Chapter 9: Orion
"Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns, driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy." – The Odyssey
Ancient astronomers used to believe that the stars were immutable – celestial orbs permanently affixed to the heavens. They grouped them into constellations, gave them names and histories, and used them to track the movements of the planets across the sky. The unwavering steadiness of their motions gave those who looked upward some comfort in a world that was full of turmoil and uncertainty.
I had spent the past week avoiding all the places we had shared together. Not because I didn't want to see her, because I lived for the few moments where I could, even briefly, glance her passing by in the halls. My eyes would even linger longer than necessary over her name on the surgical board. No … I avoided those places – our places – because the thought of being next to her, without being able to hold her … well, I wasn't whole enough to withstand that kind of pain. Ironic. If I had the ability to be whole again, we could have still been together.
So, from time to time, when the sun takes leave for the day, I head upstairs to the roof and watch as constellations journey through the nighttime sky. I knew who it was before I even heard the footsteps approach – before she sat down close enough that I could smell the familiar scent of talcum powder and iodine, sandalwood and Shalimar. "You've been avoiding me," she states.
"I know."
"You don't have to do that."
"I know."
Sometimes words fail. But the heavens rarely do. I look up, and spot three familiar stars – aligned to form a perfect belt. "Do you know the story of Orion?" I ask.
Without waiting for a response, I continue on, "Orion was the son of Poseidon, the god of the seas. He was a hunter, as talented and skilled as any man alive. One day he hears a woman call out to him, 'Orion. Orion, turn around.' He turns and sees the most beautiful woman, whose skin was as luminous as the moon. She had dark, curly hair, and wore a silver tunic. She had a bow made of silver, and arrows tipped with pearl. And she says, 'I'm Artemis. I have never loved a man before, but I know that we were meant to be together.' And all at once, Orion loved her more deeply than he ever believed possible. Together they roamed the forests of the Greece.
"But then, Orion's pride led him to boast that he was so skilled a hunter that he could kill all the animals of the earth. Gaia, upon hearing this, was so infuriated with the man's arrogance, that she sent a giant scorpion to Orion, and ordered it to kill him. Even though he was a strong warrior, the battle was brief, and the scorpion delivered a deadly sting to Orion's ankle."
I turned to watch her expression and was surprised to find a hint of fury behind them. It was nowhere near the look of pity I was expecting to find. "You left out the last part of that story," she says.
I give her a questioning glance. "Orion dies from the scorpion's venom. What more is there to the story?"
"You left out the most important part," she says, as her words soften and she gazes back out at the constellation overhead. "Artemis comes back to find Hades claiming the body, and so she cries out to her father in despair. Zeus picks up Orion's body and places it in the sky, so that she could always be with him when she carried the moon across the heavens. He made Orion's stars the brightest so that Artemis would always be able to find him. And even though Zeus also placed the Scorpion into the sky as a reminder of mankind's own pride, Artemis moved the animal to the opposite side of the world. As one sets, the other one rises, so that the hunter and the hunted never cross paths. That's the important part."
She inches closer to me and places her head against my shoulder. Instinctively, my arm goes around her side, and for a few precious seconds, it's as if the past has been erased. "You're right," I tell her.
She looks at me and says, "I know."
AN: Dialogue's a little bit out of character, but couldn't resist.
Reviews are the wind beneath my wings. Thanks for all the wonderful responses.
