Leaving me wondering about what he meant he disappeared, soon appearing at the door. I realized a bit late by the stillness he stood there with, that he was waiting for me.
Jumping off, I followed behind his now retreating form.
Four guards flanked us while the people in the corridors made themselves scarce against the wall, breaths rarely inhaled. Noting familiar faces, I waved with enthusiasm.
They did not wave back immediately, only after Hades' passing did they greet me with smiles. Standing out in the crowd with her fiery hair framing her heart-shaped face stood one of the friendliest in the palace.
When our eyes met, she waved like crazy and I returned it with equal excitement. Unlike everyone else, Hades seemed to have gone completely overlooked. The sight of her rosy cheeks turning a deeper shade of red when she finally noticed the intimidating God was hilarious to me.
Giving me the stink eye from my giggles on her account, she huffed turning her head away. With an apologetic smile, I said I would meet her very soon.
When the exit, came into view the guards deviated commissioning themselves on either side of the wall.
The coolness of air gave me comfort and a time gap for inhaling the breath I was about to lose. Wonderstruck I stared at a black chariot, an extraordinary one beautified by jewels, but the three jet black stallions hitched to it was what blew my mind a mile and half away.
Bigger and stronger than the horses on earth, these four-legged creatures exuded a majestic and regal air.
What wouldn't I do to have one of them? I want all of them!!
Common sense warned me that if they were his horses, they mustn't be famous for getting cozy with strangers. And so I watched from afar as their long mane fluttered in the soft winds, their agitation and anticipation for their hooves to speed through rocky lands.
"Have you decided to stay there?" My dream of riding one towards an unknown destiny, was cruelly brought to an end.
I was taken aback for a moment, my mind fixating on the image of the God holding onto the reins and the beautiful apathetic eyes of his. It felt as if I was admiring a priceless painting. To make up for the lack of a reply, I asked while getting on.
"What are their names?"The cold void of amber eyes looked back at me.
"Orphnaeus, Aethon, Nycticebus, and Alastor." He pointed at them starting from his left and each neighed in recognition of their names.
With a warning, he pulled on the reins setting them into motion. "Don't burden me by falling off."
I mentally translated it to "Hold on".
I felt myself leaning back when the chariot took off the ground, the horses galloping in thin air. Santa Claus!
Hades is Santa Claus? An evil good looking Santa Claus?
No words could describe the beauty of the new world I witnessed from here. The night sky was lit up with numerous stars, ones which put the blazing sun to shame. They showed like jewels embedded in a dark piece of silk.
The underworld not all pits and fires it seems.
Making sure Hades wasn't paying attention to his 'burden', I spread my hands and instantly small chills ran through my body soon soothing out. I imagined myself with a long, pointed nose and in a green jumpsuit.
With a perfect evil laugh, I would be perfect as the Dark Santa's sidekick, the evil elf. The cute evil elf.
In a feathery touch, the chariot landed and Hades got off first. His extended hand froze me in place, the heavenly being patiently awaiting my hand.
"It's okay I have jumped higher heights than this." I bragged jumping off myself. My feet, unlike most other times, didn't give up on me.
I waited, looking around as he patted each of his horses and then lead the way not uttering a word of explanation where we were headed.
This gave me time to come up with my own guesses.
Number one: Taking me back to earth because he was fed off me and my questions.
Number two: Taking me to the prisons to warn me of the consequence of succeeding in irritating him. The second gave me goosebumps and smoky opaque barrier a few feet away made it scarier.
"For you to pass through, you would have to hold my hand." He informed. I stared at him waiting for him to hold out his hand and when he didn't, I realized it was revenge.
Huffing and puffing, I silently cursed him for his childishness, but still entwined my hand with his. I closed my eyes letting him lead me, the barrier like cold water running down your body.
When I opened my eyes I was in a meadow. The temperature was ambient and the flower-perfumed air was alive with the song of birds and beetles. I could hear a gentle tinkle and splash nearby, and when I walked forward leaving his hand I was near a large stream of perfectly clear water running over a rocky bed.
