Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

The murky water laps up and almost touches the soles of my shoes. The dark gray stones of the shore are wet witha thick gelatinous coating, making them slippery under my feet. I shuffle back slightly to avoid letting its poison get too close. One drop could kill me.

The landscape is dead and soft at the edges. There is no bright white here, there is no pure black either. Just a world composed of shades of gray. Purgatory.

I assumed it would be awful here, that it would be full of pain and suffering, but it’s actually still and peaceful. I close my eyes for a moment and let the silence engulf me. Finding my way here has taken me halfway across a world! never knew existed. Now that I've witnessed what purgatory is like, I'm pretty sure it would satisfy me to exist with its blank, empty feeling. It’s better than the darkness that has taken over. It is a comforting contrast to the Mavri Magea apartment. Trying to reforge a cursed blade and block out the pitiful whining of my sisters locked in their rooms has been exhausting.

Fabricating the blade has not only consumed every waking moment. It has also filled the nightmares during my rare periods of sleep for the last three days.

“Don't get comfortable here, Kas,” Lex warns, “There is still a lot of work to do. Losing yourself in this place is dangerous.”

“Just a fantasy, I suppose,” I sigh at her,

"It doesn't really matter, Lex. I'm already lost. I can feel it in my soul.”

“We've still got this. Just hang in there,” she comforts me. '

I look out at the water and watch the souls trapped under the glasslike surface. They try to rise, but cannot break the surface and sink again. Their beautiful, sallow skin reminds me of what my own has become. The eyes of the dead are clouded over with a fuzzy pale gray coating, which makes me wonder if they know what they are trying to escape from.

What if they're better off here and they just don't realize it? How pathetic were the lives they must have lived to be stuck here for eternity? Not allowed into the underworld, not allowed into the kingdom of the dead. Would I suffer the same fate at the end of my spirit’s journey? Would I finally feel relief in a place like this or will my suffering continue?

I don’t know how long I've been standing here. It may be five minutes. It may be five years. Time doesn’t seem to matter when you stand on the shore of the River Styx. The only thing that matters is that my meeting is successful.

I try to look out past the fog, but it is like thin layers of gauzy fabric. Each layer on its own is thin, but stacked against each other, unpenetrable. I wrap the thick black cloak closer to my body and pull the hood down to hide my eyes when the bow of a boat cutting silently through the dark water full of lost souls becomes visible.

There’s no noise when the boat runs ashore. A bearded man with a limp and a brimless hat climbs off the boat using a flimsy plank of wood and stands on the shore. His gravely voice interrupts the comforting silence, “Do you need passage to the underworld?”

“Yes. Are you Charon?” I ask calmly. I have read too many stories of evil spirits trying to escape the underworld to trust he is who he says he is.

“It is one name I go by. Do you have payment for the ferryman?” He asks in a gruff voice, holding out his hand.

I pull two golden coins out of my pocket and lay them in his hand. He wraps his fingers around them and rubs them with his thumb until they disappear into his skin. There is a soft glow, showing he has accepted my payment. He looks up and gives me a creepy smile, “A deity? A child of the Olympians?”

to know what I am. I pause, then nod my head

aboard, child of the Gods,” he walks up a plank onto the boat and holds his hand

launch from the shore. I keep as still as possible as we make our way across the endless river. Screams and cries from the underworld get louder as we glide across the water.

I was just jealous of for being able

“We need her help. You need to

adjust my cloak, forcing myself to stay at the center of the boat and

contrasted by his solid black eyes and permanent sneer give away his identity.

me off the boat. I hesitate, not

off it, lokaste,” he rolls his eyes in frustration, “You're not getting to Melinoé’s part of this realm without

him see my face, “I am

more intimidating sounding, isn’t it?” He says, sounding annoyed, “It isn’t her given name. I take it you have a payment for

press my arm closer to my chest, securing the leather

Enough with the ‘Sir’ bullshit. Call me Hades,”

hopelessly lost in among obsidian

can I help you?” he sneers, looking down his nose at

back and forth, finding it difficult to look at

only one who can fix this problem with the Manae, but it effects all

need more energy for what I plan

power move to pull my brother's energy," his sneer turns

I have taken so far, well, I think it may be killing me. I don’t know how much longer I

follow, Iokaste?” he says earnestly, with his hands clasped in

a moment before I answer, “My heart still wants to go home to my pack after this

He looks at me with what I assume is compassion and

look at his hand, then

white fluffy bullshit energy you have collected. You're going to need as

take his hand and feel him willingly release his dark, angry energy for me. I close my eyes and take a deep, satisfying breath as it fills me and calms my spirit. When I open my eyes, Hades looks much older

his hand and give him