Chapter 22

Persephone

I found a small shed full of neglected tools. A few of them were rusting, but most were in good enough shape. It was an easy matter to make them usable again.

I spent the rest of the day trimming branches, pulling weeds, watering flowers, and feeding the soil. Not a soul - living, dead, or immortal - disturbed me as I did this. It surprised me, but I welcomed the change from Hades's constant, unwanted presence. I put all my focus and effort into the garden.

Using my powers, it would have only taken a moment to wave a hand and all the plants would have sprung up, fully grown and thriving. I had never liked working that way, however. It felt like cheating, and I didn't feel the same sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that usually came. So, I worked by hand.

By the time the day was over, I was covered from head to toe in dirt, my hair was coming loose of the braid I had put it in, and my cheeks were flushed. But I was happier than I had been for days. The only real downside to it all was the way my stomach was constricting and my throat burned from thirst.

Would it really be such an awful thing, I tried to reason with myself, if I took one sip of water?

The thought of the cool water running down my throat weakened my resolve. I hadn't had water for so long…. I actually started to reach out my hand toward the water barrel.

No! I came to my senses abruptly. I could not do this no matter what. If I gave in, that would mean he had won. I couldn't bring myself to let him win, not yet. Besides, I still didn't trust him, not completely anyway. Why was he so insistent that I eat when he knew I was immortal? I found it suspicious. Again, as it had so many times before, Mother's warning to never eat food from a stranger came into my mind.

I will do as you say, Mother. I didn't listen to you before, and now look what's happened to me. Tears began to fall from my eyes as I thought, with bitter regret, about my ignorant insistence to defy my mother. I wouldn't be here if I had just done as you said.

As the torches began to darken, I hurried to my rooms to get some sleep and to distract myself from thinking about food or what could have been.

Sleep brought no reprieve. Nightmares crawled in from the darkest parts of my mind and tormented my dreams. I awoke from one covered in sweat and gasping for air. I had dreamed that I was being burned alive, alone in the dark, but surrounded by wicked laughter. The pain had been so vivid, I had thought it was real.

The dreams became so terrifying, it was more draining to sleep than to stay awake. I tried to lay there without sleeping, but my own undistracted thoughts provided the waking nightmares for me. I could hear, over and over again, the howls of the Furies. Their hellish faces leered at me from every shadow.

Somehow, amid my agitated tossing and turning, I saw the necklace Hades had given me. I remember what he had said about it bringing the wearer peace. I didn't really place any trust in his words, but I was desperate for anything that even might work. Besides, hadn't I worn it once before? Nothing dreadful had happened then. I put the necklace on.

It very well could have been my own mind convincing me that I felt more at peace. But whatever it was, there was a difference. Enough of a difference that I could get some sleep.

Even so, my newfound serenity couldn't stop my already slim frame from starting to become almost skeletal as the days went by. My eyes became hollow and dark, and my hair began to lose its shine. My skin was so pale, I often fancied that I was slowly becoming a ghost. I lived among them, so I was already halfway there.

I spent the majority of my time in the garden. The garden comforted me in a way I had longed for. Although, I was careful to keep myself from thinking about drinking the water. The work helped distract me from that, as well as from my agonizing thoughts.

As I worked, the small plot of land transformed from an overgrown maelstrom to a glorious bower. Roses and honeysuckle climbed up a tumbling stone arch, giving it a romantic look. The low wall that ran around the perimeter now had neat rows of strawberries growing next to it. Bluebells, snowdrops, violets, and lavender grew in their own tidy beds. A lilac bush grew in one corner and a pomegranate tree in another. In between them was a low stone bench. Up above was a ceiling of jewels, scattering and reflecting light until it was like the stars in the heavens. It truly was a beautiful sight to behold.

Those days became some of the happiest that I had spent in the Underworld.