Thieves of Harmony

31' Persephone

I regained conciousness when I smelled someone smoking cigar. Autolycus. Siya lang naman ang kilala kong naninigarilyo, unless may iba akong kasama na hindi ko kilala.

Minulat ko ang mata ko, medyo nag-adjust pa sa liwanag. Nasaan ako?

This looks like the veranda kung saan ako dinala ni Autolycus noon, bago ko makita si Thanatos. So totoo, hindi nga ako nakakimot at nakaalala ako ng kaonti. I remembered him teaching the ways of each God, their strengths and weaknesses. Pero wala na akong naalala pa ulit.

Nakahiga pala ako sa isang couch dito, at si Lycus naman ay tinatanaw lang ang isla ni Dionysus. His eyes were squinted, at nagreflect ang araw sa kaniyang mga dilaw na mata.

He seems to have noticed me, kaya't lumingon siya sa'kin. His expression was dark, "Did you have so much fun with that man that you lost your conciousness? Baka napatay ka na roon kung hindi pa kita natagpuan, Melizabeth. I thought you wanted to become a Semideus?"

That man? Thanatos? Oh gods, he doesn't know that he is speaking of a god. Pero sabagay, isa naman siyang demigod. Hindi ko siya sinagot at ibinaling nalang ang tingin ko sa iba. Although his eyes are of a yellow color, parang napakadilim ng tingin niya. I'd better not look.

Nakita ko sa'kin peripheral vision na binato niya ang kaniyang sigarilyo. Nakatingin siya sa'kin at ramdam ko parin ang dilim ng titig niya. Gods, what's wrong with this man? He's making the atmosphere awkward.

May kinuha siyang baso doon sa mesa at inilahad niya iyon sa'kin, "At least drink water. Maya-maya ay magpapatawag na ng meeting si Dionysus, are you feeling good?"

Napatingin na ako sa kaniya ngayon. He still held a dark expression but it contradicted his words. Lol. Kinuha ko ang baso at nagpasalamat, "Yes, I think I'm okay."

Aminado akong masakit pa nang kaunti ang ulo ko, pero okay naman ako. At saka ano bang magagawa niya sa sakit ng ulo ko? I drank the water in one shot, at nagulat naman ako nang kuhanin agad ni Lycus mula sa'kin ang baso.

Nilapag niya iyon sa mesa, at inilahad ang isang tinapay bago umupo sa aking tapat. Tinanggap ko ang tinapay, ngunit napatanong din ako, "Ikaw ba? Nakakain ka na?"

Tinanguan lang niya ako, at ibinaling na ulit ang tingin sa view. Kumagat ako sa tinapay at napatingin na rin sa labas. Sa di kalayuan ay mayroong mga carriage na papunta rito. The one in the center was the biggest and grandest, is this another God?

Naubos ko ang tinapay kakamasid doon, pinanood namin ni Lycus ang paglapit nito sa'min.

Lycus coughed at ramdam kong lumingon sa'kin kaya't ibalik ko rin ang tingin sa kaniya, "There will be another battle, pwede bang alagaan mo ang sarili mo?" Sabi niya habang nakatingin na tila iritang-irita.

"Bakit ka ba naiirita? Edi sana hinayaan mo nalang ako roon kung maiirita ka lang pala sa'kin," sagot ko dahil naiinis na ako sa kaniya.

He scoffed, "I can't leave you alone for some reason, Melizabeth."

"And what might be that reason?" Tanong ko ngunit hiniwalay na niya ang kaniyang tingin sa akin. "Wala ka na doon."

Nag-igting ang kaniyang mga panga, at napalunok na rin siya. Napansin kong nakatingin na pala siya sa mga carriages na papunta rito, so I diverted my attention to those too.

"Those are Demeter's carriages. Tara na sa baba," wika niya sa'kin at tumayo.

Sumunod ako sa kaniya habang inuubos ang tinapay na binigay sa'kin ni Lycus.

I noticed that the other mortals are gone, at kaming mga totoong mga mortal na nais makapasa bilang semideus ang narito.

Autolycus came close to where Penthesilea is. Nagtanguan lang sila, samantala ningitian ko si Lea. She just looked at me, and did not bother to smile even a little.

Nahagip naman ng mata ko si Asclepius at Cassandra. Napatawa naman ako, they really looked like siblings and it seemed that Asclepius did not drink to watch Cassandra.
I strided to get close to them, at nag-apir kami ni Asclepius. He asked me agad, "Kamusta ka naman?"

I smiled brightly at him, "Never felt better!" Sabi ko nang unti-unti nang bumalik ang mga memorya. I also understood why Thanatos needed to make me forget those for a moment. It would be dangerous for me to hold those memories while in the mortal realm.

Napatingin kami nang biglang nagsalita si Dionysus mula sa itaas, "Sadly, from 28, may isang namatay sa inyo dahil nakainom siya ng depressant alcohol and it triggered her depression and anxiety. She committed suicide, kaya't 27 nalang kayo. Now, you'll be leaving my castle but I'll be giving you fifteen minutes to change your clothes into comfortable ones. My servants will give you one. Assemble here in fifteen mintes," sabi niya and waved his hand to dismiss us.
May lumapit naman sa'ming mga servants at dinala kami kung saan maaaring magpalit ng damit. The servant closed the door for me, at dali-dali naman akong nagpalit. I noticed it was a shirt with a symbol of Olympus in the side of the left chest. Ω

Hinawakan ko ito. This must be a tracker for us. Sinuot ko na rin ang makapal na leggings na ipinrovide ni Dionyus pati ang boots.

Lumabas na ako at ginuide naman uli ako ng servant pabalik sa hall. The hall looked clean na para bang walang naganap na party.

Kasabay ng pagdating ng lahat ay ang pagdating din ng Goddess of Harvest and Agriculture. Demeter.

Dionysus' doors opened for her and we all kneeled and bow at her presence.

"Rise, please," wika niya kaya't tumunghay na kaming lahat. Napansin ko ang malungkot niyang ngiti. She was quite old looking than any other gods. Probably in the look of late 30s or early 40s, not that old. But other gods looked around like they were in their late 20s or early 30s.

She had curly locks with her golden brown hair, and her eyes spoke of nature. Green with a hint of pink flowers. Sa likod niya ay may napansin akong isang babae, and I almost shrieked when I noticed her appearance similar to mine.

"Persephone," bulong ni Autolycus sa aking tabi, "Melinoe's mother, at kamukhang-kamukha rin ni Melinoe. But she is forgotten now, though."

Napasinghap ako. Our nose and lips and face shape looked similar, ang mata lamang ang hindi saka buhok. Her eyes were color blue, and her hair was like Demeter's.

Persephone is the Queen of Underworld, wife of Hades and goddess of the Spring, the persona of both life and death.

Kung kamukha ni Melinoe si Persephone, at kamukha ko rin siya, does it mean Melinoe and I look alike too?

But why? Isa lamang akong mortal.

Thieves of Harmony
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

Thank you for reading!