If I Had Words

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Chapter 71      Chapter 73

“What can I do, Harmonia?? I can’t just leave Psyche to face the Underworld alone. Mother has no right to send her there,” Eros said.

Harmonia sat watching him pace.

They were in Eros’s garden. It felt good to spend some time in his own home.

“It will be alright,” Harmonia said. 

He stopped in front of her.

“How?” Eros said, incredulous.

“Have you ever been to the Underworld?” Harmonia asked.

“No. None of us are allowed, not without a special invitation from Hades,” Eros said. “You know that.”

Harmonia smiled. 

“Yes. I know that. And I know as immortals, we will never face death. We never make it to the Underworld.” Harmonia said. “But one day, she will.”

The idea gave him pause.

“In the Underworld there are nightmares, monsters — plenty of things to fear,” she said. “But there are also loved ones, peace — and eternal rest. 

“It’s not all bad.”

“Admittedly, I hadn’t thought of that,” Eros said, calming slightly.

“We all must face certain things in life, Eros. There comes a time when our faith must be bigger than our fears,” Harmonia said. “Let your faith in Psyche be bigger than your fear for her.”

Harmonia stood.  

“I have faith in her,” Harmonia said. “I know she’ll go into the Underworld and come out again.”

“How do you know?” Eros said. “How do you have so much faith in her?”

“Didn’t you see how she faced each of her challenges? There were moments she was clearly afraid,” she said. “But she didn’t stop. She kept moving forward. 

“Even more amazing was that she was grateful for the help she received. She treated every living thing as if they were her friends. Souls like hers have nothing to fear in the Underworld.”

Eros knew Harmonia had to be right. Hades was fair and his kingdom wasn’t all bad. 

“Whatever is in the Underworld, Psyche needs to face it. It’s what will make her ready to be with you,” she said.

“She is ready to be with me,” Eros said. “She is wonderful and kind. She cares for everything around her. She inspires me to be better, to care more for others. I have no doubt everyone would love her as much as I do. If only Mother didn’t have this personal hatred towards her.” 

“Yes,” Harmonia frowned. “Mother is really quite set on punishing her and making her miserable.”

“Mother has done enough to punish Psyche. She shouldn’t have even been punished in the first place,” Eros said.

“You don’t think Psyche should have been punished for how the people worshiped her? She is mortal. Don’t you think it would have been wrong to let them go on worshipping her like that?” Harmonia said.

Eros thought for a moment.

“In all the time I observed Psyche, their kind of worship for her was different. The people saw her as a kind of helper,” Eros said. “Mortals struggle a great deal with life and Psyche seemed to make them stronger and better able to bear their challenges.” 

“But what about their tokens? Their shrine?” Harmonia said. 

Eros conjured some flowers in his hand and gave them to her.

“Tokens and gifts are just a display of gratitude,” Eros said. 

Harmonia considered the bouquet.

“I guess that makes sense,” Harmonia said. “But it can easily be corrupted. It can easily turn into gifts of requests and attributing the work of the gods to Psyche. That would be wrong.” 

“Yes, true,” Eros said, pacing again. “But that wasn’t of Psyche’s making. That is the frailty of mortals. They don’t understand the ways of the gods.”  

“Hence why Mother needed to teach them,” Harmonia said. 

“But who received the punishment? Psyche did. Not her worshippers,” Eros said. 

“Are you suggesting the worshippers should have been punished?” Harmonia said.

“I don’t know — I feel that Mother didn’t punish Psyche to teach people not to worship mortals,” he said. “I feel that Mother simply punished Psyche out of jealousy. 

“In truth, I have done Mother’s bidding more than once. In those moments she rarely acted because of her goddess-like qualities. She doesn’t ask me to bless a happy couple or relieve the pain of a loveless marriage. She has asked me to avenge her. She asked me to cause disruption among the gods for her own personal reasons.” 

“Like Demeter and Persephone,” Harmonia said, nodding.

Eros bowed his head. 

“I had always been quite happy to do Mother’s bidding before. Why should I care how my power is used as long as it’s bringing more love into the world. But now I see that I have gifts which are worth protecting. I should use them more carefully,” he said. 

Harmonia eyed her brother. 

“You’ve really changed,” she said. 

“It’s Psyche,” he said. “She — she has helped me see both of our worlds differently.”

“She’s right for you,” Harmonia said. 

It felt good to have someone willing to see Psyche as more than just a blasphemous mortal.  

“Thank you, Harmonia,” Eros said, with genuine emotion. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” 

“Phobos and Deimos have turned out to be pretty helpful too, haven’t they?” she said with a smile, walking a bit around the garden too and smelling the flowers from Eros’s bouquet. 

“Yeah,” he said. “I never thought I would say this, but I kind of wish they could at least go with her.”

He smiled, envisioning his brothers clearing a path for Psyche in the Underworld. 

“Not what you expected, is it?” Harmonia said. “And the same will be with Psyche. You’ll see.” 

“You’re right,” he said. “You always are.” 

“It’ll be alright,” she said. 

“I hope so,” Eros said.

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