For Persephone
Chapter 1 - He Has Found Me
Chapter 1 – He Has Found Me
It was a night where thousands of Nyx’s eyes flickered above the horizon.
Persephone, who suddenly felt chills, opened her eyes and looked out the window. The forest was immersed in the shadows of the night. It was silent beyond the tightly closed door. A brief thought passed on how heavy the surveillance from the nymphs would be, and whether it would be possible to sneak out. However, the reluctance that resulted from the wary consideration was brief and the cloak was within reach.
Persephone, wearing a cloak dexterously, crawled under the bed and carefully pulled “it” out from the box. Then she sneaked out through the back door. She did not feel the presence of the nymphs.
Unlike the daytime, the forest at night gave a strange feeling as if anything can be lurking within. When looking at the trail wrapped in the spooky air, humans get a feeling as if they are looking at a path they have entered for the first time in their life. It especially felt like that today.
A strange feeling raised the nerves of her whole body.
She lifted the lamp and looked around. The fallen leaves and the shadows of the branches made it look like the trees were rushing at her with their mouths wide open. The usual sound of waves coming from the distance sounded as if it was sneering at her.
Persephone opened the front yard fence and stepped out as her eyes caught, through the sticky darkness, a yellow Narcissus lying on the ground.
Narcissuses weren’t a common blooming species on the island, but a rare flower that could be seen very occasionally when seeds that were tired of flying in the arms of Notus and Boreas took root. Why would it be here?
Her favorite flowers.
A faint smile hung on the lips of Persephone, who picked up the flower and smelled it. She saw another flower a little further on and approached it as if something possessed her. She began to think something was off as she continued picking up the flowers.
Another one, and another one…
‘…What could it be?’
Persephone, preciously holding onto six or seven narcissuses, went off the road and ended up in a small vacant lot inside the forest.
As she bowed down to pick up the last Narcissus that stood out, her ears pricked at an abrupt change in the harmonious symphony of nature.
Rustles.
Her yellow eyes went wide as she went into a state of alert.
Persephone stood calmly and looked around. There were only branches and forest trees with drooping leaves everywhere. Her throat went dry and her heart was beating rapidly.
“…Naiads? Cyane? Or is it Arethusa? Did you follow me?”
Symphony of nature returned, as the deviations were gone. Only the screams of the wind that scratched the forest and the mocking sounds of the waves could be heard.
Persephone threw away the Narcissus bunch she had collected as she ran out onto the trail, but got caught by a grasp that came out of nowhere.
Her scream never left her mouth.
Clink, clank.
She heard the sound of the Cap of invisibility rolling across the grasses and stones.
Her mouth was shut, and her eyes were instantly covered. It only took a few seconds for ‘the invisible goddess’ to become ‘the goddess who can’t see’.
The hand, clasped onto her chin and covering her mouth, belonged to a man, she realized. Persephone did not know how to deal with this strange situation as she had never experienced it before. She began to move vigorously to free herself but it was too late.
“Ugh, arghh!”
This was the most secret and safe place on earth that Demeter, her mother, had achieved. It should have been. Living for several decades on this island, she had never seen a ship of humans passing by, and very occasionally, only the gods who ride the wind like a sleigh would pass by. It was an island with no entrance nor exit.
She tried pushing with her feet, shook her head to somehow free herself from the cloth that covered her eyes, but the hands that tied the cloth were too strong.
“Who, who the…!!”
Then she felt the man’s hand grab her hair.
“Ahh! Ahhhh! Stop it!”
Persephone, whose head was forced back, felt the teeth of a man nibbling on her neck, then her body stiffened up.
Her mother’s voice passed by, in her head.
-The world outside the island is not full of great adventures, faith, and happiness like your imagination… A day doesn’t go by without warmongers who are swept away by Ares’ trickery fight, and those like Zeus are scattered all over the earth and will make you frown… When I think of him, I see goosebumps all over my body…. How can I send you out to such a world knowing that you, my daughter, would suffer?
As if mocking her puny attempt to turn over her body somehow, strong arms pulled her waist towards him.
-During the day the island is completely yours, and at night… it’s like the inside of a sneaky, cunning liar’s mouth.
“Hush―” The first thing the ‘man’ has said was an order.
“Demeter hid you away so well…I had a lot of trouble finding you.”
Persephone’s cloak was removed as if it had been ripped off.
And her shoulders shivered mercilessly as a cold spell hit her. The man’s chest was up against hers, and in an instant, the hem of her robe was lifted to her belly. Right then, she could recognize his voice.
“Persephone, Persephone.”
Persephone, the way her called her name.
The way his tongue slid up her neck.
“Why are you acting like a scared sheep? Didn’t you say you were not afraid?”
And the way he mocked her. She knew all of it.
She got goosebumps all over her body. The fear that she was taken captive, unable to see anything while disappearing without a trace, and for a reason different from before, her heart began pounding.