On closer inspection, I noticed that the river was teeming with plump silverfish and there were signs of otters burrowing in the soft earth banks. When I looked up to the sky he I saw two-morning stars, one like the sun and the other like the moon.
In the sky where the lovers finally met, they burned neither outshining the other.
Tall water-mint with pale lilac flowers, like dozens of tiny bells, were growing at the edge of the river and to my right, I saw a town. I looked for Hades and I found him already heading in the direction.
I broke into a run, relishing the feeling of the grass against my legs. Running down like I did, I couldn't slow down beside Hades and ran straight onto paved roads.
To my confusion none of the people walking by noticed me even when I offered them a smile or wave. This is not earth.
Where am I?
I looked closer at the people around, finding them all in their youthful days and healthy glow of contentment and happiness. Not a single frown or scowl was seen. When I took a step forward, the scenery changed, a young boy sat back laughing with his father under a willow tree.
The only thing out of place in that garden was the road I stood on. I moved aside when a lady carrying cookies walked towards the two. It seemed I was invisible to them.
This lead to me finding myself in a purely white kitchen and a girl around my age tried her hand in cooking.
Her complains upon failure was replaced with a smile when a small hand tugged at her apron, the child's face smudged with the cream of the ruined cake that he dug into.
I tripped over the small stool placed near the kitchen counter. I fell onto my back in the process, watching the room blur into a high school classroom.
I got up dusting off and immediately looked away on finding a young couple indulge themselves in a kiss. Looking down, I saw the same road I started upon, and it ran past the walls of the classroom.
Having a little understanding of how it works, I stepped forward. Into a wide grassland and the amber eyes of a God looked back at me. "Where are we?"
"Paradise."
"Come over." He told me from far of in the distance, but I was afraid if I were to take the next step he would disappear, and that I would find myself somewhere else.
I could only nod when I made up my mind. The step I took brought me the busy roads of Paris, the Eiffel tower standing tall in the morning sun. But the amber-eyed God remained.
The panic subdued and, I broke into a run. The background blurred into an abstract painting in multi-colors, and my feet never stopped to linger, and peak into another's life.
When I came closer, he reached out his arm and held me by my wrist. With a gentle tug pulled me out into the meadows we came upon initially. Looking back I saw the same youthful town I saw before.
"If we are in Paradise, what was it that I saw?" I asked, the adrenaline still pumping-strongly through my veins.
"Regrets." He calmly said and not letting go of my hand took me for a stroll in the buzzing streets which longer changed forms. We were invisible to them and they merely passed through us air oon contact.
I thought back to the scenes I saw, and none of them felt like they could be something that could lead to regrets and resentments.
He took notice of my confusion and went on the clear them. "When a soul enters the Underworld, they go through their trial. Those deemed worthy if desired can rewrite a memory, one that could redeem them of regret and guilt before they drink from the waters Lethe the river of forgetfulness."
"The river of Oblivion," I have heard of it before. "Will lose their memory?" I asked.
The shadow formed by his long lashes animated the ambers as his face tilted to look at me. "Yes."
" How long can we live in that reality that we make? Can we live in forever?"
"Many stretch out each second, but no it cannot last forever even though there is no time limit. People have many regrets to count when living but at your last breath there will be only a few, that matters the most. When the burden is lifted you learn to let go."
"These people." I looked around watching them with their faces filled with laughter and content.
"Are they the ones who forgot." It soon turned out to be a question when I saw a couple walking hand in hand and some children playing down the streets with their parents overlooking.
He nodded. "Sometimes our fates are so intertwined that even in oblivion they never part."
"Hunger, poverty, sadness or hatred holds no meaning here." Suddenly, I found myself sitting over a hill overlooking the flourishing valley, the view stretching out far beyond what the eyes could see.
"This is what I want to protect, it's what's worth suffering, and my answer to you." Looking down at his Kingdom, his face shown with something brighter than the light.
What the night sky looks like.
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