cane; a two-headed snake crawling into the shape of a cane around the girl’s waist.

“If your task isn’t even finished, then what did you come here to do?” Kharon grumbled but the man didn’t reply.

Instead, he stared at her with a small smile on his face that revealed his dimples, he collected his cane and greeted her.

“Good evening.”

“Good as a load of shit.” Kharon sneered and huffed.

Persephone stared at the innocent looking young man. A man flying around with a two-headed snake cane. Persephone couldn’t think of anything to say to him. But then she all words left her mind anyway, stunned by Kharon’s next words.

“You’re going to leave it up to a drunk in a time like this, Hermes?”

Hermes? Persephone’s knees shook. Hermes was Zeus’ messenger and was a famous trickster among the twelve gods of Olympus.

He had visited the island a couple of times when she was on the island. Demeter hid Persephone from all outsiders. So, whenever he visited, Persephone would either stay in her room or steal a glimpse of him standing with her mother. Her heart raced as she panicked. What if he finds out and tells her mother?

“My disciple Autolycus was the right choice, though the drinking is no doubt a problem.”

“Pathetic thieving son of a bitch himself is a problem.”

Unfortunately, Hermes turned his attention to her and asked Kharon, “Who is our guest?”

“A leech.”

She turned to him indignantly, crossing her arms. “Kharon, why do you always use such profanity towards me?”

“Because you’re a poor, stupid witch.”

Hermes giggled at the two arguing with each other and shook his head. After a while, he blurted out, “By the way, have we met before? Somewhere else?”

“No.” Persephone quickly denied.

“I think we have. I have a good memory, you know.”

“I’m sure we haven’t.”

“Oh, yeah? Your voice sounds awfully familiar.”

Persephone didn’t know if it was a compliment to the gods who haven’t been blessed with forgetfulness, but Hermes prided himself on having better memory than any other god. It turned out that he wasn’t a human being, and of course nor was he dead—though how good it would be if Hermes were dead. Then the current chaos would have been resolved—he seemed to have flown directly into the underworld unlike the others.

“How did you make your way to the underworld? What’s your business here?”

Embarrassment began to spread over Persephone’s face, but Kharon’s hot temper helped her out for a change.

“So, are you going to cross or not?” Kharon asked Hermes impatiently.

“Oh, I’m certainly going to cross. We need to discuss the arising issue during Thanatos’ absence.”

A jingling sound rose from Hermes’ waist as he pulled some coins from his pocket. Persephone stared at his pocket in a trance. Of course, he was rich. Hermes felt a burning gaze on himself, and looked back at her, handing Kharon a gold coin.

Their gazes locked vacantly.

*

The gods didn’t doubt their omnipotent powers, and each of them knew that it was forbidden to violate one another’s territory. Among them, only a few invaded the underworld, for the gods respect the greatest difference between humans and themselves; and that was immortality. Sometimes they put aside logic or discipline for a while and helped each other, though it was very odd.

Like sometimes when Hades was in the mood, he would send the dead back to the earth. But Zeus and some other petty tricksters started an ‘immortal human situation’ this time.

Sisyphus, King of Corinth, did something that was probably the most ridiculous thing anyone has ever done. He was a witness to Zeus’ kidnapping of Aegina, the daughter of Asopus, the god of the river.  As soon as Asopus discovered his daughter’s absence, he searched for her far and wide.  Taking advantage of the father’s desperation, Sisyphus offered him a deal. He said he would tell him where his daughter was in return for a spring on the Corinthian Acropolis.

After Asopus did what he wanted, Sisyphus revealed that she had been kidnapped by Zeus. The god of river, who had lost all reason in the concern for his daughter’s safety, dared to revolt against Zeus. But of course, a furious Zeus saw no reason like always and struck Asopus with a bolt of his lightning, sending him back to the river, weakened and paralyzed.

Then he had turned his canon of fury towards Sisyphus who had ratted him out. Only this time, he didn’t think of the consequence of punishing him at all and borrowed the power of underworld without Hades’ consent.