“He has found me.”
It was a night where thousands of Nyx’s eyes flickered above the horizon.
Persephone, who suddenly felt chills, opened her eyes and looked out the window. The forest was immersed in the shadows of the night. It was silent beyond the tightly closed door. A brief thought passed on how heavy the surveillance from the nymphs would be, and whether it would be possible to sneak out. However, the reluctance that resulted from the wary consideration was brief and the cloak was within reach.
Persephone, wearing a cloak dexterously, crawled under the bed and carefully pulled “it” out from the box. Then she sneaked out through the back door. She did not feel the presence of the nymphs.
Unlike the daytime, the forest at night gave a strange feeling as if anything can be lurking within. When looking at the trail wrapped in the spooky air, humans get a feeling as if they are looking at a path they have entered for the first time in their life. It especially felt like that today.
A strange feeling raised the nerves of her whole body.
She lifted the lamp and looked around. The fallen leaves and the shadows of the branches made it look like the trees were rushing at her with their mouths wide open. The usual sound of waves coming from the distance sounded as if it was sneering at her.
Persephone opened the front yard fence and stepped out as her eyes caught, through the sticky darkness, a yellow Narcissus lying on the ground.
Narcissuses weren’t a common blooming species on the island, but a rare flower that could be seen very occasionally when seeds that were tired of flying in the arms of Notus and Boreas took root. Why would it be here?
Her favorite flowers.
A faint smile hung on the lips of Persephone, who picked up the flower and smelled it. She saw another flower a little further on and approached it as if something possessed her. She began to think something was off as she continued picking up the flowers.
Another one, and another one…
‘…What could it be?’
Persephone, preciously holding onto six or seven narcissuses, went off the road and ended up in a small vacant lot inside the forest.
As she bowed down to pick up the last Narcissus that stood out, her ears pricked at an abrupt change in the harmonious symphony of nature.
Rustles.
Her yellow eyes went wide as she went into a state of alert.
Persephone stood calmly and looked around. There were only branches and forest trees with drooping leaves everywhere. Her throat went dry and her heart was beating rapidly.
“…Naiads? Cyane? Or is it Arethusa? Did you follow me?”
Symphony of nature returned, as the deviations were gone. Only the screams of the wind that scratched the forest and the mocking sounds of the waves could be heard.
Persephone threw away the Narcissus bunch she had collected as she ran out onto the trail, but got caught by a grasp that came out of nowhere.
Her scream never left her mouth.
Clink, clank.
She heard the sound of the Cap of invisibility rolling across the grasses and stones.
Her mouth was shut, and her eyes were instantly covered. It only took a few seconds for ‘the invisible goddess’ to become ‘the goddess who can’t see’.
The hand, clasped onto her chin and covering her mouth, belonged to a man, she realized. Persephone did not know how to deal with this strange situation as she had never experienced it before. She began to move vigorously to free herself but it was too late.
“Ugh, arghh!”
This was the most secret and safe place on earth that Demeter, her mother, had achieved. It should have been. Living for several decades on this island, she had never seen a ship of humans passing by, and very occasionally, only the gods who ride the wind like a sleigh would pass by. It was an island with no entrance nor exit.
She tried pushing with her feet, shook her head to somehow free herself from the cloth that covered her eyes, but the hands that tied the cloth were too strong.
“Who, who the…!!”
Then she felt the man’s hand grab her hair.
“Ahh! Ahhhh! Stop it!”
Persephone, whose head was forced back, felt the teeth of a man nibbling on her neck, then her body stiffened up.
Her mother’s voice passed by, in her head.
-The world outside the island is not full of great adventures, faith, and happiness like your imagination… A day doesn’t go by without warmongers who are swept away by Ares’ trickery fight, and those like Zeus are scattered all over the earth and will make you frown… When I think of him, I see goosebumps all over my body…. How can I send you out to such a world knowing that you, my daughter, would suffer?
As if mocking her puny attempt to turn over her body somehow, strong arms pulled her waist towards him.
-During the day the island is completely yours, and at night… it’s like the inside of a sneaky, cunning liar’s mouth.
“Hush―” The first thing the ‘man’ has said was an order.
“Demeter hid you away so well…I had a lot of trouble finding you.”
Persephone’s cloak was removed as if it had been ripped off.
And her shoulders shivered mercilessly as a cold spell hit her. The man’s chest was up against hers, and in an instant, the hem of her robe was lifted to her belly. Right then, she could recognize his voice.
“Persephone, Persephone.”
Persephone, the way her called her name.
The way his tongue slid up her neck.
“Why are you acting like a scared sheep? Didn’t you say you were not afraid?”
And the way he mocked her. She knew all of it.
She got goosebumps all over her body. The fear that she was taken captive, unable to see anything while disappearing without a trace, and for a reason different from before, her heart began pounding.
“He has found me.”