For Persephone
Chapter 11 - His Desire To Covet
Chapter 11 – His Desire To Covet
‘What’s wrong with her?’ he thought. ‘Why was she so happy to see me? What made her so glad?’ A small drum played in place of his heart. A series of regrets now rose on the side of him that had preferred she not come back.
From the back of the dock Kharon could be heard saying, ‘Get that thing down, get it out’. He much more preferred to have a woman of age crossing the river. The girl’s hands dared to touch Hades’ waist. He was outraged.
“Let me ask. Do you see me as your father?”
“It’s not exactly that. Though it is a little.”
“So, what is it?”
“Did I offend you?”
Hades didn’t answer right away, so the girl continued hastily. “Hades, I’ve never once thought of you as my father. I just had that feeling because I know what kind of person my father is.”
Hades fixed her gaze on the girl.
“What kind of person is he?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure he’s a great person, like you. So, what I’m saying is…”
“You’re wrong.”
“What?”
“Have you heard anything about the underworld?”
“I can’t say that I have…”
“Then why do you act so fearlessly?”
The girl gritted her teeth for a moment, her face full of distress, then spoke clearly. “I don’t have a reason to pretend to be afraid of things that aren’t scary. The reason why I said you’re like a father is that while growing up, not once did I meet my real father. Therefore, the warmth and comfort that I feel with you is what I imagine a father feels like. So please don’t be cross with me.”
Hades turned to Kharon after shrugging the girl off. Kharon, with his chin on his oar, was looking out over the mist and waiting for the dead. Kharon, the mist, the white moon, and the air weren’t any different from normal; but whether it was because of the girl or what she had said, Hades couldn’t shake off his restless mood. She would remain in his brain long after turning around. Such things, like her lips, her round eyes, her arms that embrace him so freely.
“What I meant was, feeling such a way is wrong. That’s where you messed up at.”
She was a strange nuisance to him. While they haven’t met that many times, every time they did it reminded him of forgotten feelings. It calmed his temper when she hugged him as she pleased. Whatever the delusion this childish girl possessed of him, Hades himself held fast that there was a distinct difference in his mood when he saw her. That’s why she’s looking to him to find her father’s shadow, which she couldn’t, but to him, no matter how he looked at her, she was a female. A living female. To incite his desire to covet.
“What do you mean?”
“Coming here, looking for me.”
“How could you be so cold-hearted?”
Hades bent his waist and stared at her softly. He brushed his fingertips over her slightly opened lips. If she knowingly lured him he wouldn’t have known; if she lured him under a false pretense, even Aphrodite would shoot a glare at him.
He looked at her yellowish-colored eyes. Like a burning flame flooding the underground world, they were full of vivid vitality. Hades, who held her cheek lightly, tilted his head to make eye contact with the girl. Persephone’s shoulders stiffened naturally. Hades was very pleased with that.
“Would your father ever look at you like this?”
Thoughtfulness in the girl’s eyes was washed away and replaced with passion.
“You think your father would do this to you?”
Hades brought his head down, and his lips touched the girl’s ice-cold lips. It was half a tease, but it was on the peak that even he couldn’t say for sure.
Persephone’s shoulders trembled in amazement at the touch of his strange lips. It was a kiss. It was her first time as she hadn’t encountered a single man while being trapped on the island. She held her breath at the sensation and gentle graze of his lips. Her chest was about to burst.
Hades opened his half-closed eyes and stared into her wide-open pupils, slowly pulling at the tip of her lip with his teeth and whispered with a smile.
“Would you know? I’m not at all like your father, who you don’t even know, and this is the last warning. That means when I let go of you, you get out of here. I know you’re naive, but you need to have some sense.”
‘What’s wrong with her?’ he thought. ‘Why was she so happy to see me? What made her so glad?’ A small drum played in place of his heart. A series of regrets now rose on the side of him that had preferred she not come back.
From the back of the dock Kharon could be heard saying, ‘Get that thing down, get it out’. He much more preferred to have a woman of age crossing the river. The girl’s hands dared to touch Hades’ waist. He was outraged.
“Let me ask. Do you see me as your father?”
“It’s not exactly that. Though it is a little.”
“So, what is it?”
“Did I offend you?”
Hades didn’t answer right away, so the girl continued hastily. “Hades, I’ve never once thought of you as my father. I just had that feeling because I know what kind of person my father is.”
Hades fixed her gaze on the girl.
“What kind of person is he?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure he’s a great person, like you. So, what I’m saying is…”
“You’re wrong.”
“What?”
“Have you heard anything about the underworld?”
“I can’t say that I have…”
“Then why do you act so fearlessly?”
The girl gritted her teeth for a moment, her face full of distress, then spoke clearly. “I don’t have a reason to pretend to be afraid of things that aren’t scary. The reason why I said you’re like a father is that while growing up, not once did I meet my real father. Therefore, the warmth and comfort that I feel with you is what I imagine a father feels like. So please don’t be cross with me.”
Hades turned to Kharon after shrugging the girl off. Kharon, with his chin on his oar, was looking out over the mist and waiting for the dead. Kharon, the mist, the white moon, and the air weren’t any different from normal; but whether it was because of the girl or what she had said, Hades couldn’t shake off his restless mood. She would remain in his brain long after turning around. Such things, like her lips, her round eyes, her arms that embrace him so freely.
“What I meant was, feeling such a way is wrong. That’s where you messed up at.”
She was a strange nuisance to him. While they haven’t met that many times, every time they did it reminded him of forgotten feelings. It calmed his temper when she hugged him as she pleased. Whatever the delusion this childish girl possessed of him, Hades himself held fast that there was a distinct difference in his mood when he saw her. That’s why she’s looking to him to find her father’s shadow, which she couldn’t, but to him, no matter how he looked at her, she was a female. A living female. To incite his desire to covet.
“What do you mean?”
“Coming here, looking for me.”
“How could you be so cold-hearted?”
Hades bent his waist and stared at her softly. He brushed his fingertips over her slightly opened lips. If she knowingly lured him he wouldn’t have known; if she lured him under a false pretense, even Aphrodite would shoot a glare at him.
He looked at her yellowish-colored eyes. Like a burning flame flooding the underground world, they were full of vivid vitality. Hades, who held her cheek lightly, tilted his head to make eye contact with the girl. Persephone’s shoulders stiffened naturally. Hades was very pleased with that.
“Would your father ever look at you like this?”
Thoughtfulness in the girl’s eyes was washed away and replaced with passion.
“You think your father would do this to you?”
Hades brought his head down, and his lips touched the girl’s ice-cold lips. It was half a tease, but it was on the peak that even he couldn’t say for sure.
Persephone’s shoulders trembled in amazement at the touch of his strange lips. It was a kiss. It was her first time as she hadn’t encountered a single man while being trapped on the island. She held her breath at the sensation and gentle graze of his lips. Her chest was about to burst.
Hades opened his half-closed eyes and stared into her wide-open pupils, slowly pulling at the tip of her lip with his teeth and whispered with a smile.
“Would you know? I’m not at all like your father, who you don’t even know, and this is the last warning. That means when I let go of you, you get out of here. I know you’re naive, but you need to have some sense.”