If I Had Words

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Chapter 76      Chapter 78

“It’s been long enough, Mother,” Eros said, entering his mother’s sitting room. “Where is Psyche?” 

Aphrodite shrugged.

“She must need more time in the Underworld,” Aphrodite said casually. “Who am I to speed up the process? And anyway, she’s in Hades’s hands now. It’s his realm and there’s nothing I can do.”

Eros glared at his mother. 

This was her plan from the beginning.

“Send word if you hear from her,” Eros demanded. 

He spread his wings. No use wasting time talking to his mother. 

He would look for Psyche himself.

Eros landed near the crack in the ground, leading to the Underworld. 

Where could she be? What was taking so long? 

True, time moved differently in the Underworld, but it was not all that different from the realm of the gods. 

Eros concentrated on the crack leading down. 

Something didn’t feel right.

“Zephyr!” Eros called. 

He felt the Wind reach the mountaintop. 

“Have you seen Psyche?” Eros asked.

Zephyr had seen Psyche emerge.

Eros let out a sigh of relief. 

“Do you know where she is now?” he asked.

The Wind quickly left and returned. 

This way

Eros followed Zephyr as he led the way to Psyche. 

Something in the way the Wind guided Eros made him feel uneasy. Was she hurt? Tired? Needed help somehow?

He worried as he scanned the landscape, following close behind Zephyr. 

There! He could see her!

She was laying under the shade of a tree. She must have fallen asleep from the strain of the journey. 

She had walked quite far. Why had Mother made her walk?? The thought of his mother made him angry. 

This was her fault. 

He landed close to Psyche, keeping enough distance so he wouldn’t disturb her. He didn’t want her to fail her final task by interfering.  

Eros tried to see what she was doing. Something didn’t feel right. 

“Zephyr, can you see anything?” Eros asked.

The Wind passed over Psyche and returned. 

“Dead?” Eros said in horror, looking intently at her. “That can’t be.”

Still invisible, Eros cautiously approached her. She lay peacefully on her side, not breathing. The color in her cheeks was gone. 

She had made it out of the Underworld. She’d come this far. It didn’t make sense. 

“Get Harmonia,” Eros commanded. Then, softening, he added, “Thank you, old friend.”

The Wind nodded and whipped away.

Eros stood silent for a moment, looking at Psyche. Her body was still scratched and bruised from her tasks. Some of them looked a bit better. 

What was that smell??

Eros shook off his invisibility, taking on the appearance of the same grey-haired man he had been in her village. It somehow felt more comfortable.

He needed to think. He started pacing. 

Psyche had clearly completed the third task and was on her way back. 

What had happened?

He stepped onto the trail and looked up and down. Had she encountered some travelers along the way? Other mortals who did her harm?

He turned back and looked at where Psyche lay.

Maybe she had just been tired and sat down to rest on the rock? She had removed her shoes. She must have been tired. 

He walked over to her and looked for more clues.

He saw the box. 

It lay open beside her.

He bent down and picked it up. 

Was this the box Aphrodite had given her? 

“What happened?” Harmonia said behind him. 

Eros turned.

“She made it out, but something went wrong,” he said.

Harmonia stood, taking in the scene. 

She thought for a moment.

“What was Psyche’s last task — specifically?” Harmonia asked.

“To get some of Persephone’s beauty, I think,” Eros said. 

“And bring it back in this box?” Harmonia asked, taking the box from Eros and examining it.

“I would assume so,” Eros said.

“How did you find it?” Harmonia said.

“Open and on its side,” Eros said.

“Do you think she opened it?” Harmonia asked.

“She must have,” Eros said. “But why would that kill her?”

“Beauty can be painful sometimes,” Harmonia said, hoping Eros wouldn’t be offended by her joke. “But Psyche is mortal. Maybe Persephone’s beauty was too much for her.” 

Eros looked at Psyche. He couldn’t think of any woman, goddess or mortal, who looked more beautiful. 

Eros shook off the appearance of the old man, revealing his true self. 

If Psyche was really dead, that meant the trial was over. 

She had failed. 

He knelt down beside Psyche. 

He felt so sorry; sorry for everything. He hadn’t had enough time. There was still so much they could have done together. Plenty of things before the Fates made her go to the Underworld.

He felt his heart breaking.  

Why hadn’t he married her for all the world to see? Why hadn’t he been strong enough to stand up to his mother? 

Psyche was unlike any woman he’d ever known. She wasn’t consumed by vanity. She couldn’t care less about finery and jewels. She found delight in little things. She was happy to help and join in the work.

She had worked so hard and had endured so much to satisfy his mother’s demands.

He felt tears coming to his eyes as he remembered how she’d cradled the ant in her hand, making a friend who could help her. She was so wonderful in how she could so easily win any creature’s heart. 

She had won his heart. 

“We have to do something,” Eros pleaded. “This can’t be the end. There must be something, something we can do.

“Please, Harmonia. I love her.”

Harmonia thought for a moment.

“Take her to Zeus,” she said. “Tell him everything. I’ll meet you there.”

Eros stood up. 

“What are you going to do?” Eros asked.

“I’m going to talk to Athena. Some things don’t make sense. She might be able to help me understand,” Harmonia said. 

Eros took Psyche into his arms, leaning her head against his chest.

It was so strange holding her lifeless body.

“Everything turns out as it should,” Harmonia reassured him. “This is not the end.”

He hoped so. 

As Harmonia disappeared to find Athena, Eros took courage. 

Eros spread his wings and with a sudden burst flew up, high into the clouds. 

He paused for a moment, suspended in the clearness and freshness of the air. He looked at Psyche, resting against him. She looked so peaceful.   

This would not be the end — not if he could help it. 

With that, he shot across the sky with surprising speed towards Mount Olympus. 

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