Echoing Our Song

by lalalei

'And I am not alone; I hear the rocks and stones echoing our song...' A series of 100 drabbles/short pieces based on the 'Hadestown100' prompt list, inspired by all versions of Hadestown. Complete!

89. Muse

Muse

Orpheus didn't remember much about his mother, but Hermes knew quite a bit. The Muse Calliope was renowned for her beautiful voice and poetry, and her stories never failed to charm a smile out of the messenger god. Like her sisters, she lived moment-to-moment and never seemed to stand still, free like a bird with its upsides and downsides.

It was tough for a Muse to admit times were hard and only getting harder. Her days were often spent singing of the good times on carefree adventures, inspiring art wherever she traveled.

But when her latest outing took her away from Orpheus for days at a time with no food to show for it when she returned, Calliope knew she couldn't keep him. Hermes, with his bar and shelter and a promise of food and drink, would be better equipped to care for her son.

And so the Muse Calliope handed Orpheus over, her songs drifting away on the wind. She carried the hope that, should her son find a muse of his own, they'd stay with him no matter how hard things were.