At first, he couldn't grasp Proteus' words. "This is impossible" he thought and didn't want to believe it. But then the news seemed more and more real.

Menelaus felt unable to stand on his feet, so he slowly fell down to the sand.

"It couldn't happen, this is impossible" he said.

He buried his face in his trembling hands, tears began to flow down from his eyes, and he burst into sobs.

He was thinking about the last converstation with his brother, Agamemnon. And it wasn't a good memory.

—

It happend on the last day at Troy, 7 years before, shortly after the fall of the city. He and Agamemnon quarreled with each other. Some poets tell, that he, the Mighty Zeus or his daughter, Athena, goddess of Wisdom made the brothers argue, as a punishment for the crimes of the Greek army, but the reality is much more prosaic: all the tension, pain and anger what had built up over ten years, burst out of them. They shouted in Menelaus' tent.

"You want to leave, without sacrificing to Athena and Zeus? Thousands of men died in that war, because of your honor, we were fighting for ten long years, and now you just want to leave, and you can't stay until we present the sacrifice to the gods. How selfish are you?"

Agamemnon yelled.

"I don't understand why we hope for the favor of the gods, after the crimes, what our army had done." said Menelaus quietly. His hands were clemched into fists, and he looked at his brother with a burning gaze.

Menelaus didn't remember what his brother had answered, but he remembered clearly at one sentence, what he said to Agamemnon.

"You are as cruel and hateful as you have always been! Just like in our childhood!"shouted Menelaus. He didn't remember, what he had reflected to, or why he said this, but he could recall his brother's reaction clearly.

He saw the pain on Agamemnon's face, and Menelaus knew that this was too hurtful and cruel of him, but at that moment, he was too angry to comprehends it. They both fell silent. There was silence for a few minutes. And Agamemnon spoke up:

"All right. Good luck on your return home. I won't detain you any longer!"- said suprisingly quietly, and then he left the tent.

The next day, Menelaus left, without saying goodbye to his brother. During the long journey to home, he had a lot of time to think. He knew that his last sentence wasn't fair. Agamemnon wasn't hateful or cruel. Not with him. During their childhood, his brother always tried to protect Menelaus from their father. Atreus was a merciless and angry man, and when Agamemnon and Menelaus were children, they watched the bloody fight for the throne between their father, and their uncle, Thyestes. And Agamemnon had to grow up early to protect his little brother. After their father's death, when Thyestes seized power in Mycenae, they had to flee. That's why he became the way he was. He had to be tough.

During the seven years he spent in exile in Egypt due to the shipwreck, Menelaus didn't think about that converstation. Until now.

—

"You are as cruel and hateful as you have always been! Just like in our childhood!"

While sitting in the sand sobbing, these sentences echoed in Menelaus' head. He didn't mean it. He was just too angry, and tired.

He loved his older brother dearly, and didn't want to hurt him. He felt deep down in his soul that Agamemnon had known this, but the news of his brother's death, and the memory of their last converstation was more than he could bear now. And now, he won't have the chance to tell him that he regrets what he said. He can never embrace his brother again, and they can never hunt together like they did, when they were children.

Just like in their childhood…

Seeing his pain, Proteus, God of the Sea felt pity on him. He remained silent for a while, and let Menelaus mourn. Then he said:

"Don't weep that bitterly, Son of Atreus, that's no help to us. Get a hold of yourself. You still have a long way to go home."